National screening for developmental delays and their determinants among Egyptian school age children: A step towards implementing life skills programs.

AIM: This study aimed to estimate the national prevalence of developmental delays (DDs) and their determinants among Egyptian children aged 6 to 12 years. Such estimation is a prerequisite step toward the application of Life Skill Education (LSE) programs that will potentiate children's future capabilities. METHODS: Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales" was used as a reliable and diagnostic test for DDs screening during this national cross sectional study. Gross motor (GM), fine motor (FM), daily living skills, communication, and socialization skills were assessed. The multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with DDs. The Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with a 95% Confidence Interval was estimated to indicate the strength of association. A p-value of <0.05 was used to declare statistical significance. RESULTS: Out of the 20324 surveyed school-aged children, 7.4% were found to have at least one delay. Communication deficits were the most common (6.4%) followed by delay in daily living skills (2.0%). The final model of logistic regression had a good fit for seven variables out of the sociodemographic, epidemiological characteristics, maternal and perinatal problems that were associated with a higher likelihood of at least one DD: Children suffering from any convulsions (AOR = 4.32; 95% CI: 3.18-5.88), male gender (AOR = 1.86; 95% CI: 1.65-2.09), birth weight less than 2.5 kg (AOR = 1.77; 95% CI: 1.40-2.24), history of maternal health problem during pregnancy (AOR = 1.64; 95% CI:1.34-2.01), children staying in an incubator for more than two days (AOR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.29-1.91), having less educated fathers (AOR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.24-1.95) and belonging to the middle social class (AOR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.24-1.58). CONCLUSION: The identified types and determinants for each DD are allowing for the implementation of tailored programs for school children's life skills promotion for achieving the most sustainable effects on children's biological and psychological health and well-being.

Evaluation of Branched-Chain Amino Acids in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Epilepsy.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and epilepsy run hand-to-hand in their pathophysiology. Epilepsy is not an uncommon finding in patients with ASD. The aim of the present study was to identify the metabolic abnormalities of BCAAs (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) in children with ASD with and without seizures in comparison with neurotypical controls. Also, this study aimed to investigate the presence of epileptiform discharges on electroencephalography (EEG) in ASD patients and to describe the types and frequency of seizures observed. The study included 90 children aged 2-7 years, 30 of whom were diagnosed with both ASD and epilepsy. The other 30 children were diagnosed as ASD without epilepsy, and a comparable 30 normally developed children served as a control group. The groups were matched by age and gender. All patients were referred to the Autism Disorders Clinic for interviews and examinations. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) was applied to all study participants to assess the degree of autism. The present study results show that all types of seizures may be identified in ASD children. The median serum levels of BCAAs were lower in ASD children with and without epilepsy than in neurotypical controls. This opens the door for discussion about new etiologies and better categorizations of ASD based on genotype and genetic abnormalities detected. More studies with larger samples are needed to understand ASD better and to more reliable evaluate the association between ASD, EEG changes, seizures, and BCAAs.

The Association Between Baseline Left Atrial Volume Index and All-Cause Mortality in Patients with Heart Failure: A Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Enlargement of the left atrium is a marker of mortality in the general population. Left atrial volume index (LAVI) has long been proposed as a measure of prognosis in patients with heart failure (HF). The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the utility of using baseline LAVI as an independent predictor of all-cause mortality in patients with HF. METHODS: A search of Medline and Embase bibliographic databases was performed to identify studies meeting the following inclusion criteria: 1) studies evaluating a cohort of patients with HF (both reduced and preserved ejection fraction); 2) studies conducting multivariate analysis or patient matching to determine the relationship between baseline LAVI measured by echocardiography and all-cause mortality; and 3) studies reporting data on the relationship between baseline LAVI (per difference in mL/m2) and all-cause mortality. Adjusted hazard ratios depicting the association between baseline LAVI and all-cause mortality were pooled using traditional random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: 1,188 publications were reviewed from which four studies were included in the present meta-analysis. We found each 10 mL/m2 increase in baseline LAVI was associated with a 22% increased adjusted hazard of all-cause mortality (95% confidence interval, 13% to 31%, I2 = 14%). CONCLUSION: Baseline LAVI is an important independent predictor of all-cause mortality in patients with heart failure and should be reported routinely in these patients undergoing echocardiography.