Teens come 'jet lagged' to school: Shifting sleeping patterns at weekends

September 15, 2017

Science Daily/Örebro University

A lack of sleep is associated with more absence and teens turn up jet lagged to school on Mondays, as shown in new research.

"My research is about understanding young people's sleeping patterns and what factors are linked to these. I am interested in why so many young people do not get enough sleep and what can be done about it," says Serena Bauducco, linked to the School of Law, Psychology and Social Work at Örebro University.

She has now presented her thesis showing that for teens who do not get enough sleep, their mental well-being is affected. Their sleep routines are not as good and they are more stressed and worried about school than those who get the sleep they need. These young people also bring their mobile phone or computer to bed to a greater extent than others.

In her thesis, Serena Bauducco also shows that problems with sleep are directly linked to a higher degree of absence from school.

"Those teens that showed symptoms of difficulties sleeping had three times as much absence than those who did not. That is quite a lot."

"We also checked other things that may be related to a high level of absence -- for example bullying, depression and anxiety. But the correlation between difficulties sleeping and why they did not go to school was very clear."

Her thesis is based on a study of approximately 2,700 upper secondary school pupils, aged 13-16. The study shows that teens sleep longer at weekends. And because they go to bed later and wake up later, they turn up for school with a changed sleeping cycle. In other words -- they suffer from jet lag.

"As a result, they may be tired and grumpy at school. Studies show that not getting enough sleep may affect learning," says Serena Bauducco.

For some, it may take three to four days to get back into routine -- and by then, the school week is nearly over. But for the large majority, the weekend-related jet lag is not a big deal. Almost all teens in the study did suffer from jet lag, but a majority of them did get enough sleep during the week.

"Nevertheless, it was still 20 per cent of those taking part in the study that on the whole did not get enough sleep," says Serena Bauducco.

As children approach adolescence, they develop later evening habits and it takes them longer to get to sleep once they have gone to bed. This is a natural part of their development, but it can obviously still be difficult to manage.

Serena Bauducco and her research colleagues therefore set up a programme with upper secondary school pupils in Örebro. The aim was to help the teens to create routines for themselves to get good sleep. It included simple things like not bringing their mobile phone into bed with them, and not sending or responding to text messages after 10 o'clock at night. But it also emphasised the importance of planning their time to make room for both school, spare time -- and sleep.

"One outcome was that those who had previously got the least sleep, improved their sleeping routines. They were less stressed and slept better."

So can you draw the conclusion that those teens who do not sleep very well, also find school work difficult?

"It is not something that we have looked at, but there are other studies that point to that."

There are schools in Sweden that have introduced later school start times to adjust to teenagers' biological rhythm. Some researchers say that sleeping in may lead to pupils performing better at school.

Serena Bauducco thinks this is an interesting development.

"A later start to the school day would lead to so many other things; staff have to change their working hours, bus time tables need changing and so on. I still think it is worth a try, as long as you also evaluate the effects of such structural change."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170915164815.htm

Is ADHD really a sleep problem?

September 4, 2017

Science Daily/European College of Neuropsychopharmacology

Around 75 percent of children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also have sleep problems, but until now these have been thought to be separate issues. Now a in a pulling together of the latest research, Scientists are proposing of a new theory which says that much of ADHD may in fact be a problem associated with lack of regular circadian sleep.

Presenting the proposal at the ECNP Conference in Paris, Professor Sandra Kooij (Associate Professor of Psychiatry at VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam and founder and chair of the European Network Adult ADHD) said:

"There is extensive research showing that people with ADHD also tend to exhibit sleep problems. What we are doing here is taking this association to the next logical step: pulling all the work together leads us to say that, based on existing evidence, it looks very much like ADHD and circadian problems are intertwined in the majority of patients.

We believe this because the day and night rhythm is disturbed, the timing of several physical processes is disturbed, not only of sleep, but also of temperature, movement patterns, timing of meals, and so on.

If you review the evidence, it looks more and more like ADHD and sleeplessness are 2 sides of the same physiological and mental coin."

Professor Kooij laid out the links which have led to the synthesis:

• ·      In 75% of ADHD patients, the physiological sleep phase -- where people show the physiological signs associated with sleep, such as changes in the level of the sleep hormone melatonin, and changes in sleep-related movement -- is delayed by 1.5 hours.
• ·      Core body temperature changes associated with sleep are also delayed (reflecting melatonin changes)
• ·      Many sleep-related disorders are associated with ADHD, including restless-leg syndrome, sleep apnea, and the circadian rhythm disturbance, the delayed sleep phase syndrome
• ·      ADHD people often show greater alertness in the evening, which is the opposite of what is found in the general population
• ·      Many sufferers benefit from taking melatonin in the evening or bright light therapy in the morning, which can help reset the circadian rhythm
• ·      Recent work has shown that around 70% of adult ADHD sufferers show an oversensitivity of the eyes to light, leading many to wear sunglasses for long periods during the day -- which may reinforce the problems associated with a 'circadian shift'.
• ·      Chronic late sleep leads to a chronic sleep debt, associated with obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. This cascade of negative health consequences may in part be preventable by resetting the sleep rhythm.
•  

Professor Kooij continued:

"We are working to confirm this physical-mental relationship by finding biomarkers, such as Vitamin D levels, blood glucose, cortisol levels, 24 hour blood pressure, heart rate variability, and so on. If the connection is confirmed, it raises the intriguing question: does ADHD cause sleeplessness, or does sleeplessness cause ADHD? If the latter, then we may be able to treat some ADHD by non-pharmacological methods, such as changing light or sleep patterns, and prevent the negative impact of chronic sleep loss on health."

"We don't say that all ADHD problems are associated with these circadian patterns, but it looks increasingly likely that this is an important element."

Commenting, Professor Andreas Reif (University Hospital, Frankfurt, and leader of the EU CoCA project on ADHD ), who was not involved in the research, said "A disturbance of the circadian system may indeed be a core mechanism in ADHD, which could also link ADHD to other mental illnesses such as depression or bipolar disorder. But also beyond these pathophysiological considerations, sleep problems and abnormalities of circadian rhythms are a huge problem for many patients, heavily impacting on their social life" He continued "More research into the interconnections between ADHD and the "inner clock" is thus very relevant to improve patients' lives and to shed light on the disease mechanism of ADHD."

Note: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a group of behavioural symptoms with a neurobiological background, that include inattentiveness, hyperactivity, mood swings and impulsiveness. ADHD is highly heritable, and several differences in brain volume and function have been shown compared to controls. Symptoms of ADHD tend to be noticed at an early age and may become more noticeable when a child's circumstances change, such as when they start school. Most cases are diagnosed when children are 6 to 12 years old, but ADHD is also increasingly recognised in adults and older people, as ADHD can persist during the lifespan. People with ADHD often have additional problems, such as sleep, mood- and anxiety disorders. Between 2 and 5 % of children, adults and older people suffer from ADHD.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170904093443.htm

How reading and writing with your child boost more than just literacy

August 31, 2017

Science Daily/University of Washington

Children who read and write at home -- whether for assignments or just for fun -- are building long-term study and executive function skills, according to a new article

And while home literacy activities have already been associated with higher test scores, the new study shows these activities also provide students with tools for lifetime success.

"People who are good students tend to become good employees by being on time and putting forward their best work. All of the things that make you a good student also make you a good employee," said Nicole Alston-Abel, a Federal Way Public Schools psychologist who conducted the study while pursuing her doctorate at the UW. "If you make sure your child is academically engaged at home through third grade, kids go on autopilot -- they know how to 'do' school after that."

Alston-Abel analyzed data collected by co-author Virginia Berninger, UW emeritus professor of education, who conducted a five-year longitudinal study of academic performance in grades one through seven. As part of that study, Berninger sent home questionnaires asking parents if, and how, they helped their children with reading and writing; Alston-Abel, a former primary teacher, then compared the responses with students' academic performance.

The study published online in May in the Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation.

To collect a range of ages and school experiences, the study followed two groups of students in public elementary schools near the UW campus -- one cohort of students from first to fifth grade, the other from third to seventh grade. In all, 241 families participated over five years, completing annual questionnaires about how their child felt about reading and writing, what kinds of activities they engaged in at home, and what kind of help parents provided.

The demographics of both cohorts reflected neighborhoods around the university: About 85 percent of students were white or Asian American, and nearly three-fourths of parents had a bachelor's or advanced degree. A more diverse pool, Alston-Abel said, would be illuminating from a research perspective, but the basic message would remain the same: "The takeaway is still the importance of having a parent involved in developing the habits and models a child needs to be successful. It doesn't matter what socioeconomic status you come from."

Among the study's findings:

Students spent significantly more time at home reading than writing.

• ·      Without a specific assignment, children were more likely to choose reading as an activity than writing.
• ·      Parents provided more help with writing than with reading.
• ·      Starting at the intermediate grades (four and up), writing assignments increased, while parent help for writing declined more gradually than for reading.
• ·      About three-fourths of the fifth- and seventh-grade students used a computer for writing assignments.
• ·      Parents of those older students described their children as "fluent" in using a computer for writing homework for 19 percent of the fifth-graders, and 53 percent of the seventh-graders.
• ·      Parent ratings of their student's "self-regulation," or ability to stay on task and exhibit other study skills, were associated with academic performance, especially in reading comprehension and written expression.
•  

The authors point out that there is no direct causal link between the responses on the questionnaires and student achievement, but that some patterns do exist. For example, among students whose parents described their lack of focus or unwillingness to help set modest goals, academic achievement was generally lower than among students who stayed on task or learned to prioritize.

The study speaks to the need for a collaborative effort between parents and teachers, Alston-Abel said, especially among marginalized populations, and at a time when kindergarteners, according to Common Core State Standards, are expected to demonstrate basic reading and writing skills.

"Some kids come to kindergarten reading basic 'sight words,' and others don't know their letters. Add up the disadvantages and the demands of the curriculum, and it becomes very apparent that if you don't have a collaborative effort, for these same kids, that gap is always going to be there," Alston-Abel said.

Teachers can start by asking parents about how they support their child's learning at home -- like with the kinds of questionnaires used in the study. The responses to open-ended questions about what kinds of reading and writing a child does at home, why, and for how long each week, can then inform instruction. Meanwhile, parents who work with their children, Alston-Abel added, are introducing study skills like time management and impulse control.

The paper provides other tips for parents and teachers on how to work together to develop literacy and study skills. One way is to engage a child in writing at home through journals, a story to a family member, even an email or thank-you note. Another is to look for specific skills to help develop, such as spelling or reading comprehension, but pull back when the child appears able to accomplish more independently. And encourage any opportunity to read or write for fun.

"Academic success is an all-hands-on-deck enterprise," Alston-Abel said. "Teacher, parent and student all have a part to play. Fostering home-school partnerships that enhance and extend the experience of the learner can lead to life-long habits that foster success."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170831102149.htm

Children's sleep quality linked to mothers' insomnia

August 31, 2017

Science Daily/University of Warwick

Children sleep more poorly if their mothers suffer from insomnia symptoms – potentially affecting their mental wellbeing and development - according to new research. Nearly 200 school kids and their parents were studied, results indicating that children whose mothers have insomnia symptoms fall asleep later, get less sleep and spend less time in deep sleep. There appeared to be no link between fathers’ insomnia symptoms and children’s sleep.

Led by Dr Sakari Lemola from Warwick's Department of Psychology and Natalie Urfer-Maurer from the University of Basel, the study reported in Sleep Medicine shows that children of mothers with insomnia symptoms fall asleep later, get less sleep, and spend less time in deep sleep.

Analysing data from nearly 200 healthy 7-12 year old children and their parents, the researchers studied the relationship between the parents' insomnia symptoms and their children's sleep quality.

Sleep was assessed in the children during one night with in-home electroencephalography (EEG) -- a method used to record electrical activity in the brain and makes it possible to identify different sleep stages -- whilst parents reported their own insomnia symptoms and their children's sleep problems.

The researchers found that children whose mothers have insomnia symptoms fall asleep later, get less sleep, and spend less time in deep sleep, as measured by EEG.

However, there was no association between the fathers' sleep problems and children's sleep as measured by EEG.

The study suggests that the reason why children's sleep is more closely related to mothers' sleep than to fathers' sleep is that, on average, mothers still spend more time with their children than fathers -- and therefore, a stronger mutual influence is likely.

When parents reported their children's sleep, both mothers and fathers with sleep problems more often reported that their children had difficulties getting into bed and did not sleep enough.

Sleep plays an essential role for adults' and children's well-being. Short sleep and poor sleep quality can affect mental health, learning, memory, and school achievement in children. In adulthood around 30% of people suffer from disturbed sleep. The most common sleep disorder in adulthood is insomnia, which is defined by symptoms such as difficulty falling or staying asleep at night.

"These findings are important because sleep in childhood is essential for wellbeing and development," commented Dr Sakari Lemola. "The findings show that children's sleep has to be considered in the family context. In particular, the mother's sleep appears to be important for how well school-aged children sleep."

Several mechanisms could account for the relationship between parents' and children's sleep. First, children may learn sleep habits from their parents. Second, poor family functioning could affect both parents' and children's sleep. For instance, family fights in the evening before bedtime may prevent the whole family from a good night's sleep.

Third, it is possible that parents suffering from poor sleep show "selective attention" for their own as well as their children's sleep problems, leading to increased monitoring of sleep. It is possible that increased monitoring and attempts to control sleep may negatively affect sleep quality. Finally, children may also share genes with their parents that predispose them to poor sleep.

The research, 'The association of mothers' and fathers' insomnia symptoms with school-aged children's sleep assessed by parent report and in-home sleep-electroencephalography', is published in Sleep Medicine.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170831093352.htm

Exclusion from school can trigger long-term psychiatric illness

August 29, 2017

Science Daily/University of Exeter

Excluding children from school may lead to long-term psychiatric problems and psychological distress, a study of thousands of children has shown.

Research by the University of Exeter, published in the journal Psychological Medicine found that a new onset mental disorder may be a consequence of exclusion from school.

The study, also found that -- separately -- poor mental health can lead to exclusion from school.

Professor Tamsin Ford, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the University of Exeter's Medical School, warned that excluded children can develop a range of mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety as well as behavioural disturbance. The impact of excluding a child from school on their education and progress is often long term, and this work suggests that their mental health may also deteriorate.

The study is the most rigorous study of the impact of exclusion from school among the general population so far and included a standardised assessment of children's difficulties.

Consistently poor behaviour in the classroom is the main reason for school exclusion, with many students, mainly of secondary school age, facing repeated dismissal from school. Relatively few pupils are expelled from school, but Professor Ford warned that even temporary exclusions can amplify psychological distress.

Professor Ford, who practises as a child and adolescent psychiatrist as well as carrying out research, said identifying children who struggle in class could, if coupled with tailored support, prevent exclusion and improve their success at school, while exclusion might precipitate future mental disorder. These severe psychological difficulties are often persistent so could then require long-term clinical support by the NHS.

Professor Ford said: "For children who really struggle at school, exclusion can be a relief as it removes then from an unbearable situation with the result that on their return to school they will behave even more badly to escape again. As such, it becomes an entirely counterproductive disciplinary tool as for these children it encourages the very behaviour that it intends to punish. By avoiding exclusion and finding other solutions to poor behaviour, schools can help children's mental health in the future as well as their education."

Exclusion from school is commoner among boys, secondary school pupils, and those living in socio-economically deprived circumstances. Poor general health and learning disabilities, as well as having parents with mental illness, is also associated with exclusion.

The analysis by a team led by Professor Ford of responses from over 5000 school-aged children, their parents and their teachers in the British Child and Adolescent Mental Health Surveys collected by the Office of National Statistics on behalf of the Department of Health found that children with learning difficulties and mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, ADHD and autism spectrum conditions were more likely to be excluded from the classroom.

The research team found more children with mental disorder among those who had been excluded from school, when they followed up on their progress, than those who had not. The research team omitted children who had a previous mental disorder from this analysis.

The researchers concluded there is a 'bi-directional association' between psychological distress and exclusion: children with psychological distress and mental-health problems are more likely to be excluded in the first place but exclusion predicted increased levels of psychological distress three years later.

Claire Parker, a researcher at the University of Exeter Medical School, who carried out doctoral research on the project said:

"Although an exclusion from school may only last for a day or two, the impact and repercussions for the child and parents are much wider. Exclusion often marks a turning point during an ongoing difficult time for the child, parent and those trying to support the child in school."

Most research into the impact of exclusion has so far involved the study of individuals' experience and narratives from much smaller groups of people chosen because of their experience, which may not be so representative.

This study included an analysis of detailed questionnaires filled in by children parents and teachers as well as an assessment of disorder by child psychiatrists, drawing on data from over 5000 children in two linked surveys to allow the researchers to compare their responses with students who had been excluded. This sample from the general population included over 200 children who had experienced at least one exclusion.

The report concluded: "Support for children whose behaviour challenges school systems is important. Timely intervention may prevent exclusion from school as well as future psychopathology. A number of vulnerable children may face exclusion from school that might be avoided with suitable interventions."

Professor Ford added: "Given the established link between children's behaviour, classroom climate and teachers' mental health, burn out and self-efficacy, greater availability of timely support for children whose behaviour is challenging might also improve teachers' productivity and school effectiveness" .

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170829124507.htm

Brain stimulation for children with learning difficulties?

August 29, 2017

Science Daily/University of Oxford

Applying a brain stimulation method, which was previously suggested to enhance mathematical learning in healthy adults, may improve the performance of children with mathematical learning difficulties, according to an exploratory study.

The early stage, small-scale study, which has been published in Nature's open access journal Scientific Reports, involved twelve children between the ages of eight and eleven with learning difficulties in mathematics.

The study took place at Fairley House, a specialist day school for children with specific learning difficulties in London. After careful safety screening, the children were split into two groups of six. One group wore a cap attached to a light, battery-operated device through which painless low electrical current was applied over the left and right areas on the forehead, above regions of the brain called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. This region has been highlighted to play a role in mathematical learning.

The method of stimulation, which is known as transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS), was applied in nine 20-minute sessions over 5 weeks.

The other group wore an identical cap but did not receive any stimulation. Children did not detect reliably whether they received stimulation or not.

While wearing the caps, the children in both groups played a specially-designed numerical training game developed by the researchers, which integrates numerical learning and visuospatial components, with bodily movements, while the game changed its level adaptively based on the child's performance.

Immediately before and after the trial, the researchers also measured their performance in a mathematical test called MALT, a standardized diagnostic tool calibrated to the UK's national curriculum.

They found that stimulation yields a mixed effect in term of performance but improved the learning of children during the numerical training game, compared to those who wore the 'placebo' cap.

The results also hinted that the positive effects of tRNS have contributed to improved results on the MALT test.

These findings resemble previous studies on healthy adults that suggested tRNS over the same regions of the brain improved arithmetic learning compared to the control group, and generalised to related materials that were not specifically trained.

Professor Roi Cohen Kadosh of Oxford University's Department of Experimental Psychology, said: 'Compared to children without learning difficulties, children with learning difficulties have a brain that works differently. This is usually associated with poor learning, and in turn might impair typical brain development.

'Learning difficulties are usually treated by behavioural interventions, but these have shown little efficacy, especially in brains with neural atypicalities. Our research suggests that children with learning difficulties might benefit from combining their learning with tRNS, which has been suggested to improve learning and alter brain functions in healthy adults.'

But the authors warn that this study is just the first step from a scientific perspective. To understand the potential of tRNS for improving learning and cognition of children with learning difficulties, we need to run more studies, and see whether these results replicate. We also need to understand the neural mechanisms that support such improvements in learning.

'Maths is something that many people find challenging, and worries a lot of people so the potential for neuroscience to help those with difficulties to learn better is exciting but there are still a lot of ethical and scientific issues to explore,' says Professor Cohen Kadosh who also worked with Oxford neuroethicists to deal with such problems.

'It is also important to explore its impact on children from different educational and cultural backgrounds, and children with other developmental conditions, such as dyslexia or ADHD. This would allow a better understanding if such approach could be used in schools to help those with learning difficulties in the future.'

This type of study was first to take place in a school environment. Professor Cohen Kadosh said he hopes this trial will encourage other schools to take part in future neuroscientific research, but warned that members of the public should not try to use tRNS on themselves or on children.

'The trial was carried out by experts with years of training in brain stimulation and expertise in mathematical cognition, who did careful medical and safety screening before deciding if a child could take part in the study,' he said.

'We urge people not to buy devices claimed to achieve these or similar results -- do not try this at home!'

What this study shows:

• Indicators that children who received brain stimulation during numerical training showed better learning compared to those in the sham stimulation group.
• Hints that improvement induced by tRNS was associated with improvement in a standardized diagnostic mathematical test
• No children showed or reported minor or major side-effects
• Effects of brain stimulation during numerical training was specific to numerical abilities
•  

We should be aware that:

• ·      Brain stimulation at that stage should NOT be used in children with learning difficulties beyond experiments conducted by scientists.
• ·      NOT all children will benefit from this approach: We need to see a trial on a large sample size and heterogeneous population, and know if cognitive and neural factors could predict who would benefit from this approach.
• ·      This approach may NOT be safe for use in all children: There are conditions that make brain stimulation unsafe, and children need to have careful health and safety screening before receiving brain stimulation.
• ·      We should NOT use brain stimulation to enhance performance in typically developing children: We do not know its effect on children with typical abilities, and such approach in our view pose ethical problem, as there is a different benefit/risk ratio tRNS itself is NOT the only important factor: it must be combined with numerical training. Actually the numerical training game showed an improvement on maths performance that lasted 4 months later.
• ·      tRNS is NOT ready to be used as an intervention tool.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170829124756.htm

Depression affects the brains of males and females differently

New findings suggest that adolescent girls and boys might experience depression differently and that sex-specific treatments could be beneficial for adolescents

July 11, 2017

Science Daily/Frontiers

Depressed adolescents were exposed to happy or sad words and their brains imaged. Through this study, researchers found that depression has different effects on the brain activity of male and female patients in certain brain regions. The findings suggest that adolescent girls and boys may experience depression differently and that sex-specific treatments might be beneficial for adolescents.

When researchers in the UK exposed depressed adolescents to happy or sad words and imaged their brains, they found that depression has different effects on the brain activity of male and female patients in certain brain regions. The findings suggest that adolescent girls and boys might experience depression differently and that sex-specific treatments could be beneficial for adolescents.

Men and women appear to suffer from depression differently, and this is particularly striking in adolescents. By 15 years of age, girls are twice as likely to suffer from depression as boys. There are various possible reasons for this, including body image issues, hormonal fluctuations and genetic factors, where girls are more at risk of inheriting depression. However, differences between the sexes don't just involve the risk of experiencing depression, but also how the disorder manifests and its consequences.

"Men are more liable to suffer from persistent depression, whereas in women depression tends to be more episodic," explains Jie-Yu Chuang, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, and an author on the study, which was recently published in Frontiers in Psychiatry. "Compared with women, depressed men are also more likely to suffer serious consequences from their depression, such as substance abuse and suicide." Despite this, so far, most researchers have focused on depression in women, likely because it is more common.

This motivated Chuang and her colleagues to carry out this latest study to find differences between depressed men and women. They recruited adolescent volunteers for the study, who were aged between 11 and 18 years. This included 82 female and 24 male patients who suffered from depression, and 24 female and 10 male healthy volunteers. The researchers imaged the adolescents' brains using magnetic resonance imaging, while flashing happy, sad or neutral words on a screen in a specific order.

The volunteers pressed a button when certain types of words appeared and did not press the button when others appeared, and the researchers measured their brain activity throughout the experiment. When the researchers flashed certain combinations of words on the screen, they noticed that depression affects brain activity differently between boys and girls in brain regions such as the supramarginal gyrus and posterior cingulate.

So, what do these results mean? "Our finding suggests that early in adolescence, depression might affect the brain differently between boys and girls," explains Chuang. "Sex-specific treatment and prevention strategies for depression should be considered early in adolescence. Hopefully, these early interventions could alter the disease trajectory before things get worse."

The brain regions highlighted in the study have been previously linked to depression, but further work is needed to understand why they are affected differently in depressed boys, and if this is related to how boys experience and handle depression.

Because depression is more common in girls, the researchers were not able to recruit as many boys in this study, and future experiments should compare similar numbers of girls and boys for more representative results. Chuang and her colleagues would like to explore this phenomenon further. "I think it would be great to conduct a large longitudinal study addressing sex differences in depression from adolescence to adulthood."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170711085522.htm

Early weight gain in pregnancy correlates with childhood obesity, first study of its size shows

August 28, 2017

Science Daily/Obesity Society

Weight gain in early pregnancy has the greatest impact on infant size at birth, according to a new study. The study is the largest ever analysis of the effect that weight gain in early pregnancy has on infant size.

The study examined 16,218 pregnant mothers throughout the first, second and third trimesters in Tianjin, China to determine the risk of infants' size at birth. Results found weight gain early in pregnancy, before 24 weeks -- regardless of the weight gain later -- had the greatest impact on infant size. Infants born to women with weight gain that exceeds the 2009 Institute of Medicine guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy, prior to 24 weeks, were 2.5 times more likely to be born large.

Maternal obesity and weight gain in pregnancy have been strongly linked to the development of overweight and obesity in children, although few studies have examined in-depth gestational weight gain with infant birth weight and childhood obesity. "Obstetrician gynecologists need to begin to educate patients who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant on the implications of weight gain in pregnancy on infant outcomes and the development of childhood obesity," said Leanne M. Redman, PhD, FTOS, who led the study and serves as Associate Professor & Director of the Reproductive Endocrinology & Women's Health Lab at LSU' Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

Overall, women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant should understand the impact that weight gain has on both short and long-term health risks for their child. Since this period of early pregnancy could have the strongest influence on the development of increased adiposity in the child, it is the opportune time to initiate lifestyle interventions in pregnant women. "International clinicians, clinical researchers and pediatricians should care about this research as findings suggest attention to healthy weight gain early in gestation may be warranted," said TOS spokesperson Suzanne Phelan, PhD, Professor of Kinesiology, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

In an accompanying editorial published in Obesity, Cheryce L. Harrison, PhD discusses gestational weight gain and its association with infant birth weight, agreeing with the recent Obesity study. "These results validate previous literature in smaller cohorts while notably advancing this field of research in one of the largest, most well-defined mother-infant cohorts," said Dr. Harrison.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170828100800.htm

Is childhood obesity a psychological disorder?

Study uses fMRI to observe relationship between neurological activity and risk for obesity

August 22, 2017

Science Daily/Children's Hospital Los Angeles

A team of researchers, including senior investigator, Bradley Peterson, MD, director of the Institute for the Developing Mind at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, used fMRI to investigate neural responses to food cues in overweight compared with lean adolescents. The team observed that food stimuli activated regions of the brain associated with reward and emotion in all groups. However, adolescents at an increasing risk for obesity had progressively less neural activity in circuits of the brain that support self-regulation and attention.

"This study establishes that risk for obesity isn't driven exclusively by the absence or presence of urges to eat high-calorie foods, but also, and perhaps most importantly, by the ability to control those urges," said Peterson, who is also a professor at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.

The public health implications of childhood obesity are staggering. More than half of all adolescents in the U.S. are either overweight or obese. Children of overweight parents (2/3 of adults in the U.S.) already are or are likely to become overweight. Since excess weight has been linked to a myriad of health issues shown to limit human potential and add to the skyrocketing cost of healthcare, researchers are actively seeking novel approaches to understand better the causes of obesity and alter its trajectory. This study, recently reported in the journal NeuroImage, may offer such an approach.

"We wanted to use brain imaging to investigate a key question in obesity science: why do some people become obese, while others don't?" said Susan Carnell, PhD, assistant professor of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and first author on the study.

Of the 36 adolescents (ages 14 to 19 years) enrolled in the study, 10 were overweight/obese, 16 were lean but considered at high risk for obesity because they had overweight/obese mothers and 10 were lean/low risk since they had lean mothers. The adolescents underwent brain scanning using fMRI, while they viewed words that described high-fat foods, low-fat foods and non-food items. Then they rated their appetite in response to each word stimulus. Following the activity, all participants were offered a buffet that included low- and high-calorie foods -- to relate participants test responses to real-world behavior.

The investigators observed that after viewing food-related words, brain circuits that support reward and emotion were stimulated in all participants. In adolescents who were obese or who were lean but at high familial risk for obesity, they observed less activation in attention and self-regulation circuits.

Brain circuits that support attention and self-regulation showed the greatest activation in lean/low-risk adolescents, less activity in lean/high-risk participants and least activation in the overweight/obese group. Also, real world relevance mirrored fMRI findings -- food intake at the buffet was greatest in the overweight/obese participants, followed by the lean/high-risk adolescents and lowest in the lean/low-risk group.

"These findings suggest that interventions designed to stimulate the self-regulatory system in adolescents may provide a new approach for treating and preventing obesity," said Peterson.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170822092156.htm

Depression rates growing among adolescents, particularly girls

November 15, 2016

Science Daily/Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
The rate of adolescents reporting a recent bout of clinical depression grew by 37 percent over the decade ending in 2014, with one in six girls reporting an episode in the past year, new research suggests.

The findings, published online Nov. 14 in the journal Pediatrics, highlight a need to focus on the mental well-being of young people and match those in peril with mental health professionals.

"This shows us there are a growing number of untreated adolescents with depression and that we are making few inroads in getting mental health care to this population," says study leader Ramin Mojtabai, MD, PhD, MPH, a professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Bloomberg School. "It is imperative that we find ways to reach these teenagers and help them manage their depression."

Suicide rates have been increasing in recent years, particularly among adolescent girls and young women. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month reported that suicide rates among American middle school students -- those aged 10 to 14 -- were higher than rates of death from motor vehicle crashes in that age group.

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from the 2005 to 2014 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health on adolescents and young adults to examine trends in "major depressive episodes" over the previous year. Major depressive episodes, also known as clinical depression, occur when someone develops a depressed mood or a loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities along with other depressive symptoms consistently for at least two weeks.

Overall, 176,245 adolescents aged 12 to 17 and 180,459 adults aged 18 to 25 were involved in the annual study between 2005 and 2014. Participants were told about symptoms of depression and were asked whether they had experienced them in the prior year. In 2005, 8.7 percent of adolescents reported major depressive episodes in the past year; the figure was 11.3 percent in 2014. The percentage had remained relatively steady from 2005 to 2011, but grew from 2012 through 2014.

Among girls, the prevalence of major depressive episodes increased from 13.1 percent in 2005 to 17.3 percent in 2014. White adolescents and young adults were also more likely than non-whites to experience these episodes. Among young adults, the prevalence of these episodes grew from 8.8 percent in 2005 to 9.6 percent in 2014, though the increase was only found in those ages 18 to 20.

The findings were based only on self-reporting, not on clinical diagnoses. The researchers controlled for substance abuse and socioeconomic factors.

There were few significant changes in the use of mental health treatment among those adolescents and young adults with depression. In adolescents, after 2011, there were small increases in visits to specialty mental health providers, the use of inpatient and day treatment centers and medication. These increases, however, were not enough to keep up with the increases in those with clinical depression.

The increase in some treatment could be related to the expansion of health insurance under the Affordable Care Act and mental health parity legislation, though the future of health insurance expansion is in jeopardy following the recent election of a new U.S. President.

The researchers say it is unclear what is driving the rise in major depressive episodes, particularly among girls. They say adolescent girls may have been exposed to a greater degree of depression risk factors in recent years. Cyberbullying, for example, may have increased more in girls, as studies have shown that they use mobile phones more frequently and intensively than boys and problematic mobile phone use among young people has been linked to depressed mood.

The results coincided with a major economic downturn, however, there has not been an increase in the prevalence of clinical depression among adults over the period and this study found no increase among those age 21 to 25.

"The growing number of depressed adolescents and young adults who do not receive any mental health treatment calls for renewed outreach efforts, especially in school and college health centers, counseling services and pediatric practices, where many of the untreated adolescents and adults with depression may be detected and managed," Mojtabai says.

Science Daily/SOURCE :https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161115094549.htm