KD Diagnosis Does Not Increase Cardiovascular Risk in Children According to Dynamic Intima–Media Roughness Measurements

Background: Kawasaki Disease (KD) is a generalized vasculitis in childhood with possible long-term impact on cardiovascular health besides the presence of coronary artery lesions. Standard vascular parameters such as carotid intima–media thickness (cIMT) have not been established as reliable markers of vascular anomalies after KD. The carotid intima–media roughness (cIMR) representing carotid intimal surface structure is considered a promising surrogate marker for predicting cardiovascular risk even beyond cIMT. We therefore measured cIMR in patients with a history of KD in comparison to healthy controls to investigate whether KD itself and/or KD key clinical aspects are associated with cIMR alterations in the long-term. Methods: We assessed cIMR in this case-control study (44 KD, mean age in years (SD); 13.4 (7.5); 36 controls, mean age 12.1 (5.3)) approximately matched by sex and age. Different clinical outcomes such as the coronary artery status and acute phase inflammation data were analyzed in association with cIMR values. Results: When comparing all patients with KD to healthy controls, we detected no significant difference in cIMR. None of the clinical parameters indicating the disease severity, such as the persistence of coronary artery aneurysm, were significantly associated with our cIMR values. However, according to our marginally significant findings (p = 0.044), we postulate that the end-diastolic cIMR may be rougher than the end-systolic values in KD patients. Conclusions: We detected no significant differences in cIMR between KD patients and controls that could confirm any evidence that KD predisposes patients to a subsequent general arteriopathy. Our results, however, need to be interpreted in the light of the low number of study participants

Prevalence of Medication Treatment for Attention Deficit–Hyperactivity Disorder Among Elementary School Children in Johnston County, North Carolina

Objectives. This study estimated the prevalence of medication treatment for attention deficit–hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among elementary school children in a North Carolina county

Feminist relational advocacy: Processes and outcomes from the perspective of low-income women with depression

This article describes a qualitative study of how low-income women who are struggling with symptoms of depression experience feminist relational advocacy, a new model that is informed by feminist, multicultural, and community psychology theories. Using qualitative content analysis of participant interviews, the authors describe the processes and outcomes of feminist relational advocacy from participants\u27 perspectives; they also consider how emergent themes fit with principles of the model, including the importance of women\u27s narratives, the inseparability of emotional and practical support, the centrality of the advocacy relationship, and oppression as a source of emotional distress. The article concludes with a discussion of the practice and research implications of the study, highlighting the possibilities of feminist relational advocacy as a new tool for counseling psychologists and the lessons for advocacy models in general