scholarly journals NeuroSmog: Determining the Impact of Air Pollution on the Developing Brain: Project Protocol

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 310
Author(s):  
Iana Markevych ◽  
Natasza Orlov ◽  
James Grellier ◽  
Katarzyna Kaczmarek-Majer ◽  
Małgorzata Lipowska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Airborne Particulate Matter ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Monitoring Networks ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Outcomes ◽  
Psychological Assessments ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
The Impact

Exposure to airborne particulate matter (PM) may affect neurodevelopmental outcomes in children. The mechanisms underlying these relationships are not currently known. We aim to assess whether PM affects the developing brains of schoolchildren in Poland, a country characterized by high levels of PM pollution. Children aged from 10 to 13 years (n = 800) are recruited to participate in this case–control study. Cases (children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)) are being recruited by field psychologists. Population-based controls are being sampled from schools. The study area comprises 18 towns in southern Poland characterized by wide-ranging levels of PM. Comprehensive psychological assessments are conducted to assess cognitive and social functioning. Participants undergo structural, diffusion-weighted, task, and resting-state magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). PM concentrations are estimated using land use regression models, incorporating information from air monitoring networks, dispersion models, and characteristics of roads and other land cover types. The estimated concentrations will be assigned to the prenatal and postnatal residential and preschool/school addresses of the study participants. We will assess whether long-term exposure to PM affects brain function, structure, and connectivity in healthy children and in those diagnosed with ADHD. This study will provide novel, in-depth understanding of the neurodevelopmental effects of PM pollution.

scholarly journals NeuroSmog: Determining the impact of air pollution on the developing brain: project protocol

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iana Markevych ◽  
Natasza D Orlov ◽  
James Grellier ◽  
Katarzyna Kaczmarek Majer ◽  
Malgorzata Lipowska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Airborne Particulate Matter ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Monitoring Networks ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Outcomes ◽  
Psychological Assessments ◽  
Particulate Air Pollution ◽  
Background Exposure ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Exposure to airborne particulate matter (PM) may affect neurodevelopmental outcomes in children. The mechanisms underlying these relationships are not currently known. We aim to assess whether PM affects the developing brains of schoolchildren in Poland, a European country characterized by very high levels of particulate air pollution. Methods Between 2020 and 2022, 800 children aged 10 to 13 years are being recruited as participants in a case-control study. Cases (children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)) are being recruited from psychology clinics. Population-based controls are being sampled from schools. The study area comprises 18 towns in southern Poland characterized by wide-ranging levels of PM. Comprehensive psychological assessments are being conducted to assess cognitive and social functioning. Cases and controls undergo MRI including T1, T2 and MP2RAGE structural imaging, task (Go/NoGo) and resting-state MRI, and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Concentrations of PM are being assessed using land use regression models, which incorporate data from air monitoring networks, dispersion models, and characteristics of roads and other land cover types. The estimated concentrations will be assigned to prenatal and postnatal residential and preschool/school addresses of all study subjects. We will assess whether long-term exposure to outdoor PM affects brain function, structure, and connectivity in healthy children and those diagnosed with ADHD. Results and Discussion This comprehensive study will provide novel, in-depth understanding of the neurodevelopmental effects of air pollution.

scholarly journals Clinical and social factors associated with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder medication use: population-based longitudinal study

2014 ◽  
Vol 205 (4) ◽  
pp. 291-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cédric Galéra ◽  
Jean-Baptiste Pingault ◽  
Grégory Michel ◽  
Manuel-Pierre Bouvard ◽  
Maria Melchior ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Psychiatric Comorbidity ◽  
Medication Use ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Social Characteristics ◽  
Adhd Medication ◽  
Social Variables ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundThe impact of longitudinal psychiatric comorbidity, parenting and social characteristics on attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication use is still poorly understood.AimsTo assess the baseline and longitudinal influences of behavioural and environmental factors on ADHD medication use.MethodSurvival regressions with time-dependent covariates were used to model data from a population-based longitudinal birth cohort. The sample (n = 1920) was assessed from age 5 months to 10 years. Measures of children's psychiatric symptoms, parenting practices and social characteristics available at baseline and during follow-up were used to identify individual and family-level features associated with subsequent use of ADHD medication.ResultsUse of ADHD medication ranged from 0.2 to 8.6% between ages 3.5 to 10 years. Hyperactivity–inattention was the strongest predictor of medication use (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.75, 95% CI 2.35–3.22). Among all social variables examined, low maternal education increased the likelihood of medication use (HR = 2.09, 95% CI 1.38–3.18) whereas immigrant status lowered this likelihood (HR = 0.40, 95% CI 0.17–0.92).ConclusionsBeyond ADHD symptoms, the likelihood of receiving ADHD medication is predicted by social variables and not by psychiatric comorbidity or by parenting. This emphasises the need to improve global interventions by offering the same therapeutic opportunities (including medication) as those received by the rest of the population to some subgroups (i.e. immigrants) and by diminishing possible unnecessary prescriptions.

scholarly journals Urinary aquaporin-2 excretion in nocturnal enuresis

2001 ◽  
pp. 435-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Radetti ◽  
C Paganini ◽  
F Rigon ◽  
L Gentili ◽  
U Gebert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urinary Excretion ◽  
Nocturnal Enuresis ◽  
Plasma Osmolality ◽  
Urine Osmolality ◽  
Posterior Lobe ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Serum Concentrations ◽  
Aquaporin 2 ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽  
Study Participants

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of the arginine vasopressin (AVP)-aquaporin-2 (AQP-2) axis in the pathogenesis of nocturnal enuresis. STUDY PARTICIPANTS: Twelve children (seven male and five female), aged 11.6+/-4.3 (6.7-15.6) years, suffering from primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis and 12 healthy children, matched for sex and age. Enuretic children were further subdivided into responders and non-responders to treatment with 1-desamino-8-d-AVP (DDAVP). METHODS: Serum concentrations of AVP, and plasma and urine osmolality were measured at night (0100, 0400 and 0700 h), together with nocturnal urinary excretion of AQP-2 (2000-0800 h). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the pituitary gland was carried out to evaluate the amount of AVP stored in the posthypophysis. RESULTS: Mean AVP serum concentrations were similar in patients and controls. Urinary AQP-2 was also similar in patients and controls, but responders had a significantly lower level of AQP-2 than non-responders (P<0.005). Plasma osmolality was greater in patients than in controls (P<0.001), whereas urinary osmolality was similar in both groups. No difference in the ratio of the signal intensity of the posterior lobe of the hypophysis to that of the pons (AVP content) was found between patients and controls or between responders and non-responders. CONCLUSION: A decreased urinary excretion of AQP-2 is associated with, and seems to have a role in, nocturnal enuresis, at least in some children, and this could also explain why only some of them respond to DDAVP treatment.

scholarly journals Blood Immunoproteasome Activity Is Regulated by Sex, Age and in Chronic Inflammatory Diseases: A First Population-Based Study

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 3336
Author(s):  
Ilona Elisabeth Kammerl ◽  
Claudia Flexeder ◽  
Stefan Karrasch ◽  
Barbara Thorand ◽  
Margit Heier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Sites ◽  
Mononuclear Cells ◽  
Inflammatory Diseases ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Chronic Inflammatory Disease ◽  
Chronic Obstructive ◽  
Peripheral Blood Mononuclear ◽  
Chronic Inflammatory Diseases ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
The Impact

Dysfunction of the immunoproteasome has been implicated in cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. Its potential as a biomarker for predicting disease stages, however, has not been investigated so far and population-based analyses on the impact of sex and age are missing. We here analyzed the activity of all six catalytic sites of the proteasome in isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from 873 study participants of the KORA FF4 study using activity-based probes. The activity of the immuno- and standard proteasome correlated clearly with elevated leukocyte counts of study participants. Unexpectedly, we observed a strong sex dimorphism for proteasome activity with significantly lower immunoproteasome activity in women. In aging, almost all catalytic activities of the proteasome were activated in aged women while maintained upon aging in men. We also noted distinct sex-related activation patterns of standard and immunoproteasome active sites in chronic inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, asthma, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as determined by multiple linear regression modeling. Our data thus provides a conceptual framework for future analysis of immunoproteasome function as a bio-marker for chronic inflammatory disease development and progression.

scholarly journals Are changes in ADHD course reflected in differences in IQ and executive functioning from childhood to young adulthood?

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica C. Agnew-Blais ◽  
Guilherme V. Polanczyk ◽  
Andrea Danese ◽  
Jasmin Wertz ◽  
Terrie E. Moffitt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Twin Study ◽  
Late Onset ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Developmental Trajectory ◽  
Control Task ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Longitudinal Twin Study ◽  
Study Participants

Abstract Background Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with poorer cognitive functioning. We used a developmental, genetically-sensitive approach to examine intelligence quotient (IQ) from early childhood to young adulthood among those with different ADHD courses to investigate whether changes in ADHD were reflected in differences in IQ. We also examined executive functioning in childhood and young adulthood among different ADHD courses. Methods Study participants were part of the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a population-based birth cohort of 2232 twins. We assessed ADHD in childhood (ages 5, 7, 10 and 12) and young adulthood (age 18). We examined ADHD course as reflected by remission, persistence and late-onset. IQ was evaluated at ages 5, 12 and 18, and executive functioning at ages 5 and 18. Results ADHD groups showed deficits in IQ across development compared to controls; those with persistent ADHD showed the greatest deficit, followed by remitted and late-onset. ADHD groups did not differ from controls in developmental trajectory of IQ, suggesting changes in ADHD were not reflected in IQ. All ADHD groups performed more poorly on executive functioning tasks at ages 5 and 18; persisters and remitters differed only on an inhibitory control task at age 18. Conclusions Differences in ADHD course – persistence, remission and late-onset – were not directly reflected in changes in IQ. Instead, having ADHD at any point across development was associated with lower average IQ and poorer executive functioning. Our finding that individuals with persistent ADHD have poorer response inhibition than those who remitted requires replication.

scholarly journals Measurement of carbonaceous aerosol with different sampling configurations and frequencies

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 2639-2648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Cheng ◽  
K.-B. He
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Chemical Speciation ◽  
Fine Particulate Matter ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Airborne Particulate Matter ◽  
Carbonaceous Aerosol ◽  
Monitoring Networks ◽  
Quartz Filter ◽  
Sampling Duration ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. A common approach for measuring the mass of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in airborne particulate matter involves collection on a quartz fiber filter and subsequent thermal–optical analysis. Although having been widely used in aerosol studies and in PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) chemical speciation monitoring networks in particular, this measurement approach is prone to several types of artifacts, such as the positive sampling artifact caused by the adsorption of gaseous organic compounds onto the quartz filter, the negative sampling artifact due to the evaporation of OC from the collected particles and the analytical artifact in the thermal–optical determination of OC and EC (which is strongly associated with the transformation of OC into char OC and typically results in an underestimation of EC). The presence of these artifacts introduces substantial uncertainties to observational data on OC and EC and consequently limits our ability to evaluate OC and EC estimations in air quality models. In this study, the influence of sampling frequency on the measurement of OC and EC was investigated based on PM2.5 samples collected in Beijing, China. Our results suggest that the negative sampling artifact of a bare quartz filter could be remarkably enhanced due to the uptake of water vapor by the filter medium. We also demonstrate that increasing sampling duration does not necessarily reduce the impact of positive sampling artifact, although it will enhance the analytical artifact. Due to the effect of the analytical artifact, EC concentrations of 48 h averaged samples were about 15 % lower than results from 24 h averaged ones. In addition, it was found that with the increase of sampling duration, EC results exhibited a stronger dependence on the charring correction method and, meanwhile, optical attenuation (ATN) of EC (retrieved from the carbon analyzer) was more significantly biased by the shadowing effect. Results from this study will be useful for the design of China's PM2.5 chemical speciation monitoring network, which can be expected to be inaugurated in the near future.

scholarly journals Increased Alopecia Areata Risk in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and the Impact of Methylphenidate Use: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1286
Author(s):  
Hsing-Ying Ho ◽  
Chih-Kai Wong ◽  
Szu-Yuan Wu ◽  
Ray C. Hsiao ◽  
Yi-Lung Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Alopecia Areata ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Cox Regression ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Children With Adhd ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Health Database ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
The Impact

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease that causes sudden hair loss. Although few studies have reported the association between AA and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the impact of methylphenidate (MPH) on AA has not been examined. This study examined whether AA risk is higher in children with ADHD than in those without ADHD as well as the impact of MPH use on AA risk in children with ADHD. From the Taiwan Maternal and Child Health Database, we enrolled all 1,750,456 newborns from 2004 to 2017 in Taiwan. Of them, 90,016 children received a diagnosis of ADHD whereas the remaining 1,660,440 did not. To compare AA risk in ADHD and the impact of MPH treatment on it, multiple Cox regression with adjustments for covariates (i.e., age, sex, and psychiatric comorbidities) was performed. The results indicated that 88 (0.098%) children with ADHD and 1191 (0.072%) children without ADHD had AA. Nevertheless, after adjustment for the covariates, AA risk was higher in children with ADHD than in those without ADHD (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 1.30, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04–1.64). Our data indicated a considerable reduction in AA risk (aHR: 0.64) among children with ADHD who received MPH than among those who did not receive MPH; however, this difference was nonsignificant, indicated by a wide 95% CI (0.32–1.25). In conclusion, ADHD and AA may share some underlying mechanisms.

Hospitalization rates associated with hepatitis B and HIV co-infection, age and sex in a population-based cohort of people diagnosed with hepatitis C

2010 ◽  
Vol 139 (8) ◽  
pp. 1151-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. F. GIDDING ◽  
J. AMIN ◽  
G. J. DORE ◽  
M. G. LAW
Keyword(s):  
Hepatitis C ◽  
Hepatitis B ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Infection Age ◽  
Hospitalization Rates ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Rate Ratios ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
The Impact

SUMMARYTo determine the extent age, sex and co-infection affect morbidity in people infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), we performed a population-based study linking HCV notifications in New South Wales, Australia with their hospital (July 2000 to June 2006), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HIV notification, and death records. Poisson models were used to calculate hospitalization rate ratios (RRs) for all-cause, illicit drug and liver-related admissions. Co-infection RRs were used to estimate attributable risk (AR). The 86 501 people notified with HCV contributed 422 761 person-years of observation; 0·8% had HIV, 3·7% HBV, and 0·04% had both. RRs for males were equal to or lower than for females in younger ages, but higher in older ages (Pfor interaction ⩽0·013). HBV/HIV co-infection resulted in ARs of over 70% for liver disease and 30–60% otherwise. However, at the cohort level the impact was minimal (population ARs 1·3–8·7%). Our findings highlight the importance and success of public health measures, such as needle and syringe exchange programmes, which have helped to minimize the prevalence of co-infection in Australia. The findings also suggest that the age of study participants needs to be considered whenever the burden of HCV-related morbidity is reported by sex. The results are likely to be representative of patterns in hospital-related morbidity for the entire HCV-infected population in Australia and the ARs generalizable to other developed countries.

scholarly journals Association between Exposure of Young Children to Procedures Requiring General Anesthesia and Learning and Behavioral Outcomes in a Population-based Birth Cohort

2017 ◽  
Vol 127 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danqing Hu ◽  
Randall P. Flick ◽  
Michael J. Zaccariello ◽  
Robert C. Colligan ◽  
Slavica K. Katusic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
General Anesthesia ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Outcomes ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Multiple Exposures

Abstract Background Exposure of young animals to general anesthesia causes neurodegeneration and lasting behavioral abnormalities; whether these findings translate to children remains unclear. This study used a population-based birth cohort to test the hypothesis that multiple, but not single, exposures to procedures requiring general anesthesia before age 3 yr are associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Methods A retrospective study cohort was assembled from children born in Olmsted County, Minnesota, from 1996 to 2000 (inclusive). Propensity matching selected children exposed and not exposed to general anesthesia before age 3 yr. Outcomes ascertained via medical and school records included learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and group-administered ability and achievement tests. Analysis methods included proportional hazard regression models and mixed linear models. Results For the 116 multiply exposed, 457 singly exposed, and 463 unexposed children analyzed, multiple, but not single, exposures were associated with an increased frequency of both learning disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (hazard ratio for learning disabilities = 2.17 [95% CI, 1.32 to 3.59], unexposed as reference). Multiple exposures were associated with decreases in both cognitive ability and academic achievement. Single exposures were associated with modest decreases in reading and language achievement but not cognitive ability. Conclusions These findings in children anesthetized with modern techniques largely confirm those found in an older birth cohort and provide additional evidence that children with multiple exposures are more likely to develop adverse outcomes related to learning and attention. Although a robust association was observed, these data do not determine whether anesthesia per se is causal.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document