Older Siblings Research Articles

Red Blood Cells from Individuals with Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome: Multi-Omics Insights into a Novel S162N Mutation Causing Hypoxanthine-Guanine Phosphoribosyltransferase Deficiency.

Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (LN) is an is an X-linked recessive inborn error of metabolism that arises from a deficiency of purine salvage enzyme hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT). The disease manifests severely, causing intellectual deficits and other neural abnormalities, hypercoagulability, uncontrolled self-injury, and gout. While allopurinol is used to alleviate gout, other symptoms are less understood, impeding treatment. Herein, we present a high-throughput multi-omics analysis of red blood cells (RBCs) from three pediatric siblings carrying a novel S162N HPRT1 mutation. RBCs from both parents-the mother, a heterozygous carrier, and the father, a clinically healthy control-were also analyzed. Global metabolite analysis of LN RBCs shows accumulation of glycolytic intermediates upstream of pyruvate kinase, unsaturated fatty acids, and long chain acylcarnitines. Similarly, highly unsaturated phosphatidylcholines are also elevated in LN RBCs, while free choline is decreased. Intracellular iron, zinc, selenium, and potassium are also decreased in LN RBCs. Global proteomics documented changes in RBC membrane proteins, hemoglobin, redox homeostasis proteins, and the enrichment of coagulation proteins. These changes were accompanied by elevation in protein glutamine deamidation and methylation in the LN children and carrier mother. Treatment with allopurinol incompletely reversed the observed phenotypes in the two older siblings currently on this treatment. This unique data set provides novel opportunities for investigations aimed at potential therapies for LN-associated sequelae.

The Influence of the Family Environment on Student Learning Outcomes in Class IV Social Studies Content di SDN 38 Ampenan

The family environment greatly influences students' success in achieving good learning outcomes. This is reinforced by the theory in Djaali's book; Family situations (father, mother, siblings, younger siblings, older siblings, and extended family) have a significant impact on a child's success within the family. Parental education, economic status, home environment, the percentage of parental relationships, words, and parental guidance all influence a child's learning achievements. This study aims to determine the influence of the family environment on student learning outcomes in the Social Studies subject for fourth-grade students at SDN 38 Ampenan. This research falls under the category of population research and is Expost Facto in nature. The study was conducted at SDN 38 Ampenan in fourth-grade classes, consisting of parallel classes IV/A and IV/B, during the academic year 2022/2023. The data collection instrument used was a family environment questionnaire and data on student test scores in the Social Studies subject. The family environment indicators used include parenting styles, family member relationships, home atmosphere, family economic conditions, and parental understanding. The data analysis techniques employed include descriptive statistical tests, tests for homogeneity, normality, and hypothesis testing. Hypothesis testing uses simple linear regression. The research results show that the significance value obtained is less than 0.005, and the calculated t-value is greater than the tabulated t-value. This indicates that the null hypothesis (Ho) is rejected, and the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is accepted, suggesting a significant influence of the family environment on student learning outcomes in the Social Studies subject at SDN 38 Ampenan.

Psychological Maladjustment in Siblings of Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in An Egyptian Cohort

Background Diabetes is a chronic life-changing event, not just for the sick child but for the entire family. It poses a number of challenges to family units as a whole Objective To assess frequency of psychological maladjustment among siblings of children with Type 1 diabetes (T1D). Subjects and Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 families with a child diagnosed with T1D; for each family one healthy sibling and one parent were included. All parents and siblings had face to face questionnaire. The Arabic version of the parent reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to assess sibling appraisal of living with a child with T1D and his/her adjustment. Siblings aged (11-18years) took the questionnaire on their own as well. Results On evaluating the parent reported SDQ, 60% of the healthy siblings scored within the normal range, 26% were borderline and 14% showed scores in the abnormal range. Comparing data from the current study with the UK norms, healthy sibling from the current study experienced more total difficulties (p < 0.001). Regarding SDQ- self report, 40 % of healthy sibling were normal and 40% and 20% showed scores in the borderline and abnormal range respectively. Similarly, self- reported SDQ showed significantly higher total difficulties scores compared to UK norms (p < 0.001). A significant positive correlation was found between poor glycemic control, as evidenced by HbA1C, as well as diabetes related complications and total difficulties reported by older healthy siblings (p < 0.05). Conclusion Siblings of children with type 1 diabetes are at risk of psychological maladjustment and special attention must be directed to identify siblings at risk who may benefit from psychological support.

Digital Reading among Children in Saudi Arabia

A sample of parents in Saudi Arabia was surveyed to find out the reading technologies that children under the age of 12 use, children’s digital reading habits and interests, parents’ roles in encouraging the children to read digitally, the effects of digital reading on children’s reading ability, and to compare digital reading before, during and after the Pandemic. Survey results showed that all the children in the sample use a smart phone to access apps, games, cartoons, and YouTube videos. About 41% use an iPad or tablet and few use their parents or older siblings’ laptops. None of the children in the sample uses an e-reader such as Kindle. 5% do not like to use an iPad/tablet and prefer to use their parents’ smart phones. Children below the age of 6 use touch screen devices in reading the English and Arabic letters, numeracy and words. They enjoy reading on touch screens. 36% of the children in grades 1-3 use touch screen devices in learning to read and 64% use them for games and entertainment. Children in grades 4-6 mainly use touch screen devices to play games, soccer, car races and watch movies mostly in English and do not use those devices for reading purposes. Older children feel that educational and language learning and reading apps are boring. During the pandemic, children used technology intensively due to remote teaching and learning, i.e., more than before and after the Pandemic. About half of the parents do not share, nor supervise reading from touch screen devices with their children whether during, before or after the pandemic. Despite the advancements in digital reading, most parents and children in Saudi Arabia still prefer print books and stories. Mobile audiobooks, electronic reading games, storybooks, picture books and glossy magazines, reading lessons with a digital, human-like character, WhatsApp remote reading, online book clubs, and children's digital libraries are not used. Therefore, this study recommends the integration of digital reading in the school curriculum, raising parents and teachers’ awareness of digital reading devices, reading apps and websites and designing mobile reading apps with interactive features to motivate older children to read Arabic fiction and short stories.

COVID-19 IN NEWBORNS: OWN EXPERIENCE ON THE EXAMPLE OF CLINICAL CASES

Introduction. Currently, there is controversial information regarding the epidemiologic characteristics and severity of COVID-19 in pregnant women and newborns. Most researchers report the same severity of disease in pregnant and non-pregnant women, and a milder course of disease in the neonatal period, with the possibility of critical illness in some infants. Ideas about the possibility of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to a newborn have changed. Since intrauterine transmission of the novel coronavirus is currently considered rare, COVID-19 in newborns is usually associated with postnatal transmission of the virus.The aim of the work was to analyze the epidemiologic and clinical features of the COVID-19 in newborns based on the analysis of clinical cases.Material and methods. On 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, 11 newborns were admitted to the infectious diseases departments of Chernivtsi Regional Children's Clinical Hospital, 9 children were referred from home by a family physician, and 2 children were transferred from maternity care facilities. Diagnosis was confirmed by PCR-RT detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in nasal/oropharyngeal swabs.The research was conducted in accordance with the principles of bioethics, the conclusion of the Commission on Biomedical Ethics of the Bukovinian State Medical University on the observance of moral and legal rules for conducting medical-scientific research, Protocol No. 6 dated March 16, 2023.The research was carried out within the framework of scientific and research activity of the Department of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases of Children of the Bukovinian State Medical University "Modern epidemiological, clinical-paraclinical and diagnostic features of the most common inflammatory infectious and non-infectious diseases in children", state registration number: 0122U002208.Results. The analysis of the epidemiologic data allowed to identify an intrafamilial source of infection in all identified cases (in one case the source of infection could not be identified), in most cases it was the mother, in one case the source of infection was the father and the grandmother. In most families there are older siblings who could serve as a potential additional source of infection, but respiratory symptoms in siblings were identified in one third of the families.In the late neonatal period, cases of horizontal virus transmission were characterized by mild symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection as acute nasopharyngitis, one case - as a mixture with secretory diarrhea. COVID-19 in another child was accompanied by acute gastroenteritis and moderate dehydration. The clinical picture of coronavirus infection in the remaining third of cases was characterized by lower respiratory tract infection as acute tracheobronchitis, acute obstructive bronchitis and bronchiolitis.Two infants were transferred from the maternity hospital after delivery because of COVID-19 maternal symptoms and SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in the infants' nasal/oropharyngeal swabs on the first day of life. These children were asymptomatic with no clinical or laboratory evidence of an infectious-inflammatory process during observation.Conclusions. The presence of an exclusively family source of infection can be considered an epidemiological feature of COVID-19 in the neonatal period. In the case of horizontal transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in newborns, the disease COVID-19 in most cases proceeds as mild upper respiratory tract infection, less often – as lower respiratory tract infection and/or secretory diarrhea. In the case of maternal COVID-19 disease before childbirth the vertical and/or antenatal infection mode and the subsequent asymptomatic neonatal COVID-19 cannot be denied.

Family structure and entrepreneurship: Evidence from Swedish siblings

ABSTRACT Family background matters for entrepreneurship, but why do siblings differ in their propensity to become entrepreneurs and the type of ventures they pursue? I draw on family socialization and resource allocation theories to develop hypotheses about the differential effects of family structure – comprising birth order, family size, and sibling gender – on (growth-oriented) entrepreneurship. Using firm incorporation as a marker of growth orientation, I test these hypotheses in a sample of Swedish siblings. Relative to older siblings, later born children are more likely to become unincorporated entrepreneurs, partly because they occupy family niches corresponding to lower educational attainment and higher labour market frictions. Moreover, children in very large families are less likely to pursue incorporation, with stronger effects for men and earlier born children, in line with their limited ability to develop self-efficacy due to resource dilution. Growing up with an opposite-gender sibling does not influence entrepreneurship, indicating that sibling sex composition may not foster stronger gender norms or sex-typing in this domain in Sweden. This study integrates existing findings and offers novel insights, broadening our understanding of family background in entrepreneurship.

Bilingual Latina Siblings Supporting Siblings: Shared Reading as a Context for Supporting Cognitive Self-Regulation

To explore the ways in which Latinx older siblings support younger siblings during shared reading, researchers investigated the following question with three Latinx families in the U.S.: How are older siblings modeling and intentionally supporting focal children’s cognitive self-regulation in the context of shared reading? Analyses of video recorded interactions across six visits revealed that older siblings intentionally supported focal children’s cognitive self-regulation by fostering autonomy and choice through the use of verbal and nonverbal cues to guide attention, using prosody to engage their sibling, and to initiate reading beyond resistance, and vicarious modeling of metacognitive processes by engaging in self-corrections and demonstrating positive affect during shared reading interactions. Findings highlight the importance of older siblings, particularly sisters, as key figures in the sociocultural context of development for Latinx younger siblings in the U.S.

Risk factors of NSAID-exacerbated respiratory disease: Apopulation-based study.

Asthma with NSAID-exacerbated respiratory disease (NERD) is associated with uncontrolled or severe asthma. NERD patients are more prone to severe allergic reactions and their asthma exacerbations lead to hospitalisations twice as often compared to patients with non-NERD-asthma. NERD patients are prone to recurrent nasal polyposis requiring frequent endoscopic sinus surgeries. However, the early risk factors of NERD are not fully understood. The aim was to identify risk factors of NERD among patients with adult-onset asthma. We used data from 1350 population-based adult asthmatics with adult-onset asthma from Finnish national registers. NERD was defined as self-reported wheeze or other typical respiratory symptoms after ingestion of NSAIDs. Thirty-six covariates covering several domains (personal characteristics, life-style, early life factors, asthma characteristics and multimorbidities) were selected based on literature and were studied in association with NERD using logistic regressions. The study population included 153 (11.3%) asthmatics with NERD. Thirty-six covariates were entered in univariate logistic regression analysis, in which 23 were associated with NERD (p<0.05). These variables were entered in a multivariable logistic regression model in which allergic respiratory symptoms, female sex, osteoarthritis, difficult asthma, nasal polyps, second-hand smoke exposure at home, having 3 or more older siblings and being overweight were significantly associated with asthma with NERD (p<0.05). Overweight decreased the risk of NERD, other factors increased it. According to our study, risk factors of NERD in part are associated with female sex, BMI, exposure to tobacco smoke, allergy, orthopaedic disorders and infection history, and their early recognition might thus be important to manage the burden of NERD.

Combined effect of hygienic and polygenic risk scores in children with allergic rhinitis.

Although the development of allergic rhinitis (AR) is associated with multiple genetic and hygienic environmental factors, previous studies have focused mostly on the effect of a single factor on the development of AR. This study aimed to investigate the combined effect of multiple genetic and hygienic environmental risk factors on AR development in school children. We conducted a cross-sectional study, comprising 1,797 children aged 9-12 years. Weighted environmental risk score (ERS) was calculated by using four hygienic environmental factors, including antibiotic use during infancy, cesarean section delivery, breast milk feeding, and having older siblings. Weighted polygenic risk score (PRS) was calculated by using four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including interleukin-13 (rs20541), cluster of differentiation 14 (rs2569190), toll-like receptor 4 (rs1927911), and glutathione S-transferase P1 (rs1695). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used. More than three courses of antibiotic use during infancy increased the risk of current AR (adjusted odd ratio [aOR], 2.058; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.290-3.284). Having older siblings, especially > 2 (aOR, 0.526; 95%Cl: 0.303-0.913) had a protective effect. High ERS ( > median; aOR, 2.079; 95%Cl: 1.466-2.947) and PRS ( > median; aOR, 1.627; 95%Cl: 1.117-2.370) increased the risk of current AR independently. Furthermore, children who had both high ERS and PRS showed a higher risk of current AR (aOR, 3.176; 95%Cl: 1.787-5.645). Exposure to multiple hygienic risk factors during infancy increases the risk of AR in genetically susceptible children.

Turning tables: food availability shapes dynamic aggressive behaviour among asynchronously hatching siblings in red kites Milvus milvus.

Aggression represents the backbone of dominance acquisition in several animal societies, where the decision to interact is dictated by its relative cost. Among siblings, such costs are weighted in the light of inclusive fitness, but how this translates to aggression patterns in response to changing external and internal conditions remains unclear. Using a null-model-based approach, we investigate how day-to-day changes in food provisioning affect aggression networks and food allocation in growing red kite (Milvus milvus) nestlings, whose dominance rank is largely dictated by age. We show that older siblings, irrespective of age, change from targeting only close-aged peers (close-competitor pattern) when food provisioning is low, to uniformly attacking all other peers (downward heuristic pattern) as food conditions improve. While food allocation was generally skewed towards the older siblings, the youngest sibling in the nest increased its probability of accessing food as more was provisioned and as downward heuristic patterns became more prominent, suggesting that different aggression patterns allow for catch-up growth after periods of low food. Our results indicate that dynamic aggression patterns within the nest modulate environmental effects on juvenile development by influencing the process of dominance acquisition and potentially impacting the fledging body condition, with far-reaching fitness consequences.

Using the Infant Sibling-Design to Explore Associations Between Autism and ADHD Traits in Probands and Temperament in the Younger Siblings

The purpose of the current study was to use the infant sibling design to explore whether proband traits of autism and ADHD could provide information about their infant sibling’s temperament. This could help us to gain information about the extent to which infant temperament traits are differentially associated with autism and ADHD traits. We used parent-ratings of autistic traits and ADHD traits (CRS-3) in older siblings diagnosed with autism (age range 4 to 19 years), and their infant siblings’ temperament traits (IBQ) at 9 months of age in 216 sibling pairs from two sites (BASIS, UK, and EASE, Sweden) to examine associations across siblings. We found specific, but modest, associations across siblings after controlling for sex, age, developmental level and site. Proband autistic traits were specifically related to low levels of approach in the infant siblings, with infant developmental level explaining part of the variance in infant approach. Proband ADHD traits were specifically related to high levels of infant activity even after controlling for covariates. Our findings suggest that proband traits of autism and ADHD carry information for infant sibling’s temperament, indicating that inherited liability may influence early emerging behaviours in infant siblings. The impact of sex, age, developmental level and site are discussed.

1163-P: The Arrival of a New Sibling May Be Associated with a Deterioration in Glycemic Control for Children with Type 1 Diabetes

Introduction: Caring for young children with Type 1 diabetes comes with significant burden for parents. We hypothesised that pregnancy and the arrival of a new sibling may be associated with a deterioration in control of type 1 diabetes for older siblings with type 1 diabetes. Research Design and Methods: We identified young children currently under the care of the John Hunter Children's Hospital Paediatric Diabetes team who had welcomed a younger sibling since their diagnosis using our prospective Paediatric Diabetes database. We reviewed the HbA1c pre and post the arrival of a new sibling. Results: 38 children (20 male) had become older siblings since diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. 5 children were excluded as no data were available prior to pregnancy. Mean age of children at diagnosis was 3.5 years. Mean age at arrival of sibling was 6years with mean duration of diabetes at that time of 3.4 years. 15 of eligible participants were using insulin pump therapy. Mean HbA1c during pregnancy was 51mmol/mol (6.8%) compared to 54mmol/mol (7.1%) following delivery (p&amp;lt;0.05). 67% of children had HbA1c &amp;lt;53mmol/mol (7%) during pregnancy compared to 53% following delivery. Conclusion: The arrival of a new sibling was associated with a significant increase in HbA1c. This may be due to the high care burden of type 1 diabetes on parents which cannot be met when also attempting to attend to the needs of a newborn. Programs to assist new parents may help children with young siblings to continue to meet glycaemic targets. Despite the young age of the cohort of children prior to delivery of a new sibling, 67% were able to meet the ADA glycaemic target of &amp;lt;7%. This indicates that the goals of intensive management of diabetes are achievable even in the toddler, preschool and early primary school years. Disclosure P.E.Lopez: None. B.R.King: None. C.E.Smart: None. A.Sinclair: None. M.Neylan: None. R.Seckold: None. M.A.Paterson: None.

T cell repertoire breadth is associated with the number of acute respiratory infections in the LoewenKIDS birth cohort

We set out to gain insight into peripheral blood B and T cell repertoires from 120 infants of the LoewenKIDS birth cohort to investigate potential determinants of early life respiratory infections. Low antigen-dependent somatic hypermutation of B cell repertoires, as well as low T and B cell repertoire clonality, high diversity, and high richness especially in public T cell clonotypes reflected the immunological naivety at 12 months of age when high thymic and bone marrow output are associated with relatively few prior antigen encounters. Infants with inadequately low T cell repertoire diversity or high clonality showed higher numbers of acute respiratory infections over the first 4 years of life. No correlation of T or B cell repertoire metrics with other parameters such as sex, birth mode, older siblings, pets, the onset of daycare, or duration of breast feeding was noted. Together, this study supports that—regardless of T cell functionality—the breadth of the T cell repertoire is associated with the number of acute respiratory infections in the first 4 years of life. Moreover, this study provides a valuable resource of millions of T and B cell receptor sequences from infants with available metadata for researchers in the field.

WEB-BASED DIGITAL STORYTELLING (DST) FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Storytelling is generally done by adults, for example teachers to students, older siblings to younger siblings, or parents to their children, either using books, pictures or other props. Lately there has been a rise in media or props designed using digital media. This media helps elementary school (SD) students who are starting to be fluent and interested in reading words or sentences in English, including students aged 10 years and over, especially in terms of fairy tales or storytelling. Digital storytelling, especially in the form of short personally-narrated stories first pioneered by the Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkeley in 1993, is a practice that has now expanded throughout English-speaking countries and Western Europe, and has a smaller but growing presence in the developing world (Davis &amp; Foley, 2016). Through this digital media, students are facilitated in reading storytelling so that it is easier and makes it easier for teachers to assess students' reading abilities, especially in English, namely the pronunciation. Furthermore, this storytelling can be used easily by students through a digital application on a smartphone or computer or laptop as a medium of delivery, so that it becomes a Digital Storytelling (DST). Thus, students aged 10 and over can read and search for the stories they want, anytime and anywhere, especially via smartphones.

Roger’s syndrome presenting with stroke

Rogers syndrome (Thiamine responsive megaloblastic anaemia-TRMA) occurs due to defect in the SLC19A2 gene. SLC19A2 and SLC19A3 genes encode THTR1 and 2 respectively, which are thiamine transporter proteins. The SLC19A2 gene is expressed in the inner ear cells, β-islet cells, and hematopoietic stem cells; consequently, the typical clinical trial of TRMA is diabetes, TRMA, and sensorineural hearing loss. This syndrome, eponymously called Roger’s syndrome is rare. Mode of inheritance of TRMA is autosomal recessive. Clinical presentation as recurrent stroke is extremely rare. We present a case of a five-year-old boy who had recurrent large artery territory cerebral infarcts, with no other identifiable underlying cause of stroke. During current admission, no underlying etiology could be identified for cerebral infarct. On workup, a preliminary diagnosis of TRMA was made and thiamine supplementation was instituted. Gene analysis confirmed the diagnosis. The child was a product of non-consanguineous marriage. There was history of early childhood demise of two older siblings within five years of age due to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). TRMA is a rare autosomal recessive syndrome that manifests as a typical triad with diabetes, hearing loss and megaloblastic anaemia. The treatment is with high dose thiamine supplementation that can alleviate symptoms of diabetes and megaloblastic anaemia. Onset and progression of hearing loss may be delayed with treatment. Some cases may present with recurrent stroke as in the proband.

The potential role of social and familial networks in shaping the well‐being of children in shelters for women survivors of intimate partner violence

AbstractChildren living in households where severe intimate partner violence (IPV) exists sometimes move with their mothers to shelters for battered women. Although there is an increased interest in research exploring children's exposure to IPV, little is known about children's subjective experiences during their stay in shelters. The present study examines children's views of their disconnection from their social and familial networks during their stay in a shelter. Using qualitative methods, 32 children, ages 7–12 years, who resided in a shelter were interviewed. Thematic analysis was implemented to develop codes and themes. The following five themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) absence of grandparents, (b) worry about older siblings, (c) disconnection from the neighbourhood, (d) missing their house and (e) disconnection from previous school and classmates. Findings suggest that children's disconnection from previous formal and informal networks significantly affected their well‐being. The findings are discussed and interpreted in light of selected key concepts of Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model. The limitations of this study are discussed, along with implications for future research, as well as highlights for future intervention.

Impact of childhood leukemia on siblings: their long-term perception of family functioning and its relationship with their psychosocial characteristics using structural equation modeling.

In the context of pediatric cancer, siblings' adaptation and needs have been previously investigated; however, research on the long-term consequences on siblings, especially on their family environment, is scarce. We aimed to (1) assess the family functioning (FF) perceived by siblings of childhood leukemia survivors long after diagnosis and (2) explore characteristics likely associated and investigate associations with psycho-behavioral and social factors. Childhood leukemia survivors' siblings older than 11years were recruited through the LEA cohort, a French long-term follow-up program, and completed the family assessment device (FAD). Logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors likely associated with unhealthy functioning in families as perceived by siblings. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine relationships that predict siblings' perception of FF. We included 605 siblings (mean follow-up time from diagnosis 14.1 ± 6.8years), of whom 175 (28.9%) perceived unhealthy functioning. SEM showed that older siblings were more likely to perceive problematic functioning (β = 0.095, p = 0.014). Sex and leukemia burden had indirect effects on FF through mediators. Family financial situation at diagnosis was not associated with the risk of reporting unhealthy functioning. Our study contributed to identifying siblings at risk of facing family issues and reinforced the need to provide more consideration and suitable resources to avoid late consequences. Often considered as the "forgotten children", future research should focus on developing targeted interventions to facilitate family communication and improve siblings' social support. Overall, results regarding FF perceived by siblings are reassuring and provide new enlightening elements that allow for better support to all families.

Gut microbiota maturity mediates the protective effect of siblings on food allergy

The mechanisms underlying the protective effect of older siblings on allergic disease remain unclear but may relate to the infant gut microbiota. We sought to investigate whether having older siblings decreases the risk of IgE-mediated food allergy by accelerating the maturation of the infant gut microbiota. In a birth cohort assembled using an unselected antenatal sampling frame (n= 1074), fecal samples were collected at 1 month, 6 months, and 1 year, and food allergy status at 1 year was determined by skin prick test and in-hospital food challenge. We used 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to derive amplicon sequence variants. Among a random subcohort (n= 323), microbiota-by-age z scores at each time point were calculated using fecal amplicon sequence variants to represent the gut microbiota maturation over the first year of life. A greater number of siblings was associated with a higher microbiota-by-age z score at age 1 year (β = 0.15 per an additional sibling; 95% CI, 0.05-0.24; P= .003), which was in turn associated with decreased odds of food allergy (odds ratio, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.33-0.61; P< .001). Microbiota-by-age z scores mediated 63% of the protective effect of siblings. Analogous associations were not observed at younger ages. The protective effect of older siblings on the risk of developing IgE-mediated food allergy during infancy is substantially mediated by advanced maturation of the gut microbiota at age 1 year.

Direct Sibling Influence on Eating Behavior in Early Childhood: Siblings as Role Models and Caregivers

ObjectiveDespite the majority of US children having at least 1 sibling, little is known about how siblings influence eating behavior and obesity risk. This qualitative study explored mothers’ perceptions of older siblings’ influences on younger siblings’ eating behavior in the context of mealtimes in early childhood. MethodsA purposive subsample of mothers (n = 30) who participated in the Intervention Nurses Start Infants Growing on Healthy Trajectories and SIBSIGHT studies completed retrospective semi-structured interviews designed to explore the implications of sibling influences on maternal feeding practices during infancy and toddlerhood. Interviews were conducted by video conference with mothers between January and March 2021. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and a qualitative content analysis approach was used to code and identify themes. ResultsTwo main themes were identified related to the influence of older siblings on younger siblings during feeding interactions: 1) Older siblings as positive role models for younger siblings and 2) Older siblings acted as caregivers for younger siblings. Younger siblings received encouragement at mealtimes to try new foods. Older siblings assisted their mothers in caregiving and feeding tasks in developmentally appropriate ways. ConclusionsFindings may help to elucidate the role of older siblings in shaping eating behavior and obesity risk of siblings in early childhood. Better understanding the role of siblings can aid in the development of novel interventions and anticipatory nutrition guidance in family-based clinical and community care.

Sibling Effects on Children's Bilingualism

It is believed that parents, especially mothers, are children’s primary source of language exposure. Recent research suggests that siblings can also be a significant source of language exposure. However, studies on sibling effects on language acquisition and bilingualism are scarce. Therefore, advantageous to conduct a thorough investigation into sibling effects on children’s bilingualism. In the form of library research, this study reveals that older siblings can significantly affect their younger siblings’ language development because siblings spend plenty of time together while their parents are working or otherwise occupied. As a result, older siblings tend to act as caregivers for their younger siblings and serve as a vital source of language input. To conclude, older siblings can significantly influence their younger siblings’ language acquisition and development because siblings’ interactions can sometimes be very intense, which allows language transfer to happen.&#x0D; Keywords: sibling effects, second language acquisition, bilingualism