Chronic conditions 'not so permanent'

BOSTON, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Chronic conditions -- asthma, diabetes or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder -- in children may not require long-term treatment, U.S. researchers said.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children in Boston found the likelihood of reporting a chronic condition in children rose from 30 percent in 1986-92 to 50 percent in 2000-06.

However, the researchers also found the conditions often improve or resolve with 40 percent persisting to the end of each six-year study period.

"Although about half of all children will be obese or have another chronic health condition at some point during their childhood, less than half of them will have the same conditions six years later," lead author Dr. Jeanne Van Cleave said in a statement. "It looks like these chronic conditions may not be so permanent as we once thought."

Van Cleave and colleagues used U.S. Bureau of Labor survey information and conducted in-home interviews every two years for 2,337 children ages 2-8 in 1988, for 1,759 children ages 2-8 in 1994 and 905 2-8 years old in 2000.

The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.