Parental food neophobia, feeding practices, and preschooler's food neophobia: A cross-sectional study in China.

This study explores the relationship between parental food neophobia, feeding practices, and preschoolers' food neophobia in China. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1616 pairs of preschoolers and their parents. Electronic questionnaires were conducted to collect information about social and demographic characteristics, scores of food neophobia among both children and their parents, parents' feeding patterns and children's dietary quality. RESULTS: Children's average food neophobia score was 23.73 ± 4.45. There was a positive correlation between parental food neophobia score (ß: 0.154; 95%CI: 0.113, 0.195), pressure to eat (ß: 0.694; 95%CI: 0.423, 0.964), postpartum breastfeeding initiation (ß: 0.010; 95%CI: 0.002, 0.018), and children's score of food neophobia. However, parental modeling (ß: -0.470; 95%CI: -0.732, -0.207) and the frequency of children eating with their families at home (ß: -0.407; 95%CI: -0.707, -0.108) were negatively associated with children's food neophobia scores. The consumption frequencies of vegetables (P < 0.001), fruits (P < 0.001), domestic animals and poultry (P < 0.01), aquatic products (P < 0.05), beans and their products (P < 0.01), eggs (P < 0.05) and nuts (P < 0.05) and children's dietary diversity score (P < 0.001) are negatively associated with children' food neophobia score. While the consumption frequencies of fast food (P < 0.001), sweets (P < 0.01) and puffed/fried food (P < 0.001) were positively associated with children's food neophobia. CONCLUSION: Chinese preschoolers' food neophobia needs more attention because children with high food neophobia tend to have lower dietary quality. Children whose parents have high-level food neophobia should be the focus of early prevention. Earlier postpartum breastfeeding, more use of parental modelling, less pressure to eat and higher frequency of children eating with families are helpful to reduce the incidence of children's food neophobia.

The norm of the Physical Activity afterschool Questionnaire for Preschooler (P-PAQ) in urban areas of China / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To establish the norm of the Physical Activity afterschool Questionnaire for Preschooler(P-PAQ) in urban areas of China, so as to provide a basis for graded guidance from the family perspective and to improve children s physical activity levels.@*Methods@#From October 2020 to January 2021, 6 267 children aged 3-6 years old were recruited from 40 kindergartens in eight cities across six major administrative regions by stratified cluster sampling, and the P-PAQ initially developed by the researchers of this study were completed by the primary caregivers. The questionnaire was administered to collect data relating to the amount of physical activity undertaken by the preschoolers, and the norm was determined by quartiles. Data relating to parental concepts of sports and parental behavior were assessed by calculating mean scores in order to establish the norm.@*Results@#Among preschoolers in urban areas, the M(P 25 ，P 75 ) of total physical activity time (min/day), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity time (min/day), outdoor time (min/day) and screen time (min/day) on school days outside kindergarten and on weekends were 84 (54,120), 22 (8,40), 12 (0,24) and 18 (6,30), and 170 (115,240), 60 (30,95), 90 (35,120) and 30 (20,60), respectively. When the score of parents sports concept and behavior (total score of 40) were≥34, 29-<34, 24-<29, <24, it was defined as four levels about above medium, medium, lower medium and lower, respectively. And for two dimensions，when the score of parental sports concept were ≥19, 17-<19, 15-<17, <15，and the score of parental behaviors were ≥16, 12-<16, 8-<12, <8, it was defined as four levels about upper medium, medium, lower medium and lower, respectively.@*Conclusion@#The norm of extracurricular activities among preschool children in Chinese cities has good representativeness and appropriate threshold values, which could provide a valuable reference for early assessment, as well as guidance in relation to out-of-school physical activity behaviors among children aged 3-6 years old.

Underdevelopment of gut microbiota in failure to thrive infants of up to 12 months of age.

Laboratory and clinical studies have revealed the importance of gut microbiota in children with severe pediatric pathological conditions such as severe acute malnutrition (SAM); however, under relatively milder conditions such as, failure to thrive (FTT), the role of the gut microbiota remains poorly characterized. Here, we analyzed stool samples from 54 subjects with a clinical diagnosis of failure to thrive (FTT), 49 preterm subjects with corrected normal growth (NFTT-pre), and 49 healthy subjects (NFTT) between 3-12 months of age using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We observed that the clinical condition of FTT, age, head circumference, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), and feeding methods significantly affected gut microbiota. The microbiota age of subjects was significantly correlated with their anthropomorphic features, and the FTT subjects exhibited underdeveloped gut microbiota characterized by a significantly decreased microbiota-for-age Z-score (MAZ). The FTT and NFTT-pre groups exhibited an obvious disrupted developmental trajectory of gut microbiota across age, and the development of their alpha diversities and the observed OTU and Shannon indices were inadequate, particularly in subjects with FTT. Moreover, sequential colonization and enrichment of bacteria such as Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus and most age-discriminatory bacterial taxa and their microbial functions were disorganized in FTT compared to that in NFTT. Our results revealed an underdevelopment of the gut microbiota in infants with failure to thrive that possesses potential clinical and practical importance.

Screen Time and Its Association with Vegetables, Fruits, Snacks and Sugary Sweetened Beverages Intake among Chinese Preschool Children in Changsha, Hunan Province: A Cross-Sectional Study.

(1) Introduction: Screen time may influence preschoolers' food consumption. However, there is limited evidence regarding preschoolers, especially in China. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between screen time and the consumption of vegetables, fruits, snacks, and sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs). (2) Methods: Participants (1567 caregivers) were recruited from six kindergartens in Hunan, China. Caregivers completed the questionnaire, which included the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and questions regarding their children's daily screen time. (3) Results: The mean screen time of preschoolers was 1.36 ± 1.26 h, and the proportion of children who spent more than one hour on screens was 54.3% in the overall sample. Children with longer screen time consumed vegetables and fruits less frequently, while having a higher consumption of snacks and SSBs. After adjustment of sociodemographic confounders, children's eating behaviors and parental feeding practices, the association of screen time with vegetables and SSBs still remained significant. (4) Conclusions: Screen time exposure needs to be monitored in preschool children, which was negatively associated with their consumption of vegetables and fruits, whereas it was positively associated with snacks and SSBs. Future research should focus more on the impact of screen time on children's unhealthy behaviors and dietary patterns.

A novel UBE2A splice site variant causing intellectual disability type Nascimento.

X-linked intellectual disability type Nascimento (XLID) is a rare disease caused by variants in the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2A gene (UBE2A). Patients with XLID have similar phenotypes, including speech impairments, severe intellectual disability, hearing loss, wide facies, synophrys, generalized hirsutism, and urogenital abnormalities. Till date, only two splice-site variants of the UBE2A gene have been observed in patients with X-linked ID type Nascimento. Here, we report the case of a Chinese boy with a syndrome clinically similar to XLID with speech impairment, severe intellectual disability, and moderate hearing loss. However, different characteristics were also present in the patient, including an inability to maintain his head in an upright posture. Both of the patient's palms have a single transverse palmar crease. Subsequent whole-exome sequencing revealed a novel splice site variant in UBE2A (c.241 + 1 G > A). Our study not only expands the variant spectrum and clinical characteristics of UBE2A deficiency syndrome but also provides clinical evidence for genetic diagnoses.

[Neurodevelopmental features of preterm infants at the corrected age of 1 year].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the neurodevelopmental level of preterm infants at the corrected age of 1 year and the effect of complications on neurodevelopment. METHODS: The clinical data and follow-up data of hospitalized preterm infants were retrospectively studied. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development was used to assess the neurodevelopmental level. Preterm infants were divided into groups according to gestational age, birth weight, and the presence or absence of complications. The mental development index (MDI) and psychomotor development index (PDI) were compared between groups. RESULTS: At the corrected age of 1 year, compared with the late preterm infants, the early preterm infants had significantly lower MDI and PDI (P<0.05) and significantly higher rates of retarded intellectual and psychomotor development (P<0.01). Compared with the normal birth weight group, the low birth weight group had significantly lower MDI and PDI (P<0.01) and significantly higher rates of retarded intellectual and psychomotor development (P<0.01). The preterm infants with hyperbilirubinemia, birth asphyxia or neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) had significantly lower MDI and PDI than those without such complications (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Lower gestational age and birth weight are associated with worse intellectual and psychomotor development in preterm infants. Complications, such as hyperbilirubinemia, birth asphyxia and NRDS, have adverse effects on neurodevelopment of preterm infants.

[Epidemiological analysis of 440 cases of respiratory adenovirus infections in children from the Suzhou area between 2006 and 2015].

OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiological characteristics of respiratory adenovirus (ADV) infections in children from the Suzhou area, China. METHODS: The clinical data of ADV-positive children out of 35 529 children with respiratory tract infections who were hospitalized in the Children's Hospital of Soochow University between January 2006 and December 2015 were retrospectively studied. RESULTS: Of the 35 529 children with respiratory tract infections, 440 (1.24%) were ADV-positive. There was no significant difference in the rate of ADV infections between boys and girls (1.18% vs 1.34%). The ADV infection rates of children at the age of <1 year old, 1-3 years old, 3-7 years old and 7-14 years old were 0.39% (71/18 002), 1.12% (103/9 191), 3.14% (201/6 398), and 3.35%( 65/1 938) respectively and the rate increased with age (P<0.01). The ADV infection rates in spring [1.85%(60/8 658)] and summer [2.20%(189/8 606)] were significantly higher than in autumn [0.30%(27/8 952)] and winter [0.69%(64/9 313)] (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The ADV infection rate is increased with age in the children from the Suzhou area, but it is not associated with gender. ADV infections are more common in spring and summer.

[Neurobehavioral development in preterm infants: a retrospective study of 181 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the results of Gesell Developmental Scale in follow-up of preterm infants and to determine possible high-risk factors for poor long-term neurological outcome. METHODS: A preterm infants' questionnaire was designed, and a retrospective study was conducted on the clinical data of 181 preterm infants (corrected age 2-12 months) and their mothers. The developmental quotient (DQ) scores were determined by the Gesell Developmental Scale and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with those with a birth weight (BW) of ≥1 500 g, the preterm infants with a BW of <1 500 g had significantly reduced DQ scores of adaptability, gross motor movement, and fine movement (P<0.05). Compared with those with a gestational age (GA) of ≥32 weeks, the preterm infants with a GA of <32 weeks had significantly reduced DQ scores of adaptability, gross motor movement, fine movement, and social contact (P<0.05). DQ scores on five Gesell subscales were significantly positively correlated with GA and BW (P<0.05). The DQ scores on Gesell subscales showed a significant negative correlation with severe complications in neonatal period (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: For preterm infants, BW <1 500 g and GA <32 weeks are high-risk factors for abnormal adaptability, gross motor movement, fine movement, and social contact, and this group of infants should be followed up closely. Severe complications in neonatal period may be associated with poor long-term neurological outcome and should be effectively prevented and treated.