Inhaled corticosteroids used for the control of asthma in a "real-life" setting do not affect linear growth velocity in prepubertal children.

Background: Recent guidelines recommend inhaled corticosteroids as the first-line treatment for persistent asthma. However, long-term corticosteroid treatment in children has raised concerns about potential growth rate deceleration. We aimed to assess the association of growth velocity with the use of inhaled corticosteroids in prepubertal children with asthma in a "real-life" setting.

Influence of passive smoking on functional abilities in children.

Passive smoking has been found to be associated with a large number of disorders of passive smokers. It seems that the children are the most susceptible population for harmful effects of passive smoke exposure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of passive smoking on children's functional abilities.