Quality of life of children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic : a 1-year follow-up study

This study aimed to reveal changes in the quality of life (QOL) of children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their parents, and the interaction between their QOL and parental mental state during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Eighty-nine school-aged children and parents participated in surveys in May 2020 (T1) and May 2021 (T2). The parents completed questionnaires that assessed their QOL, depression, parenting stress, and living conditions. Children's temporary mood status was evaluated using the self-reported visual analog scale (VAS). Children's QOL and VAS at T2 were higher than their QOL at T1. Parents' QOL at T2 was lower than their QOL at T1. Severe parental depression at T1 had a synergistic effect on severe parenting stress and severe depressive state at T2. Additionally, children's high QOL at T1 had a synergistic effect on low parenting stress and children's high QOL at T2. Furthermore, children's low VAS scores and parents' low QOL at T2 were associated with deterioration of family economic status. Children and parents' QOL changed during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Improvement in children's QOL was influenced by reduced maternal depressive symptoms. Public support for parental mental health is important to avoid decreasing QOL.Peer reviewe

Factors associated with good self-rated health of non-disabled elderly living alone in Japan: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Self-rated health (SRH) is reported as a reliable predictor of disability and mortality in the aged population and has been studied worldwide to enhance the quality of life of the elderly. Nowadays, the elderly living alone, a particular population at great risk of suffering physical and mental health problems, is increasing rapidly in Japan and could potentially make up the majority of the aged population. However, few data are available pertaining to SRH of this population. Given the fact that sufficient healthcare is provided to the disabled elderly whereas there is little support for non-disabled elderly, we designed this population-based survey to investigate SRH of non-disabled elderly living alone and to identify the factors associated with good SRH with the purpose of aiding health promotion for the elderly.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was conducted in a metropolitan suburb in Japan. Questionnaires pertaining to SRH and physical conditions, lifestyle factors, psychological status, and social activities, were distributed in October 2005 to individuals aged ≥ 65 years and living alone. Response rate was 75.1%. Among these respondents, a total of 600 male and 2587 female respondents were identified as non-disabled elderly living alone and became our subjects. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with good SRH and sex-specific effect was tested by stepwise logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Good SRH was reported by 69.8% of men and 73.8% of women. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that good SRH correlated with, in odds ratio sequence, "can go out alone to distant places", no depression, no weight loss, absence of self-rated chronic disease, good chewing ability, and good visual ability in men; whereas with "can go out alone to distant places", absence of self-rated chronic disease, no weight loss, no depression, no risk of falling, independent IADL, good chewing ability, good visual ability, and social integration (attend) in women.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>For the non-disabled elderly living alone, sex-appropriate support should be considered by health promotion systems from the view point of SRH. Overall, the ability to go out alone to distant places is crucial to SRH of both men and women.</p

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

Sex Differences in Intestinal Microbiota and Their Association with Some Diseases in a Japanese Population Observed by Analysis Using a Large Dataset

In recent years, many studies have focused on the relationship between intestinal microbiota and human health, but the impact of sex has not yet been sufficiently investigated. In this study, sex differences in the intestinal microbiota of a Japanese population were investigated by age group, using a large dataset constructed for a cross-sectional study. &alpha;-diversity analysis indicated that the impact of sex differences varied among the 20s&ndash;50s age groups but tended to be smaller among the 60s&ndash;70s age groups. Fusobacterium, Megamonas, Megasphaera, Prevotera, and Sutterella were more common among males, whereas Alistipes, Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Odoribacter, and Ruthenibacterium were common among females. Next, intestinal bacteria potentially associated with 12 diseases were investigated for each sex. The results indicate that many of these differ between males and females, and among age groups. Thus, sex and age should be considered for studies on intestinal microbiota and disease association, prevention, and treatment approaches that target them

Sex Differences in Intestinal Microbiota and Their Association with Some Diseases in a Japanese Population Observed by Analysis Using a Large Dataset

In recent years, many studies have focused on the relationship between intestinal microbiota and human health, but the impact of sex has not yet been sufficiently investigated. In this study, sex differences in the intestinal microbiota of a Japanese population were investigated by age group, using a large dataset constructed for a cross-sectional study. α-diversity analysis indicated that the impact of sex differences varied among the 20s–50s age groups but tended to be smaller among the 60s–70s age groups. Fusobacterium, Megamonas, Megasphaera, Prevotella, and Sutterella were more common among males, whereas Alistipes, Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Odoribacter, and Ruthenibacterium were common among females. Next, intestinal bacteria potentially associated with 12 diseases were investigated for each sex. The results indicate that many of these differ between males and females, and among age groups. Thus, sex and age should be considered for studies on intestinal microbiota and disease association, prevention, and treatment approaches that target them

The quality of life of children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their parents during the Coronavirus disease 19 emergency in Japan

This study aimed to reveal how the COVID-19 stay-at-home period has affected the quality of life (QOL) of children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their parents and to identify possible factors that enabled them to maintain their QOL. We enrolled 136 school-aged children (intellectual quotient >= 50) and their parents and administered QOL questionnaires to assess the maladaptive behavior of the children; depression, anxiety, and stress of the parents; and activities of their daily lives. The relationship between their QOL and clinical features was examined. The decrease in QOL of children and parents was associated with the mother's limited job flexibility. Decreased QOL was also associated with changes in the sleep rhythms of the children. Maladaptive behaviors in children were associated with parental stress. However, maintained QOL of some families who faced these same conditions of job stress and sleep disorders was associated with less parental stress, less parental depression and anxiety, and milder maladaptive behavior in children. Both mothers with limited job flexibility and changes in the sleep rhythm of children were associated with reduced QOL of children and their parents. Low parental stress was associated with decreased maladaptive behavior in children and with maintained QOL of the family.Peer reviewe

Psychological Status Associated With Low Quality of Life in School-Age Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders During COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Period

Background: This study seeks to ascertain how the COVID-19 stay-at-home period has affected the quality of life (QOL) of children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) who had experienced sleep schedules alteration and clarify what psychological status predicted low QOL in children with and without altered sleep patterns. Materials and Methods: Study participants were 86 children between 8 and 17 years of age (mean age, 11.7 years; 70 boys, 16 girls; mean intellectual quotient, 83.6). QOL was evaluated using the self-assessment KINDL(R). Participants answered questions regarding depression and anxiety on a visual analog scale (VAS) for temporary mood. Their parents answered questionnaires regarding their maladaptive behaviors and differences in sleep patterns before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The student's t-test was performed to examine the presence or absence of sleep changes in the children, which affected QOL, temporary mood, and maladaptive behaviors. Multiple or simple linear regression analyses were also performed to identify the psychogenic factors that significantly affected decreased QOL for each group with and without changes in sleep schedule. Results: During the COVID-19 stay-at-home period, 46.5% of participants experienced changes in sleep patterns. These changes were associated with decreased QOL as well as internalized symptoms. The decreased QOL of children with sleep patterns changed was predicted by a high level of depression. In addition, low QOL in children with unchanged sleep patterns was predicted by a high level of depression and low current mood status. Conclusions: Almost half of the participants experienced a poor sleep schedule during the stay-at-home period. These alterations in sleep patterns were associated with a low QOL. The QOL of children with a stable life schedule was affected not only by depressive tendencies but also temporary moods. Therefore, they need to live a fulfilling life to maintain their QOL. However, the QOL of children with poor sleep patterns was affected only by depressive tendencies. Hence, clinicians need to ensure that children with NDDs are well-diagnosed with depression and treated for sleep problems.Peer reviewe

Biomechanics of Double Poling in Paralympic Cross-Country Skiing&mdash;A Cross-Sectional Study Comparing the Standing and Sitting Positions in Healthy Male Subjects

Background and Objectives: Double poling is an important fundamental skill required for cross-country skiing in able-bodied athletes and in those with physical disabilities. Meanwhile, the performance improvement and injury prevention related to double poling requires a thorough assessment, whereas the scapular and shoulder kinematics in different postural conditions remain to be clarified. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the biomechanics during cross-country ski double poling in the standing and sitting positions. Materials and Methods: Eleven participants underwent kinematic assessments of the shoulder girdle during double poling on a ski ergometer with an electromagnetic tracking device. The cycle rate, stroke length, stroke speed, thorax motion relative to pelvis, scapular motions relative to thorax, humeral motions relative to thorax, and humeral motions relative to scapula were calculated for five double-poling cycles. Results: In the sitting position, the angles of humerothoracic elevation were 18 degrees larger and glenohumeral elevation 13 degrees larger than in the standing position at the upward point and range of motion. Conclusions: The study revealed that double poling in the sitting condition increased the humerothoracic and glenohumeral elevation angle to secure the poling margin. If these are excessive, there is a risk of shoulder injuries such as subacromial impingement