ABSTRACT
Children and adolescents with disabilities benefit from physical activity. However, this population has lower fitness levels and higher rates of obesity than their peers, suggesting that they are not meeting physical activity guidelines and are experiencing barriers to participation. The purpose of this study was to quantify physical activity participation and barriers experienced by children and adolescents with disabilities in our area. Forty-five parents or caregivers of children aged 2-18 with physical and/or intellectual disabilities completed a questionnaire regarding physical activity participation in an average week and barriers to participation, prior to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Data were analysed using quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Ninety-one percent (41/45) of the children and adolescents with disabilities did not participate in sufficient physical activity to meet physical activity guidelines irrespective of type and severity of the disability (p > 0.05). Physical activity participation decreased with increasing age (r = -0.478, p = 0.001). The most commonly identified barrier was 'environments and programmes not able to handle nature of disability.' In our sample, the majority of children and adolescents with disabilities did not meet physical activity guidelines, with access reported as a primary barrier. This may have negative consequences on the physical and mental health of children and adolescents with disabilities. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic may have worsened the rates of physical activity participation noted in our study.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic created an environment of restricted access to health and recreation services. Lifestyle habits including sleep, eating, exercise, and screen use were modified, potentially exacerbating adverse mental health outcomes. This study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on lifestyle habits and mental health symptoms in paediatric attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Canada. METHODS: An online survey was distributed across Canada to caregivers of children with ADHD (children aged 5 to 18 years) assessing depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), ADHD (SNAP-IV), and lifestyle behaviours. Data were analyzed by gender (male/female) and age category (5 to 8, 9 to 12, and 13 to 18 years). Spearman's correlations between lifestyle habits and mental health outcomes were conducted. RESULTS: A total of 587 surveys were completed. Mean child age was 10.14 years (SD 3.06), including 166 females (28.3%). The PHQ-9 and GAD-7 indicated that 17.4% and 14.1% of children met criteria for moderately severe to severe depression and anxiety symptoms respectively. Children met SNAP-IV cut-off scores for inattention (73.7%), hyperactivity/impulsivity (66.8%), and oppositional defiant disorder (38.6%) behaviours. Caregivers reported changes in sleep (77.5%), eating (58.9%), exercise (83.7%), and screen use (92.9%) in their ADHD child, greatly impacting youth. Sleeping fewer hours/night, eating more processed foods, and watching TV/playing videogames >3.5 hours/day correlated with greater depression, anxiety and ADHD symptoms, and exercising <1 hour/day further correlated with depression symptoms (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in less healthy lifestyle habits and increased mental health symptoms in Canadian children with ADHD. Longitudinal studies to better understand the relationship between these factors are recommended.
ABSTRACT
We report on the development of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors and matching ELISAs for the detection of nucleocapsid and spike antibodies specific against the novel coronavirus 2019 (SARS-CoV-2) in human serum, plasma and dried blood spots (DBS). When exposed to SARS-CoV-2 or a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the immune system responds by expressing antibodies at levels that can be detected and monitored to identify the fraction of the population potentially immunized against SARS-CoV-2 and support efforts to deploy a vaccine strategically. A SPR sensor coated with a peptide monolayer and functionalized with various sources of SARS-CoV-2 recombinant proteins expressed in different cell lines detected human anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in clinical samples. Nucleocapsid expressed in different cell lines did not significantly change the sensitivity of the assays, whereas the use of a CHO cell line to express spike ectodomain led to excellent performance. This bioassay was performed on a portable SPR instrument capable of measuring 4 biological samples within 30 minutes of sample/sensor contact and the chip could be regenerated at least 9 times. Multi-site validation was then performed with in-house and commercial ELISA, which revealed excellent cross-correlations with Pearson's coefficients exceeding 0.85 in all cases, for measurements in DBS and plasma. This strategy paves the way to point-of-care and rapid testing for antibodies in the context of viral infection and vaccine efficacy monitoring.