Armenian Children Research Articles

A case–control study on pre-, peri-, and neonatal risk factors associated with autism spectrum disorder among Armenian children

We aimed to investigate the role of pre-, peri- and neonatal risk factors in the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among Armenian children with the goal of detecting and addressing modifiable risk factors to reduce ASD incidence. For this purpose a retrospective case–control study using a random proportional sample of Armenian children with ASD to assess associations between various factors and ASD was conducted. The study was approved by the local ethical committee, and parental written consent was obtained. A total of 168 children with ASD and 329 controls were included in the analysis. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that male gender, maternal weight gain, use of MgB6, self-reported stress during the pregnancy, pregnancy with complications, as well as use of labor-inducing drugs were associated with a significant increase in the odds of ASD, whereas Duphaston use during pregnancy, the longer interpregnancy interval and birth height were associated with decreased odds of ASD. These findings are pertinent as many identified factors may be preventable or modifiable, underscoring the importance of timely and appropriate public health strategies aimed at disease prevention in pregnant women to reduce ASD incidence.

Intermediary Translations of Children’s Literature in Armenian Periodicals of the 19th Century

This article is dedicated to the study of intermediary translations of children’s literature into Eastern Armenian in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. Juvenile Periodicals such as Aghbyur and Hasker were prominent publications during the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century and featured a wide range of literary works, including translations of foreign literature. This study is focused on the translations of English literature, however, other languages are also considered. These periodicals, along with others, were important sources of literature and education for Armenian children. They contributed to the development of Armenian children’s literature, fostered a love for reading, and played a vital role in preserving Armenian cultural identity. Additionally, Armenian authors and educators adapted and retold European children’s stories to make them more accessible and relatable to Armenian audiences. This practice allowed for the cultural exchange of ideas and the incorporation of foreign literature into the Armenian literary landscape.

Familial Mediterranean fever in Armenian children with inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) are inflammatory diseases with complex interactions among genetic, immune, and environmental factors. FMF is a monogenic autoinflammatory disease, characterized by recurrent febrile attacks and polyserositis, and is manifested mainly in childhood. FMF is widespread in Armenia. There are reports on the concurrent occurrence of FMF and IBD. MEFV gene mutations may have a disease-modifying effect on IBD. We have investigated the frequency of MEFV mutations and FMF in Armenian children with IBD and their influence on the clinical course. A total of 69 untreated IBD patients under 18 years of age were enrolled: 52.1% (36) had ulcerative colitis (UC), 21.7% (15) had Crohn's disease (CD), and 26.0% (18) had unclassified colitis (IBD-U). The frequency of FMF among them was 36.2% (25/69), and MEFV mutations were identified in 53.6% (37/69). The highest rate of MEFV mutations and FMF was in UC patients (61.1% and 41.6% respectively). In all, 56.7% (21/37) of IBD patients with MEFV mutations had M694V mutated alleles, mainly in compound heterozygous and heterozygous states. There were no associations in the group of IBD patients with coexisting FMF (25), either between any MEFV mutation and type of IBD or coexistence of FMF. Overall, 36.0% (9/25) of them developed VEO IBD and carried mainly the M694V mutation. We concluded that the carrier frequency of MEFV mutations among Armenian pediatric IBD patients was rather high (53.6%), especially for UC. It was suggested that the MEFV gene is not necessarily a susceptibility gene but most likely modifies the course of IBD. MEFV genetic testing was recommended for Armenian pediatric IBD patients, especially for VEO UC and IBD-U, atypical IBD course, or resistance to the conventional treatment. They should also be asked for isolated febrile attacks, recurrent arthritis, and family history, even in the absence of FMF typical symptoms, to rule out FMF and its complications.

ԹԱՐԳՄԱՆԱԿԱՆ ՄԱՆԿԱԳՐՈՒԹՅՈՒՆԸ ՀԱՅԿԱԿԱՆ ԱՌԱՋԻՆ ԱՇԱԿԵՐՏԱԿԱՆ ՊԱՐԲԵՐԱԿԱՆՆԵՐՈՒՄ / TRANSLATED CHILDREN’S LITERATURE IN THE FIRST ARMENIAN CHILDREN’S PERIODICALS

This article aims to examine the role and impact of translated literature as reflected in the first Armenian children's and youth periodicals ('St. Burastan. Sahakyan,’ 1851- 1853, Constantinople; ‘Tutak Haykazian,’ 1854-1855; ‘Erkaser,’ 1855, Smyrna). The primary objective is to identify and analyze the content of materials translated for teenage readers. This study serves as an extension of our comprehensive research on children's literature translated in Armenian publications during the pre-Soviet era. The methodology employed in this study incorporates both qualitative and quantitative analyses, along with a historical approach. As part of the comparative analysis, reprints and individual translations of literary works were also examined, as they play a crucial role in shaping independent children's and young adult literature. Translated literature significantly influenced the literary and social landscape of Armenian-European interactions, aiding in the dissemination and preservation of global literary heritage. The Armenian intelligentsia of the time believed that national education and awakening required the adoption and spread of the finest European Enlightenment ideals among Armenian children and adolescents. This goal was pursued through the translation of ideologically relevant literature, which was published in the newly emerging periodicals aimed at students.

Simplification principles and child language development in Armenian

At certain stages of their general cognitive development and language acquisition, children apparently employ their innately growing (cognitive) knowledge and skills to meet the challenges they face in L1 acquisition. Among other things, children use different sets of simplification strategies, such as cropping words, replacing or displacing syllables or syllabic constituents, omitting suffixes, and using simpler syntax. We catalog processes like fortition, reduplication, and the various stages of acquisition. This paper presents some language development data in Armenian children. Empirically, our study is one of the few (if only) known studies on the language acquisition of Armenian. The data provides valuable theoretical insight into the strategies that children pursue in communication, as well as in cognitive processing of speech.

In the Beautiful Heaven, a Golden Cage: Race, Identity and Memory in Turkification of Armenian Children in State Orphanages During the Armenian Genocide

ABSTRACT The perpetration of the Armenian Genocide did not originate as the direct implementation of ideological convictions; rather, stemmed from an amalgamation of certain theories adjusted to political and economic developments in the Ottoman Empire in tandem with the desire to transform a multi-ethnic and multi-religious empire into a Turkish nation-state. Within this nation-building project, the Young Turk’s government chose to exterminate the indigenous Armenian minority, using forced transfer and the assimilation of children and young women into Turkish society as one of the methods of destroying the Armenian community. This fits well into the overall Turkish nationalist ideology, as women and children were deemed as not having a transmutable ethnic identity: while a woman’s identity could be discounted, the identity of children could be reprogrammed by stripping them of their Armenian identity and imposing a new identity through change of personal data, religious conversion and education. Building on existing research, this article first presents the ideological foundations of Turkish nation-building and the implementation of the Armenian Genocide to achieve this end, focusing on the forcible transfer and assimilation which selected Armenian children endured. Informed by both published and unpublished memories of transferred children, the second part of the article reconstructs the actual process and methods of Turkification used in several state-run orphanages while also presenting the resistance of Armenian children to these efforts. This article expands the number of known state orphanages and widens the geographic scope of where Turkification practices took place, thus substantiating a general assimilation policy of the CUP towards some selected Armenian children and arguing that forced transfer and Turkification were used as a method of destroying the Armenian community. It also enters new testimonies into public circulation that help to better understand the role of forced transfer during the Armenian Genocide and its implications on the survivors.

АРМЯНСКАЯ ДЕТСКАЯ ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННАЯ ЛИТЕРАТУРА В ЖУРНАЛАХ «АСКЕР» И «АХБЮР» В ГОДЫ ПЕРВОЙ МИРОВОЙ ВОЙНЫ

The given article is the first study of the Armenian children’s literature on the military theme, presented in the Armenian children’s and youth periodicals of Tiflis in 1914–1918. The similarities and differences between the children’s literature on these topics and the artistic reflection of the war in the magazines “Aghbyur” (“Source”) and “Hasker” (“Spikes”) are revealed. In the course of the analysis it has been disclosed that during World War I, military topics did not become dominant from a quantitative point of view, but materials of different genres and formats on the military topic were published in each issue of the magazines. Of the 258 pieces of fiction published in the Armenian children’s magazines “Aghbyur” and “Hasker”, 78 pieces (29.4 %) were on the topic of war. Along with this, we analyzed three chronotopic positions associated with the continuum of the surrounding reality: the Armenian environment, the environment of the Russian Empire and the foreign environment. The content and ideological emphases of the published works on the military theme were aimed at developing patriotic and humanistic feelings in children. However, the genocide of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire has left a mark on the nature of the perception of patriotism: the preservation of the historical homeland of the Armenian people in the memory of the new generation and the hope of returning back to their native lands.

Translations of English Children’s Literature in the Armenian Periodicals in India

Translations had a significant role both in the popularization of Eastern Armenian and the establishment of literary and cultural ties between the Armenian community and the British. The purpose was to further the international outlook, understanding and emotional experience of foreign environments and cultures, on the one hand, next was to make more literature available to children and to contribute to the development of the readers’ set of values. 
 It should be noted that literary relations first of all contributed to the emergence of bilingual dictionaries. Shmavonian published an English-Armenian dictionary which was intended “for the entertainment of studious children” (Mkhitaryan 2016:81).
 19th century was marked by social political changes and created conditions for the development of new Armenian literature which was so important for shaping the mind set and behavior of the Armenian children. Thus, Armenian translators translated literature in connection with social and economic forces.
 The Armenian printing business in India operated for a century and published almost 200 books, booklets and more than ten periodicals. In this article some translations published in Azdarar (The Intelligencer, 1794, Madras), Azgaser (the Patriot, 1845, Calcutta), Azgaser Araratian (Patriot Araratian, 1848. Calcutta), and Hayeli Kalkatian (Mirror of Calcutta, 1820, Calcutta) are examined.

THE EFFECT OF BREASTFEEDING ON THE HEALTH INDICATORS OF YOUNG CHILDREN

Promotion and coverage of breastfeeding are considered to be the cost-effective public health measures in terms of Healthcare System. The aim of the research is to assess an influence of breastfeeding on infants’ health and quality of life (QL) parameters. This observational prospective study included 1790 newborns selected from Yerevan State Medical University’s Polyclinics (“Mouratsan”, sample=746, and “Heratsi”, sample=1044). Data collection took a period between January 2016 and December 2017. Evaluation of children’s quality of life was performed with the help of the validated and adapted QUALIN questionnaire. The data related to child’s health condition were collected from the “Child Development History” cards available at the polyclinics of the investigated area. Among 1770 one year old children 1681 were ever breastfed, 1224 (69.1%) were exclusively breastfed up to 3 months, the median duration of breastfeeding was 6–7 months, 45% were breastfed for more than 6 months, and 15% were breastfed for more than 1 year. There is a significant difference between the QL scores of the ever breastfed and the never breastfed subgroups. Duration of the breastfeeding also have an influence on QL scores. The given study’s results confirm that breastfeeding among the early aged Armenian children is of great importance in their health, influencing on quality of life and morbidity rates.

“A Danish corner in the heart of Lebanon”

This article investigates the role of Danish missionary and nurse Maria Jacobsen (1882-1960), working in Lebanon among Armenian refugees and orphans from ca. 1920 to 1960. The background of the Armenian-Danish relationship in the Middle East goes back to the early twentieth century with the arrival of Danish female missionaries and health workers from the organization Kvindelige Missionsarbejdere [KMA, The Female Mission Workers] in the Ottoman Empire. During the Armenian Genocide, Jacobsen and her Danish colleagues played crucial roles as relief workers and witnesses to the persecutions. After the war, the Danes continued their vocation and religious duty in the form of practical relief work among refugees and orphans in Lebanon, while at the same time promoting Protestant beliefs and values to the refugee community. The Bird’s Nest, an orphanage for Armenian children in Jbeil (Byblos), north of Beirut, became KMA’s main welfare project in the country. From its establishment in 1922, this large institution was headed by Maria Jacobsen until her death in 1960. The article explores the ways in which Jacobsen and the KMA situated Danish faith-based relief in the new post-WWI Middle East. It also looks at the relations to and negotiations with the local Armenian society.

Halide Edip and the Turkification of Armenian Children: Enigmas, Problems and Questions

It is a well-known fact that the Islamisation of Christian children in the Ottoman Empire has a long history. In the great majority of cases Islamisation was carried out forcibly, accompanied by the erasure of a child’s ethnic-religious identity for those who remembered it and totally hiding their ethnic roots and religious affiliation from those who didn’t. The whole process of cultivating a new identity and character was a matter of time and of contested methods. This article identifies a problem area, raising questions and analyzing the role of Turkish intellectual Halidé Edip in the state policy of Turkification of Armenian children at the Antoura orphanage during the Armenian Genocide. It draws comparisons between the three memoirs of Armenian orphans from that orphanage that are known to date, those of Garnik Banean (Karnig Panian as written in his English language memoir), Harutyun Alboyajyan, and Melgon Petrosean and that written by Halidé Edip. As a result, certain essential differences, ploys, as well as facts disguised by Edip have been collected and presented in this article. Therefore, the research carried out identifies the problems areas relating to various aspects of the Antoura orphanage by raising new questions, offering explanations and new approaches as well as highlighting issues that need to be researched further.

Haildé Edip and the Turkification of the Armenian Children at Antoura Orphanage: Identification of the Problem Field

The article presents and analyses the Turkish intellectual Halidé Edip and her role in the state policy of Turkification of Armenian children at the Antoura orphanage during the Armenian Genocide. The article compares the three known memoirs of Armenian orphans from Antoura (Garnik Banyan, Harutyun Alboyajyan, and Melqon Petrosyan) to that of Halidé Edip, and reveals essential differences, manipulations, as well as disguised facts by Edip that are collected and presented in the article. Thus, the research identifies the problem field relating to various aspects of Antoura orphanage by raising new questions, offering explanations and new approaches, as well as highlighting issues that need to be researched further.

Joint Manifestations in Children with Familial Mediterranean Fever in Armenia: Clinical and Genetic Characteristics

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal-recessive autoinflammatory disease in the group of Hereditary periodic fever syndromes (HPFS), characterized by recurrent, self-limited attacks of fever and polyserositis, which last 2-4 days. It manifests mainly in childhood and often has early onset, resolve without sequels. Genetic testing of FMF is efficient and allows diagnosing of atypical cases. FMF is a significant health care problem in Armenia because of high frequency of carriers of MEFV mutations 1:3 - 4 (0.21) and marked FMF prevalence 54.7 per 10`000 of the total population. Articular symptoms are found in about 45% of cases. They usually manifest as acute recurrent arthritis (ARA) or arthralgia, but more rarely also chronic arthritis can be found. We aimed to investigate clinical and genetic characteristics of the joint manifestations in Armenian children with FMF. The charts of all 715 patients with proven diagnosis of FMF at the National Pediatric Center (NPC) for FMF were reviewed for joint manifestations. The diagnosis of FMF and disease severity were determined according to the Tel-Hashomer criteria and molecular-genetic detection of 12 MEFV mutations common for Armenians. The characteristics of joint manifestations and overall FMF disease were then compared to MEFV mutation analysis. There were 438 boys and 277 girls with an age at diagnosis between 3 months and 17 years (mean age: 8.64±0.17). Joint involvement was observed in 56.4% of all 715 cases. The manifestation was ARA in 30.5%, arthralgia in 21.2% and chronic arthritis (CA) in 4.7%, which would also qualify for a diagnosis of JIA. The frequency of ARA was associated with M694V mutation, mainly M694V homozygous and M694V heterozygous genotypes. The risk of CA depended on MEFV genotype of the FMF patients and was the highest in M694Vheterozygotes and M694Vhomozygotes. M694V heterozygous genotype was noticed significantly more frequently among FMF patients with spondyloarthritis in comparison to those without it. The probability of the development of CA among FMF patients without M694V mutation was significantly higher also in heterozygotes in comparison to compound-heterozygotes. We concluded, that the frequency of joint involvement among Armenian pediatric FMF patients was high - 56.4%, especially for CA. Chronic arthritis may be the first manifestation of FMF and occurred usually in patients with severe M694V mutations. Patients of Armenian origin with refractory arthritis should be asked for isolated febrile attacks, hemorrhagic vasculitis, episodes of pleuritis and family history to rule out FMF.

The Desert at the End of Empire: An Environmental History of the Armenian Genocide*

Abstract In the contentious historiography of the Armenian genocide, the desert has been acknowledged by almost everyone as the endpoint of the deportations of hundreds of thousands of Ottoman Armenian citizens in 1915 and the years that followed. Those who use the term ‘genocide’ suggest that this action was tantamount to a death sentence, while those who oppose the term claim that the desert exculpates the Ottoman state. This article unpacks the meaning of the Jazira region — one of the arid regions to which Armenians were sent — and suggests how Ottoman officials used the desert to kill and Armenians used it to survive, mostly as part of nomadic groups among whom they were somewhere between slaves and family members. The desert even came to shape the humanitarian rescue campaign in the wake of the genocide and World War I, as organizations worked to remove Armenian children from the desert and, subsequently, to transform the desert itself by establishing Armenian agricultural colonies. Yet some Armenians stayed, and remain to this day in the Jazira calling themselves Armenian Muslims in honor of their heritage. The desert not only shaped Armenian suffering and survival. The marginal environment also incubated a population of imperial survivors, whose existence did not fit comfortably with post-Ottoman national divisions, or the historiographies influenced by them.

Reclaiming Children after the Armenian Genocide: Neutral House in Istanbul

Abstract During the Armenian Genocide the Turkish Government forcibly converted and assimilated Armenian children. The defeat of the Ottoman Empire in WWI brought the opportunity to retrieve such children, whose identities and future became a battleground between Armenians and Turks. This article addresses the fate of these child-survivors, many of whom, after being rescued, continued to deny their Armenian identities. The article presents a history of Neutral House, a unique organization established in Istanbul to return these children to their nation.

Liver involvement in the process of acute respiratory infections in pediatric patients

We aimed to investigate the prevalence of liver involvement in pediatric patients with ARI using both routine tests of hepatic panel, and ornithine carbamoyltransferase (OCT) to identify the most sensitive indicators of early hepatic injury. A prospective cohort study of 84 armenian children with ARI was conducted to evaluate the associated liver involvement. The diagnostic variables of interest were the signs of clinical disease severity, and enzymatic profile of the patients. Serum levels of OCT were increased in 94% of patients versus routine tests of hepatic panel (AST in 41.7%, ALT in 15.5%, etc). Variance analysis by severity groups showed the serum levels of OCT (p < 0.001), ammonia (p < 0.001), phospholipides (p = 0.05), glucose (p = 0.01), TNF-α (p = 0.01), IL-8 (p < 0.001), AST (p < 0.001), and ALP (p < 0.001) were associated with the severity of underlying disease. Moreover, regression analysis revealed the serum activity of OCT (p value < 0.001, OR = 1.27) and ammonia (p value 0.002, OR = 1.1) significantly predict the severity of the disease. Using more sensitive marker of liver damage can detect more cases of ARI with hepatic manifestations. For evaluation of the liver involvement we are suggesting the testing of serum OCT levels as a more sensitive and specific marker. Pediatric patients with ARI and with higher serum OCT levels have 27% more chance to experience increased disease severity, which can affect on liver state and prolong hospitalization time and cost.

Epidemiology and economic losses of rotavirus infection associated with hospitalization of Armenian children.

Rotavirus (RV) is the leading cause of severe diarrhea-associated morbidity and mortality among children worldwide. Limited data exist on the epidemiology and burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis in Armenia. The purpose of this study is to estimate the economic losses and describe the epidemiological characteristics of rotavirus infections in hospitalized children in Armenia. A retrospective chart review was performed of all children (aged < 5 years) with Rotavirus infection admitted to the "Nork" Republican Infection Clinical Hospital in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, between January and July 2014. Criteria of inclusion were age under 5 years old and presence of RV antigen in stool by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The total number of patients was 126; average age was 28.7 ± 13.3 months; 54.8% were male. The highest number of cases (31.8%) was observed in April. Most of the patients (71.4%) were hospitalized in the first three days, demonstrating an acute onset of the disease. In total 19% of the patients had received RV vaccine and, despite this, were infected with RV. Based on bacteriological examination of stool, 18.3% of patients had RV infection combined with pathogenic or conditional pathogenic microflora. All patients spent 817 days in total in the hospital. Economic losses associated with hospitalization were 16340000 AMD (≈ 33346 USD). Rotavirus carries significant morbidity and economic losses. Comprehensive estimates of the disease characteristics and introduction of a national immunization program against RV initiated in 2012 may decrease this burden. Further studies to evaluate the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of such a program are warranted.

“Your Religion is Worn and Outdated”

The assimilation of orphaned Armenian children during the Great War was an integral part of the Armenian Genocide. In every sense, figuratively and actually, the Armenians became, as Ronald Grigor Suny has poignantly put it, an “orphaned nation”. A particularly moving example of this policy was the orphanage established by Cemal Pasha in Lebanon, at Antoura, with the purpose of Islamizing and Turkifying Armenian orphans. The three memoirs by Antoura inmates, cited in this article, prove beyond a doubt that Islamization and Turkification were carried out. One of the main points made in this article is that Halide Edib, the famous Turkish nationalist and prolific writer, was very much part of the project. Appointed as the general director of education in Cemal Pasha’s Syria, she was personally involved in the project of Turkification and Islamization at Antoura, although she was later to deny it in her memoirs. Therefore, this article is as much about Halide Edib as it is about Antoura.

Amerikan Yakın Doğu Yardım Heyeti’nin İzmit’teki Faaliyetleri, 1919-1922

A relief organization, called Armenian Relief Committee, was established in order to aid the deported Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. This organization was united with two other relief organizations, called Palestine-Syrian Relief Committee and Persian Relief Committee, under the name of American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief. In 1918, it changed its name into American Committee for Relief in the Near East and in 1919 it became Near East Relief. It carried on its activities all over the Ottoman lands. İzmit was one of these places where Near East Relief established a hospital, two orphanages (one in Bardizag and one in Ismid) and soup kitchens. In these orphanages, the organization raised a lot of Armenian children. NER also helped many refugees with supply, food, and old clothes assistance. Besides, NER treated many patients in their hospital. Its financial source was the donations of American benefactors. Thousands&nbsp;of people donated money and supplies. In order to continue getting donations, Near East Relief id show Armenians as oppressed and Turks as cruel. Thanks to all these activities Armenian people were transformed, at a certain level, into an American society and the USA expanded its sphere of influence in the Near East.&nbsp;

Křesťané před volbou: stát se muslimem, nebo zemřít? K otázce konverzí k islámu během arménské genocidy

This article focuses on the issue of Christian conversions (forced or voluntary) to Islam during the Armenian genocide. The essay examines the ideology of turkification that was behind these efforts, including Ottoman government- sponsored orphanages as a direct means of assimilating Armenian children. It pays particular attention to the process of ‘rebuilding’ the Armenian nation in the immediate aftermath of World War I sometimes called ‘national reconstruction’. In the final part the paper deals with the phenomenon of the ‘Hidden Armenians’ in contemporary Turkey.