European American Children Research Articles

Targeted Therapy for Atopic Dermatitis: A Novel Approach

Atopic Dermatitis is a chronic, inflammatory, and widespread skin disease with heterogeneous manifestations having a significant influence on the lives of youngsters and adults. Atopic Dermatitis prevalence is higher in african-american children compared with european american children and it is mainly caused by the interaction between various factors such as genetics, skin barrier dysfunction, and immune abnormalities. Despite various available treatment options for atopic dermatitis, they often fall short in addressing the root cause, prompting patients to seek more effective and enduring solutions. To combat these shortcomings, researchers are focusing on the development of targeted therapy. The development of targeted treatment options involves the utilization of a range of biologic agents designed to pinpoint specific components and regulators of inflammatory pathways associated with allergic and inflammatory conditions. Phytochemicals viz. alkaloids, phenols, carotenoids, and organo-sulfurs have been utilized in traditional medicine for centuries which contribute to increased efficacy while minimizing adverse effects. The objective of this review is to provide information regarding the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and evolving landscape of targeted therapy for atopic dermatitis, encompassing both biologics and phytochemicals.

Are dominant figures more trustworthy? Examining the relation between parental authoritarianism and children's trust preferences in the United States and China

AbstractDeciding whose words to trust profoundly impacts children's knowledge acquisition. In evaluating informants' trustworthiness, children are attentive to their social dominance. Previous studies have shown that children's trust preferences may differ across cultures based on the dominance of the informant: children in Western cultures prefer to trust in testimony from dominant informants, whereas children in Eastern cultures prefer to trust subordinate informants (Bernard et al., 2016; Charafeddine et al., 2019). We aim to investigate the potential cultural difference in the trust preferences of European American children (in the United States) and Chinese children (in China) from informants of varying levels of dominance, using a more refined method to assess children's trust preferences. We propose that different levels of authoritarianism – advocacies to obey authorities – in Western and Eastern cultures may explain the potential difference in children's selective trust. Specifically, as impacted by societal cultures, Chinese parents may possess a higher level of authoritarianism than European American parents and may place a higher emphasis on obedience in their parenting. Consequently, Chinese children may show stronger trust preferences from subordinate informants over dominant informants than European American children. Our research will offer insights into the potential mechanism underlying children's different learning preferences across cultures.

RISK FACTORS AND EARLY SIGNS OF CRITICAL CONDITIONS IN CHILDREN WITH ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA ADMITTED TO THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Relevance: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common cancer among children, accounting for nearly a quarter of all childhood cancers.
 The study aimed to determine the risk factors and signs of critical conditions in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU).
 Methods: The approach used was a systematic review. Data was collected from sources published in 2019-2023. Four cohort studies, four retrospective analyses, two literature reviews, one case-control study, and one case study were included in this systematic review.
 Results: The prognosis in pediatric ALL depends on the initial number of blast cells in the peripheral blood. Patients with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP ALL) and low blast cell numbers survived better than patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and low cell count. IL1B and NLRP1 genetic polymorphisms enhanced ALL risk and reduced infectious comorbidity. However, these gene polymorphisms must be confirmed in juvenile leukemia. KRAS, FLT3, NRAS, PTPN11, KMT2D, PTEN, and NOTCH1 gene mutations affected pediatric ALL patient features and treatment results. These mutations demonstrate the relevance of genetic profiling in risk classification and tailored management. Gene variations and availability of effective medication contributed. Pediatric BCP-ALL patients with the PAX5P80R mutation had worse 5-year overall survival, higher white blood cell counts, male preponderance, and more genetic abnormalities. Pediatric BCP-ALL focused on genetic analysis and risk stratification. Children of African American and European American ancestry showed varied incidence, recurrence, and outcome rates for ALL. African American children exhibited lower incidence but greater recurrence rates and poorer prognosis than European American children.
 Conclusion: Risk factors for these patients’ admission to ICU include comorbidities, infectious diseases, hypoxia, and hemodynamic instability, as well as age and baseline white blood cell count at diagnosis.

Association of the DNA Methylation of Obesity-Related Genes with the Dietary Nutrient Intake in Children.

The occurrence of obesity stems from both genetic and external influences. Despite thorough research and attempts to address it through various means such as dietary changes, physical activity, education, and medications, a lasting solution to this widespread problem remains elusive. Nutrients play a crucial role in various cellular processes, including the regulation of gene expression. One of the mechanisms by which nutrients can affect gene expression is through DNA methylation. This modification can alter the accessibility of DNA to transcription factors and other regulatory proteins, thereby influencing gene expression. Nutrients such as folate and vitamin B12 are involved in the one-carbon metabolism pathway, which provides the methyl groups necessary for DNA methylation. Studies have shown that the inadequate intake of these nutrients can lead to alterations in DNA methylation patterns. For this study, we aim to understand the differences in the association of the dietary intake between normal weight and overweight/obese children and between European American and African American children with the DNA methylation of the three genes NRF1, FTO, and LEPR. The research discovered a significant association between the nutritional intake of 6-10-years-old children, particularly the methyl donors present in their diet, and the methylation of the NRF1, FTO, and LEPR genes. Additionally, the study emphasizes the significance of considering health inequalities, particularly family income and maternal education, when investigating the epigenetic impact of methyl donors in diet and gene methylation.

How children judge affordances when walking and bicycling across virtual roads: Does mode of locomotion matter?

This investigation examined whether the mode of locomotion matters in how 8-, 10-, 12-, and 14-year-old children (N = 91) judge dynamic affordances in a complex perception-action task with significant safety risks. The primarily European American children in the sample came from the area of Iowa City, Iowa and were balanced for gender. The same children crossed a single lane of continuous traffic on foot and on bike (order counterbalanced) in identical immersive virtual environments. We found that although 8-year-olds chose significantly larger gaps when crossing on bike than on foot, these gaps were not large enough to compensate for their delay in entering the gap and their slowness in crossing the road. As a result, they ended up with less time to spare when exiting the roadway on bike than on foot. In contrast, 14-year-olds exhibited no difference in their gap choices on bike than on foot, nor did they exhibit a difference in their timing of entry into the gap. However, they crossed the road much more quickly on bike, resulting in significantly more time to spare when crossing on bike than on foot. The 10- and 12-year-olds' performance fit neatly between that of the 8- and 14-year-olds. We conclude that as children gained better control over the bike with age, they were better able to match their gap decisions with their crossing movements such that bicycling afforded even safer road-crossing than walking for 14-year-olds. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Novel Differentially Methylated Regions Identified by Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Analyses Contribute to Racial Disparities in Childhood Obesity.

The magnitude of the childhood obesity epidemic and its effects on public health has accelerated the pursuit of practical preventative measures. Epigenetics is one subject that holds a lot of promise, despite being relatively new. The study of potentially heritable variations in gene expression that do not require modifications to the underlying DNA sequence is known as epigenetics. Here, we used Illumina MethylationEPIC BeadChip Array to identify differentially methylated regions in DNA isolated from saliva between normal weight (NW) and overweight/obese (OW/OB) children and between European American (EA) and African American (AA) children. A total of 3133 target IDs (associated with 2313 genes) were differentially methylated (p < 0.05) between NW and OW/OB children. In OW/OB children, 792 target IDs were hypermethylated and 2341 were hypomethylated compared to NW. Similarly, in the racial groups EA and AA, a total of 1239 target IDs corresponding to 739 genes were significantly differentially methylated in which 643 target IDs were hypermethylated and 596 were hypomethylated in the AA compared to EA participants. Along with this, the study identified novel genes that could contribute to the epigenetic regulation of childhood obesity.

Longitudinal relations of emotion knowledge to psychosocial adjustment in European and Chinese American school‐age children

AbstractThe study is the first to examine the developmental trajectory of emotion knowledge as it relates to psychosocial adjustment in a cross‐cultural context. European American (EA, n = 68, 28 boys) and Chinese American (CA, n = 62, 31 boys) children and their mothers participated. Children's emotion knowledge was assessed, and their psychosocial adjustment was reported by mothers at three time points when children were 6.5, 7, and 8 years of age. Although EA children had greater emotion knowledge at Time 1, CA children's emotion knowledge grew faster over the following 1.5 years. In addition, emotion knowledge predicted fewer internalizing problems in CA children but predicted fewer externalizing problems in EA children. Thus, emotion knowledge was associated with psychosocial adjustment for both cultural groups, and particularly helpful for children to cope with issues to which they are most vulnerable in their respective cultural contexts. The findings shed critical light on the developmental trajectories of emotion understanding and psychosocial adjustment in specific cultural contexts.

Cultural differences in maternal emotion control values and children's expressive flexibility

AbstractExpressive flexibility is the ability to express or suppress one's emotions to meet the demands of the situation. Recent work suggests that expressive flexibility is associated with better adjustment. However, few studies have focused on expressive flexibility in children. In addition, there is a dearth of research on possible correlates, such as culture, parental emotion socialization, and socioeconomic status, that may be associated with expressive flexibility competencies in children. The purpose of this study was to investigate cultural differences in children's expressive flexibility, maternal emotion control values (ECVs), and their relations to family socioeconomic status (SES) during middle childhood in a sample of European American (N = 31, M age = 9.61 years; 54.8% males), Korean American (N = 38, M age = 9.16 years; 55.3% males) and South Korean children (N = 77, M age = 9.74 years; 51.9% males). Mothers reported on demographics and their emotion control values. Children's expressive flexibility ability was assessed using a lab‐based observational measure. Multivariate analyses of covariance controlling for SES, child age, and gender suggested significant cultural differences in expressive flexibility, with the U.S. children (both European and Korean Americans) scoring higher on expressive flexibility compared to their South Korean counterparts. Results also suggested significant cultural differences regarding maternal ECVs; Korean Americans were more similar to South Koreans, both scoring higher on ECVs than European Americans. Socioeconomic status, but not maternal ECVs, were associated with children's expressive flexibility, independent of child age, sex, and culture.

Racial Disparities in Methylation of NRF1, FTO, and LEPR Gene in Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity has affected the health of millions of children around the world despite vigorous efforts by health experts. The obesity epidemic in the United States has disproportionately afflicted certain racial and ethnic minority groups. African American children are more likely than other children to have obesity-related risk factors such as hyperlipidemia, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and coronavirus disease (COVID-19). For the reduction in obesity-related health inequalities to be successful, it is essential to identify the variables affecting various groups. A notable advancement in epigenetic biology has been made over the past decade. Epigenetic changes like DNA methylation impact on many genes associated with obesity. Here, we evaluated the DNA methylation levels of the genes NRF1, FTO, and LEPR from the saliva of children using real-time quantitative PCR-based multiplex MethyLight technology. ALU was used as a reference gene, and the Percent of Methylated Reference (PMR) was calculated for each sample. European American children showed a significant increase in PMR of NRF1 and FTO in overweight/obese participants compared to normal weight, but not in African American children. After adjusting for maternal education and annual family income by regression analysis, the PMR of NRF1 and FTO was significantly associated with BMI z-score only in European American children. While for the gene LEPR, African American children had higher methylation in normal weight participants as compared to overweight/obese and no methylation difference in European American children. The PMR of LEPR was significantly negative associated with the obesity measures only in African American children. These findings contribute to a race-specific link between NRF1, FTO, and LEPR gene methylation and childhood obesity.

How do childhood ADHD symptoms affect labour market outcomes?

Inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity are the main symptoms of ADHD, which affects up to one in ten European and North American children. Existing research shows these symptoms are associated with school exclusion and poor academic performance during childhood and adolescence. Using the British Cohort Study (n = 17,196 people born in April 1970), this is the first study of relationships between ADHD symptoms measured during childhood (age 10) and labour market outcomes measured beyond early adulthood (ages 26–46); and the first to explore the role of childhood circumstances (at birth) and academic performance (ages 10 and 26) in explaining those relationships. A one standard deviation increase in childhood symptoms reduced employment by up to two percentage points and pay by up to four percentage points. Differences in academic performance at age 10 accounted for almost half the observed variation in employment outcomes, indicating a possible role for educational interventions in schools.

African-specific alleles modify risk for asthma at the 17q12-q21 locus in African Americans

BackgroundAsthma is the most common chronic disease in children, occurring at higher frequencies and with more severe disease in children with African ancestry.MethodsWe tested for association with haplotypes at the most replicated and significant childhood-onset asthma locus at 17q12-q21 and asthma in European American and African American children. Following this, we used whole-genome sequencing data from 1060 African American and 100 European American individuals to identify novel variants on a high-risk African American–specific haplotype. We characterized these variants in silico using gene expression and ATAC-seq data from airway epithelial cells, functional annotations from ENCODE, and promoter capture (pc)Hi-C maps in airway epithelial cells. Candidate causal variants were then assessed for correlation with asthma-associated phenotypes in African American children and adults.ResultsOur studies revealed nine novel African-specific common variants, enriched on a high-risk asthma haplotype, which regulated the expression of GSDMA in airway epithelial cells and were associated with features of severe asthma. Using ENCODE annotations, ATAC-seq, and pcHi-C, we narrowed the associations to two candidate causal variants that are associated with features of T2 low severe asthma.ConclusionsPreviously unknown genetic variation at the 17q12-21 childhood-onset asthma locus contributes to asthma severity in individuals with African ancestries. We suggest that many other population-specific variants that have not been discovered in GWAS contribute to the genetic risk for asthma and other common diseases.

Understanding racial disparities in childhood asthma using individual- and neighborhood-level risk factors

Racial disparities in childhood asthma outcomes result from a complex interplay of individual- and neighborhood-level factors. We sought to examine racial disparities in asthma-related emergency department (ED) visits between African American (AA) and European American (EA) children. This is a retrospective study of patients younger than 18 years who visited the ED at Cincinnati Children's for asthma from 2009 to 2018. The outcome was number of ED visits during a year. We assessed 11 social, economic, and environmental variables. Mediation and mixed-effects analyses were used to assess relationships between race, mediators, and number of ED visits. A total of 31,114 children (46.1% AA, 53.9% EA) had 186,779 asthma-related ED visits. AA children had more visits per year than EA children (2.23 vs 2.15; P< .001). Medicaid insurance was associated with a 7% increase in rate of ED visits compared with commercial insurance (1.07; 95% CI, 1.03-1.1). Neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation was associated with an increased rate of ED visits in AA but not in EA children. Area-level particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 μm, pollen, and outdoor mold were associated with an increased rate of ED visits for both AA and EA children (all P< .001). Associations between race and number of ED visits were mediated by insurance, area-level deprivation, particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 μm, and outdoor mold (all P< .001), altogether accounting for 55% of the effect of race on ED visits. Race was not associated with number of ED visits (P= .796) after accounting for mediators. Racial disparities in asthma-related ED visits are mediated by social, economic, and environmental factors, which may be amenable to interventions aimed at improving outcomes and eliminating inequities.

Identification of novel loci in obstructive sleep apnea in European American and African American children.

To identify genetic susceptibility variants in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea in European American and African American children. A phenotyping algorithm using electronic medical records was developed to recruit cases with OSA and control subjects from the Center for Applied Genomics at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were performed in pediatric OSA cases and control subjects with European American (EA) and African American (AA) ancestry followed by meta-analysis and sex stratification. The algorithm accrued 1486 subjects (46.3% European American, 53.7% African American). We identified genomic loci at 1p36.22 and 15q26.1 that associated with OSA risk in EA and AA, respectively. We also revealed a shared risk locus at 18p11.32 (rs114124196, p = 1.72 × 10-8) across EA and AA populations. Additionally, association at 1q43 (rs12754698) and 2p25.1 (rs72775219) was identified in the male-only analysis of EA children with OSA, while association at 8q21.11 (rs6472959), 11q24.3 (rs4370952) and 15q21.1 (rs149936782) was detected in the female-only analysis of EA children and association at 18p11.23 (rs9964029) was identified in the female-only analysis of African-American children. Moreover, the 18p11.32 locus was replicated in an EA cohort (rs114124196, p = 8.8 × 10-3). We report the first GWAS for pediatric OSA in European Americans and African Americans. Our results provide novel insights to the genetic underpins of pediatric OSA.

Children's fluid collaboration versus managing individual agendas: Cultural differences in pair programming

This study brings to light cultural differences that fit with two distinct models of collaboration and learning: shared thinking versus individual negotiation. The study identifies a previously unstudied sophisticated form of collaboration frequently used by 25 pairs of Mexican-heritage 8- to 11-year-old children and rarely used by 25 pairs of European American children. Pairs from both backgrounds spent nearly a third of the time during a computer programming activity building on each other's ideas through making and responding to proposals. However in addition, Mexican American pairs spent another third of the time coordinating in fluid synchrony, anticipating each other's contributions without proposals. This accounts for their averaging twice as much collaboration overall than the European American children, who spent more time resisting their partner's contributions, negotiating whose idea to use, and bossing their partner.

Culture, Emotion Socialization and Children’s Inhibitory Control

ABSTRACT In the current study, we investigated the relations among maternal emotion socialization practices and children’s inhibitory control (IC) performance in Chinese and European American families. Fifty-three Chinese (Mage = 60 months) and 52 European American (Mage = 50 months) children and their mothers participated in this study. Maternal emotion socialization was assessed using mothers’ reported reactions to children’s negative emotions by completing the Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale (CCNES). Child IC was assessed through two observational measures. Results revealed significant group differences. Specifically, Chinese mothers adopted more harsh responses and less distress responses as compared to European American mothers. Chinese children scored higher on IC than did European American children. Moderation analyses also suggest that maternal harsh responses and distress responses were negatively related to children’s IC performance for European American group but not for Chinese group.

Improved genetic risk scoring algorithm for type 1 diabetes prediction.

Precise risk prediction of type 1 diabetes (T1D) facilitates early intervention and identification of risk factors prior to irreversible beta-islet cell destruction, and can significantly improve T1D prevention and clinical care. Sharp et al. developed a genetic risk scoring (GRS) system for T1D (T1D-GRS2) capable of predicting T1D risk in children of European ancestry. The T1D-GRS2 was developed on the basis of causal genetic variants, thus may be applicable to minor populations, while a trans-ethnic GRS for T1D may avoid the exacerbation of health disparities due to the lack of genomic information in minorities. Here, we describe a T1D-GRS2 calculator validated in two independent cohorts, including African American children and European American children. Participants were recruited by the Center for Applied Genomics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. It demonstrates that GRS2 is applicable to the T1D risk prediction in the AA cohort, while population-specific thresholds are needed for different populations. The study highlights the potential to further improve T1D-GRS2 performance with the inclusion of additional genetic markers.

Cultural variation in the early development of initiative in children's prosocial helping

AbstractSeparate lines of research on prosocial development suggest that although toddlers worldwide are eagerly helpful, older children help voluntarily in some communities but in other communities, children become resistant to helping with household work. This study investigated these discrepancies by interviewing 64 Mexican‐heritage and middle‐class European American mothers of 2–3‐year‐olds and 6–7‐year‐olds, all living in the US (20 and 12 at these ages in each community). Mothers’ reports are consistent with diverging developmental patterns, and illuminate how the children become involved in helping with work at home: Most 2–3‐year‐olds helped voluntarily, with their own initiative (although Mexican‐heritage children did so more). At age 6–7, Mexican‐heritage children usually helped with their own initiative whereas middle‐class European American children seldom did so; they generally helped under adult management and control, in contractual arrangements. Accounting for cultural variation is important for advancing theories of prosocial development; the paper suggests socialization practices that may explain the different patterns.

Disparate Mutations in B-Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Among African American and European American Children

Background: B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is considered to be the most common malignancy diagnosed in childhood and leading cause of cancer-related death in children. There have been advances in the efficacy of multi-agent chemotherapy and stratification of treatment intensity according to clinical features of the patient, biologic features of leukemia cells, and early response to treatment. These advances herald the promise and challenges of precision medicine strategies that integrate leukemia genomics into contemporary therapy. Despite this progress, there are unmet needs related to the treatment of B-ALL. Among them the incidence varies according to race: African American (AA) children have significantly lower incidence of B-ALL compared to European American (EA). However, studies have shown that AA children have significantly lower survival rates compared to EA children. This disparity is not related to socioeconomic variables, suggesting a molecular basis for the lower survival rates of AA. Here we present a study showing race-specific genetic aberrations involved in leukemogenesis that may contribute to health disparities in B-ALL in AA and EA children.Aims: In a population of AA and EA pediatric B-ALL patients: 1) Discover the genomic susceptibility architecture at validated loci and determine whether genetic variants confer population-specific risks. 2) Define the landscape of molecular perturbation and genomic alterations. 3) Identify aberrant canonical pathways in leukemogenesis.Methods: A total of 20 newly diagnosed pediatric patients were utilized in our study (5 AA and 15 EA). Ages ranged between 1 and 18 years. Clinical history, hemogram, flow cytometry, immunophenotypic, morphologic, cytogenetic and prior molecular data were reviewed. None of the patients in our study had a relapse. Median percent cellularity present in the bone marrow aspirates was 100% (70% - 100%). Median percent of blasts was 94.8% (64.5% - 99.0%). Following manufacturer protocol (Qiagen, QIAmp DNA blood kit), 200µl of frozen bone marrow aspirates were used to extract the DNA. Following quality control on a Qubit fluorometer and RNA bioanalyzer, the samples were submitted to a translational genomics core for library preparation and whole-exome sequencing (TruSeq Exome, Illumina). Bioinformatics analysis was performed and genetic variants for each sample were identified.Results: We identified specific germ-line mutations within the most widely accepted cancer-related genes related to B-ALL. Most genetic aberrations (339) were shared between AA and EA, for example those present in the Anaplastic Lymphoma Receptor Tyrosine Kinase (ALK) gene. Some genes with genetic aberrations were specific of AA (58) such as, Lipoma Preferred Partner Gene (LPP) and others specific for EA (52) such as, Leukemia Inhibitory Factor Receptor (LIFR). The ingenuity pathway analysis revealed these genes clustered in race-specific canonical pathways. In AA, the specific pathways were related to telomerase signaling and cancer signaling. In EA, the specific pathways were related to stem cell pluripotency and hereditary cancers. Our findings suggest the value of whole exome sequencing as a tool for development of individual gene signatures and gene scores for AA and EA children afflicted by B-ALL.Conclusions: Overall, the prevalence of genetic aberrations in B-ALL may contribute to differences in incidences and outcomes between AA and EA children. Aberrant biological networks revealed by our study, provide information on distinguishing genetic aberrations and signaling networks that may be involved in race-specific leukemogenesis. Furthermore, our findings suggest that it may be possible to develop a whole-exome sequencing gene signature in B-ALL to help define a race-specific prognostic assay for B-ALL in bone marrow aspirates. In the future, the biomarker panel derived from this study will help guide risk stratification and treatments based on race and advance the prognosis of B-ALL in AA children. These findings may ultimately impact targeted disease management and contribute to the elimination of the disparate outcomes in B-ALL among AA children.Funding: Hyundai Hope on Wheels Scholar Grant, UMMC Division of Pediatric Hematology Oncology [Display omitted] DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Pediatric asthma incidence rates in the United States from 1980 to 2017

Few studies have examined longitudinal asthma incidence rates (IRs) from a public health surveillance perspective. Our aim was to calculate descriptive asthma IRs in children over time with consideration for demographics and parental asthma history. Data from 9 US birth cohorts were pooled into 1 population covering the period from 1980 to 2017. The outcome was earliest parental report of a doctor diagnosis of asthma. IRs per 1,000 person-years were calculated. The racial/ethnic backgrounds of the 6,283 children studied were as follows: 55% European American (EA), 25.5% African American (AA), 9.5% Mexican-Hispanic American (MA) and 8.5% Caribbean-Hispanic American (CA). The average follow-up was 10.4 years (SD= 8.5 years; median= 8.4 years), totaling 65,291 person-years, with 1789 asthma diagnoses yielding a crude IR of 27.5 per 1,000 person-years (95% CI= 26.3-28.8). Age-specific rates were highest among children aged 0 to 4 years, notably from 1995 to 1999, with a decline in EA and MA children in 2000 to 2004 followed by a decline in AA and CA children in 2010 to 2014. Parental asthma history was associated with statistically significantly increased rates. IRs were similar and higher in AA and CA children versus lower but similar in EA and MA children. The differential rates by sex from birth through adolescence principally resulted from a decline in rates among males but relatively stable rates among females. US childhood asthma IRs varied dramatically by age, sex, parental asthma history, race/ethnicity, and calendar year. Higher rates in the 0- to 4-year-olds group, particularly among AA/CA males with a parental history of asthma, as well as changes in rates over time and by demographic factors, suggest that asthma is driven by complex interactions between genetic susceptibility and variation in time-dependent environmental and social factors.

Take Your Word or Tone for It? European American and Chinese Children's Attention to Emotional Cues in Speech.

Cultural experiences can influence how people attend to different emotional cues. Whereas semantic content explicitly describes feelings, vocal tone conveys implicit information regarding emotions. This cross-cultural study examined children's attention to emotional cues in spoken words. The sample consisted of 121 European American (EA) and 120 Chinese children (4-9years old). Each child played two computer games in which they listened to spoken words and judged the pleasantness of either the word meaning (Word game) or the vocal tone (Tone game) while ignoring the other aspect. Chinese children paid more spontaneous attention to vocal tones and less to word meanings than did EA children. These findings shed critical light on the role of culture in shaping affective cognitive processes during development.