Chronicity of sleep problems in children with chronic illness: a longitudinal population-based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to examine the chronicity of sleep problems in children with chronic illness, and potential predictors of sleep problems.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using data from a longitudinal total population study in Norway, The Bergen Child Study, data on sleep problems, chronic illness and potential confounders were assessed at ages 79 and 1113.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>295 of 4025 (7.3%) children had a chronic illness, and the prevalence of chronic sleep problems was significantly higher in this group compared to children without chronic illness (6.8% versus 3.6%). Sleep problems at the first wave increased the risk of sleep problems at the second wave, also when adjusting for potential confounders (odds-ratio = 5.41). Hyperactivity and emotional problems were also independent risk factors for later sleep problems.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings call for increased awareness and development of treatment strategies of sleep problems in children with chronic illness.</p

The link between peer relations, prosocial behavior, and ODD/ADHD symptoms in 7–9-Year-Old Children

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are characterized by symptoms that hinder successful positive interaction with peers. The main goal of this study was to examine if the presence of symptoms of ODD and ADHD affects the relationship between positive social behavior and peer status found in 7–9-year-old children who show symptoms typical of ADHD and/or ODD. Furthermore, the possible interaction with sex was investigated. We used data collected in the first wave of The Bergen Child Study of mental health (BCS), a prospective longitudinal total population study of children’s developmental and mental health. The target population consisted of children in the second to the fourth, in all public, private, and special schools in Bergen, Norway, in the fall of 2002 (). All 79 primary schools in Bergen participated in the study. Both teacher (8809 complete cases) and parent (6253 complete cases) report were used in the analyses. ADHD and ODD scores were estimated using the Swanson Noland and Pelham rating scale version IV (SNAP-IV), and peer problems and prosocial behavior were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). We replicated the relationship between peer problems and prosocial behavior found previously in typically developing children. Our results showed that the relationship between peer problems and prosocial behavior became weaker as the ODD symptoms increased in number and severity. For ADHD this effect was only found in the teacher report of the children. A sex effect for ODD symptoms was found only using the parent report: boys with ODD symptoms showed less prosocial behavior than girls with similar levels of ODD symptoms. Since this effect was not found using the teacher data, it may imply a situational effect (school/home) for girls with high levels of ODD. The moderator effect of ODD/ADHD was comparable for boys and girls. Our findings suggest that even if children with ADHD/ODD symptoms have the opportunity to practice their social skills in peer relationships, this is not necessarily accompanied by an increase in prosocial behavio

Fatty fish intake and attention performance in 14–15 year old adolescents: FINS-TEENS - a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Fatty fish is the dominant dietary source of n-3 LCPUFAs but it also contains other micronutrients considered important for brain development and function. To our knowledge, the effect of fatty fish intake on cognitive function in adolescents has not been investigated in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) previously. The aim of the present trial was to investigate whether consumption of fatty fish meals three times per week for 12 weeks could alter attention performance in adolescents compared to similar meals with meat or n-3 LCPUFA supplements. Methods In the Fish Intervention Studies-TEENS (FINS-TEENS), adolescents from eight secondary schools (n = 426; age: 14-15y) were individually randomized. Attention performance was assessed with the d2 test of attention. Differences between groups from pre to post intervention were assessed with linear mixed effect models and general estimates equation. The fish group was set as reference. Dietary compliance was recorded for each meal throughout the trial and controlled for in the adjusted analyses. Results The improvement in processing speed was significantly lower in the meat (−11.8; 95% CI: -23.3, −0.4) and supplement (−13.4; 95% CI: -24.9, −1.8) group compared to the fish group (reference). The supplement group also showed inferior improvement in total performance (−10.4; 95% CI: -20.0, −0.7) compared to the fish group (reference). The results were slightly affected when controlling for dietary compliance. Omission errors decreased in the meat group compared to the fish group (Incidence rate ratio = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.74, 0.98), but the difference disappeared when controlling for dietary compliance. Conclusions We observed a small beneficial effect of fatty fish, compared to meat meals and supplements on processing speed. However, these results are difficult to interpret due to low dietary compliance. This study shows that different taste preferences among participants is challenging in intervention trials with food. A prospective cohort design may be a better alternative when studying diet in the future. Trial registration number ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT02350322

Effect of dominant-negative mutants of μ subunits on somatodendritic sorting of NiV-F.

<p>(A–D) Rat hippocampal neurons were co-transfected with plasmids encoding NiV-F-GFP and wild-type (WT) or dominant-negative (DN) mutants of HA-tagged μ subunits (A-site mutants of μ1A, μ2, μ3A and μ4, and B-site mutant of μ4, as labeled on top of images). The effects of μ1A, μ2, μ3A and μ4 constructs are shown in panels A, B, C and D, respectively. Cells were immunostained with mouse anti-HA, rabbit anti-MAP2 and goat anti-ANK-G, and imaged as indicated in the legend to <a href="http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.ppat.1004107#ppat-1004107-g001" target="_blank">Figure 1</a>. Grayscale images shown in all panels correspond to NiV-GFP fluorescence. The anti-HA, anti-MAP2 and anti-ANK-G staining is shown in <a href="http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.ppat.1004107#ppat.1004107.s002" target="_blank">Figure S2</a>. Two images corresponding to different effects on NiV-F-GFP sorting (representing ∼75 and 25% of the neuronal population) observed following expression of μ2 D174A/W419S are shown in (B). The AIS and axons are marked by cyan and red arrowheads, respectively. Scale bar: 20 µm. See <a href="http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.ppat.1004107#ppat-1004107-t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a> for polarity indexes.</p