Childhood separation from parents with cognitive and psychopathological outcomes in adolescence.

To examine the effects of childhood parent-child separation with varying duration and form on later cognitive performance and psychopathological problems over a 6-year period, we use data from the China Family Panel Study (CFPS), which is an ongoing, prospective nationally representative study across 25 provinces in China. Of the 4033 children aged 4-10 years followed in 2012, 3522 children with complete data on separation from fathers and mothers were included. In 2018, 2560 participants were followed and interviewed to assess cognitive performance, behavioral problems as well as depressive symptoms at age 10-16 years. A total of 3522 children (mean [SD] age at baseline, 6.9 [2.0] years) were included. About 17.9% and 13.3% had separated from father and mother over 11 months or more in the year prior to the survey. Prolonged separation from parents was associated with lower scores in vocabulary (maternal: adjusted ß = -1.64, P = 0.002; paternal: adjusted ß = -1.58, P < 0.001) and mathematics performance (maternal: adjusted ß = -1.10, P = 0.009; paternal: adjusted ß = -0.94, P = 0.004) over a 6-year period. Prolonged maternal separation was associated with 0.34-point higher internalizing behaviors (P < 0.001) and 0.21-point higher externalizing behaviors (P = 0.009), as well as 0.89-point higher depressive symptoms (P = 0.018), while prolonged paternal separation was associated with 0.23-point higher internalizing behaviors (P = 0.005) and 0.76-point higher depressive symptoms (P = 0.011). The finding demonstrates substantial negative impacts of childhood paternal and maternal separations on cognitive and mental well-being during adolescence, which might be dependent on the "stress-dose" (duration of separation) and urban-rural residence. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Prolonged parent-child separation is independently associated with cognitive impairment and psychopathological problems during adolescence. The adverse effects of childhood separation on cognition and psychopathology varied by separation duration and separation forms. Age- and residence-specific associations between parent-child separation with cognition and psychopathology are observed.

Dance activity interventions targeting cognitive functioning in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: A meta-analysis.

Objectives: To comprehensively determine the effect of dance activities on the cognitive functions and its sub-domains of older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: We obtained data from PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, China national knowledge infrastructure, Wanfang data, and VIP databases from 2017/01/01 to 2022/03/01. We included trials of older adults with MCI that underwent dance activity intervention and fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Two researchers independently assessed the quality of the study using the Cochrane risk of the bias assessment tool. Meta-analysis was performed when data were available, with further subgroup analysis, using Review Manager 5.4, and sensitivity analysis was performed using Stata software 15.1. Results: Search terms yielded 183 articles, of which 12 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. This included 7 high-quality studies and 5 medium-quality studies. A total of 820 older adults were analyzed. Results showed that dance activity had beneficial effects for global cognition [SMDMMSE = 0.65, 95% CIMMSE (0.20, 1.09), p MMSE = 0.004; SMDMoCA = 0.87, 95% CIMoCA (0.44, 1.29), p MoCA < 0.0001], memory [SMD = 0.61, 95% CI (0.35, 0.88), p < 0.00001], visuospatial function [SMD = -0.39, 95% CI (-0.60, -0.19), p = 0.0002], cognitive flexibility [SMD = -0.31, 95% CI (-0.52, -0.11), p = 0.003], attention [SMD = 0.34, 95% CI (0.07, 0.61), p = 0.01], and balance [SMD = 1.25, 95% CI (0.06, 2.44), p = 0.04]. Further subgroup analysis showed that open-skill dance activity (OSDA) was more effective in promoting global cognition in older adults with MCI than closed-skill dance activity (CSDA) because of the different stimulation provided by the two types of dance activities in the brain regions of the older adults (p = 0.0002). It could be speculated that dance activity improved cognitive function mainly by affecting the microstructure and function of the cingulate tract, hippocampus, cardiovascular function, and other brain areas of older adults with MCI. Conclusion: Dance activities can significantly improve global cognition, memory, visuospatial function, cognitive flexibility, attention, and balance in older adults with MCI. However, more trials with rigorous study designs are necessary to provide more concrete evidence in the future.

Casual Associations and Shape Between Prepuberty Body Mass Index and Early Onset of Puberty: A Mendelian Randomization and Dose-Response Relationship Analysis.

Background: There is an ongoing controversial issue regarding whether onset of puberty is related to childhood BMI. Objectives: This study aims at investigating the causal association and its shape between prepuberty BMI and early puberty onset. Methods: Breast development and testicular volume were assessed annually from a population-based prospective cohort of 997 children for consecutive years by professional endocrinologists. Seventeen puberty- and BMI-related SNPs were selected to calculate the polygenic risk score. The two-stage least square method was used to assess and confirm causal effects. A dose-response association between prepuberty BMI and early puberty onset was conducted by using restricted cubic spline Cox regression. Results: After adjusting for covariates, prepuberty BMI was positively associated with early thelarche among girls (coefficients = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.29). A non-linear model suggested an inverted U-shaped relationship between prepuberty BMI and risk for early thelarche (χ2 = 276.3, p < 0.001). The risk for early thelarche increased rapidly from prepuberty BMI at 15.70 kg/m2 (P25) to 20.75 kg/m2 (P85) and gradually decreased afterward. Compared with the P25 of prepuberty BMI, the HRs (95% CI) for early thelarche were 5.08 (1.15, 8.55), 4.48 (1.02, 7.74), 10.15 (3.93, 17.50), and 8.43 (1.91, 13.71) for percentiles P25-P50, P50-P75, P75-P85, and ≥P85 of BMI categories, respectively. In boys, compared with the P25 of prepuberty BMI, boys with BMI between P25 and P50 showed an increased risk of early puberty (HR: 3.94, 95% CI: 1.44, 6.80). Conclusions: Prepuberty BMI may serve the purpose of identifying the girls at higher risk of early thelarche, which could assist in the adaptation of prevention and intervention strategies targeting childhood obesity. The findings emphasize a non-linear correlation between prepuberty BMI and early puberty onset.

Inflammatory burden in adolescents with prolonged parent-child separation.

BACKGROUND: Prolonged parent-child separation is associated with a broad array of poor developmental outcomes. A potential pathway may be through changes in inflammatory processes. However, relatively little is known about the relationship between parent-child separation pattern (timing and duration) and inflammatory burden. The aim of this study was to investigate whether parent-child separation since birth is associated with inflammatory burden in adolescents. METHODS: A total of 574 adolescents (mean age 12.07 years, SD: 0.62) were enrolled from rural areas of Chizhou, Anhui Province, China. Parent-child separation was reported mainly by primary caregivers, and other adverse childhood adversities (ACEs) were derived from adolescents semi-structured interview or questionnaire. Blood samples were collected from venepuncture for C-reactive protein (CRP) as well as soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR). RESULTS: Nearly 40% (232/574) participants experienced parent-child separation, among which more than 1 of 4 persistently separated from both parents since birth. Both CRP and suPAR levels were significantly higher among adolescents persistently separated from both parents, compared with those who did not separate from both parents (CRP: 1.75 vs. 1.36 mg/L, P < 0.001; suPAR: 2.85 ng/mL vs. 2.55 ng/mL, P < 0.001). After adjusted for demographic covariates, body mass index, ACEs as well as parental characteristics, persistent parent-child separation was associated with elevated suPAR (B = 0.30; 95% CI, 0.12-0.48) and CRP (B = 1.34; 95% CI, 1.02-1.75). No similar associations were observed between inflammatory burden with current or early childhood parent-child separation groups. Adolescents who exposed to persistent parent-child separation were more likely to have elevated suPAR levels even if they did not have elevated CRP levels (aOR, 4.26, 95% CI, 1.23-14.80; P = 0.022). CONCLUSION: Elevated inflammatory burden observed in persistent parent-child separation adolescents highlights the need to support children and adolescents undergoing separation from both parents in order to minimize the long-term impact on disease vulnerability.

Application of life course theoretical models in the relationship between exposure to early life adversity and psychopathology symptoms / 中国学校卫生

Abstract@#Early life adversity is related to multiple forms of psychopathology throughout the lifespan. However, relatively little is known about the way in which the characteristics of adversity influence subsequent mental health outcomes. The development of life course theoretical models provides a fresh perspective that aims to determine the causal association between early adversity and psychopathology. This article reviews research studies which applied one or more theoretical models, including the sensitive period, risk accumulation, risk chain, and recency models, to capture the relationship between exposure to early life adversity and psychopathology, so as to identify how early interventions can be improved.

Association between dietary patterns and central precocious puberty in girls / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To explore the relationship between dietary patterns and central precocious puberty in children, and to provide a scientific basis for dietary prevention of precocious puberty.@*Methods@#A case-control study was conducted, among 35 newly diagnosed central precocious puberty girls from May to December 2019 as the case group, and 70 healthy girls with normal development as the control group. Physical development examination, parent questionnaire survey and child interview were carried out. Dietary information was assessed using a simplified food frequency questionnaire(FFQ). Principal component analysis was used to identify children s dietary patterns, and multiple Logistic regression was used to assess the association between dietary patterns and precocious puberty.@*Results@#Three different dietary patterns have been established, namely "snack and processed food type", "animal protein type" and "nutritional tonic type" dietary patterns, respectively. After adjusting for covariates such as age and BMI, Logistic regression analysis showed that the "snack and processed food type" dietary pattern was positively correlated with precocious puberty(OR=10.81, 95%CI=2.59-45.15, P<0.01). There was a negative correlation between "animal protein type" and precocious puberty(OR=0.24, 95%CI=0.06-0.91, P=0.04), while the association between "nutritive tonic" and precocious puberty was not statistically significant(OR=0.28, 95%CI=0.07-1.05, P=0.06).@*Conclusion@#Children s dietary patterns were related to precocious puberty." Snack and processed food "dietary pattern with a high intake of fried foods, puffed foods, foods containing preservatives or pigments, western fast foods, chocolate and products, was closely related to central precocious puberty.

Interaction effects between childhood emotional overeating and polygenic influences on pubertal timing and tempo / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To explore the interaction effects and possible sex differences in childhood emotional overeating and polygenic influences on adolescent pubertal timing and tempo.@*Methods@#In March 2016 (T0), all participants were recruited from grades 1 to 3 from two primary school of Bengbu, Anhui Province using cluster sampling, and follow up surveys were conducted once per year (T1, T2, T3). Emotional overeating was assessed at T1 and pubertal development was assessed annually (breast Tanner stage in girls and testicular volume in boys). The nonlinear growth model was used to estimate pubertal timing and tempo. Polygenic risk scores were calculated based on 17 SNPs for early pubertal timing. Hierarchical linear regression was performed to examine the interaction effects between childhood emotional overeating and polygenic risk scores on pubertal timing and tempo.@*Results@#The complete data of 896 children were analyzed, including 373 boys (41.60%) and 523 girls (58.40%). A total of 203 (22.7%) children reported emotional overeating behavior at T1. After adjusting for several variables including early life adversity, delivery mode, and birthweight, only emotional overeating was associated with accelerated pubertal tempo among girls with a high genetic risk (B=0.19, 95%CI=0.07~0.32， P<0.01), although there was no association with pubertal timing (B=0.14, 95%CI=-0.12~0.41，P=0.28). In girls with a low genetic risk and boys, no evidence was found to support interaction effects between childhood emotional overeating and polygenic influences on pubertal timing and tempo (P＞0.05).@*Conclusion@#Emotional overeating was associated with a faster pubertal tempo in girls who had a high genetic risk of early pubertal development.