Children's Internet use and physical and psychosocial development.

Introduction: Internet use (IU) commonly refers to sedentary lifestyle and may be addictive, especially among children. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between IU and some aspects of child physical and psychosocial development. Methodology: We conducted a cross-sectional survey by using a screen-time based sedentary behavior questionnaire and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)-among 836 primary school children in the Branicevo District. The children's medical records were analysed for vision problems and spinal deformities. Their body weight (BW) and height (BH) were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated as BW in kilograms divided by BH in meters squared (kg/m2). Results: The average age of respondents was 13.4 (SD 1.2) years. The mean duration of daily Internet use and sedentary behavior was 236 (SD 156) and 422 (SD 184) minutes, respectively. There was no significant correlation between daily IU and vision problems (near sightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, strabismus), and spinal deformities. However, daily Internet use is significantly associated with obesity (p < 0.001) and sedentary behavior (p = 0.01). There was significant correlation between emotional symptoms with total Internet usage time, and total sedentary score (p < 0.001 for both, r = 0.141 and r = 0.132, respectively). There was a positive correlation between the total sedentary score of children and hyperactivity/inattention (r = 0.167, p < 0.001), emotional symptoms (r = 0.132, p < 0.001), and conduct problems (r = 0.084, p < 0.01). Conclusion: In our study, children's Internet use was associated with obesity, psychological disturbances and social maladjustment.

Cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and human herpesvirus-6 infections in patients with myalgic еncephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling multisystem chronic disease. The etiology and pathogenesis of ME/CFS are unknown. Infections of cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) are suspected as etiological agents for ME/CFS. This study aims to estimate prevalence and type (active/latent) of EBV, CMV, and HHV-6 infections in Bulgarian ME/CFS patients. In the study were included 58 patients with ME/CFS and 50 healthy controls. Virus-specific antibodies were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and viral genomic sequences in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMCs) and plasma samples by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We did not observe any significant differences in virus-specific immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M positivity rates between patients with ME/CFS and control group. In ME/CFS plasma samples, EBV DNA was found in 24.1%, CMV DNA in 3.4%, and HHV-6 DNA in 1.7% of samples. EBV DNA was detected in 4%, and CMV and HHV-6 DNA were not found in plasma samples of controls. The frequency of viral genome detection in PBMCs of patients and controls was 74% vs 78% for CMV, 81% vs 84% for EBV, and 82.8% vs 82% for HHV-6. The difference in frequency of EBV active infection in ME/CFS and control group was statistically significant (P = .0027). No ME/CFS and control individuals with active CMV and HHV-6 infection were observed. In conclusion, this study using both serological and PCR-based techniques for distinguishing between active and latent infection showed high rate of active EBV infection among patients with ME/CFS indicating that at least in a subset of cases, EBV is important factor for the development of disease.