School-aged Children Research Articles

Development and Evaluation of a Care Needs Scale for Parents of Children With Tourette Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in school-age children. Although TS is not life-threatening, the tics and comorbidities can impact a child's physical and mental health, as well as interpersonal interactions. Understanding the care needs of parents of children with TS is essential for providing healthcare services that effectively support these children. The aim of the study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the care needs scale for parents of children with TS (CNS-PCTS) in Taiwan. METHODS: This study used a methodological design. The scale was developed by preliminarily identifying relevant items and dimensions through a systematic review of the literature. A pilot test with 30 participants and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) confirmed the subscales and items pertaining to the care needs of the parents. Data analysis included content validity, item analysis, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and EFA. The Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was adopted to assess the discriminant validity of the CNS-PCTS. RESULTS: Two hundred fifty-six parents of children with TS completed the scale. The scale-level content validity index was 0.92. The EFA revealed that the CNS-PCTS consisted of 13 items, with the factor loadings ranging from 0.656 to 0.83, and covered 3 factors: getting information about TS, assisting children in social engagement, and obtaining parenting support. The discriminant validity showed a positive correlation between the Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the CNS-PCTS. Cronbach's α coefficients of the subscales ranged from 0.89 to 0.94, and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.94. CONCLUSION: The CNS-PCTS demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties. It helps health professionals understand parents' care needs and assess the effectiveness of interventions. Confirmatory factor analysis can be performed in future studies to provide more rigorous validity.

Impaired emotional multimodal integration in inhibition of return in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder in children. Previous studies have shown that children with ADHD have impaired processing of emotional stimuli, but it is unclear whether their ability to integrate multimodal emotional stimuli is impaired and at which processing pathway this impairment exists. The present study investigated the ability of children with ADHD to integrate emotional audiovisual stimuli under different emotional conditions, and the effect of audiovisual integration on IOR to reveal the impaired processing pathway of their emotional audiovisual integration. Fifty-eight school-age children (29 with ADHD and 29 matched typically developing (TD) children) performed an emotional valence discrimination task with a cue-target paradigm. The results showed that children with ADHD did not exhibit audiovisual integration of emotional stimuli in all experimental conditions. In addition, the IOR effect was significantly smaller for audiovisual targets than for visual targets under the negative but not the neutral emotion condition in children with ADHD, whereas this effect was present in all emotion conditions in TD children. These results indicate that the ability to integrate emotional audiovisual information is impaired in children with ADHD and this impairment exists in both bottom-up and top-down pathways. Additionally, although presenting emotional auditory stimuli at the same time as emotional faces reduced IOR both in children with ADHD and TD, the manner of reduction differed. These findings provide new evidence of emotional processing deficits and multimodal integration deficits in children with ADHD, and help provide support for children in educational settings.

Clinical features and immune memory of breakthrough infection in children after age-appropriate 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination in Taiwan.

As certain vaccine serotypes are still circulating within the community during the PCV13 era, we aimed to delineate the clinical features and assess the immunity following breakthrough infections in children. 101 PCVs-vaccinated children < 18 years with culture confirmed PCV13 serotype breakthrough infection (25/101, invasive pneumococcal disease [IPD]) was identified in Taiwan in 2015-2019. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody levels, IgM+ memory B cells (MBCs), and isotype-switched immunoglobulin (sIg+) MBC specific to serotypes 3, 14, 19A were assessed prior to and one month after an additional PCV13 booster in 9 patients. A cohort of 89 previously vaccinated, healthy children were enrolled as controls. The majority (88%) of the breakthrough infection occurred in children under 7 years old. Infection by serotypes 3 and 19A increased in children aged 5-17 years in 2018-2019. The pre-booster serotype 3- and 19A-specific IgG in both children with breakthrough infection and controls were lower than the IPD protective thresholds (2.83µg/mL for 3; 1.00µg/mL for 19A). Breakthrough infected children showed higher geometric mean ratio in serotype-specific IgG, IgM+ MBCs and sIg+ MBC after an additional PCV13 booster, compared to the controls. Most breakthrough infections occurred in previously healthy preschool-aged children, but such infections may still occur in school-aged children due to waning immunity. Breakthrough infections may also enhance the anamnestic response elicited by PCV13.

Chanting and meditation: an 8-week intervention to promote executive functions in school-age children

The present study investigated the effectiveness of a newly developed 8-week meditation program, which included chanting and meditation, on executive functions (EFs) in school-age children. Twenty-five students assigned to an experimental group participated in the meditation program, engaging in daily and weekly activities for 8 weeks. Another 25 students served as a control group and participated in regular school activities. Pretest and posttest assessments included the n-back task for working memory, the go/no-go task for inhibition, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) for cognitive flexibility. A mixed repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to analyze interaction effects, within-group differences, and between-group differences. The experimental group demonstrated greater improvement compared to the control group across several measures: (1) reaction time in the 1-back task, (2) correct responses in the no-go condition of the go/no-go task, and (3) percentage of correct responses, errors, perseverative errors, non-perseverative errors, perseverative responses, and conceptual level responses in the WCST (p < 0.001). These findings underscore the potential benefits of an 8-week school-based meditation program incorporating chanting and meditation for enhancing EFs in school-age children.

What role does the environment play in language development? Exploring the associations among socioeconomic status, parent language input, and language skills in school-aged children with autism.

Language development in children with autism is influenced by proximal (e.g., parent language input) and distal (e.g., socioeconomic status) environmental constructs. Studies have found that "rich and responsive" parent language input supports autistic children's language development, and recent work has reported positive associations between measures of socioeconomic status (SES) and child language skills. However, little is known about how these proximal and distal environmental constructs interact to shape language development in autism. In a sample of 74 autistic school-aged children, the present study investigated the associations among measures of SES, the quantity and quality of language produced by parents and children during home-based dyadic parent-child interactions, and children's expressive and receptive language skills. Results showed that annual household income was positively associated with parent number of total words (NTW), parent number of different words (NDW), and parent mean length of utterance (MLU), while neither parent education level nor annual household income were significantly associated with measures of child language skills. Parent MLU was positively associated with child MLU and child expressive language skills. Findings suggest that annual household income may influence both the quantity and quality of parent language input, and that parent MLU, a qualitative measure of parent language input, may play a particularly important role in shaping autistic children's expressive language development. Future research should study longitudinal associations among SES, parent language input, and child language skills, as identifying environmental predictors of language skills in autism may facilitate the creation of more effective interventions that support language development.

The right to education in the mother tongue for Ukrainian refugees in Romania according to international and national law

Since the outbreak of the Russian invasion in February 2022, millions of Ukrainian citizens have sought refuge in Romania, with a significant number of people still remaining in the country as of the latest reports. Romanian government data indicate that by April 2024, approximately 154,617 Ukrainian refugees, including 50,000 school-aged children, were residing in the country. Before this crisis, Romania had established robust educational language rights for its Ukrainian minority of around 40,000 citizens. This study rigorously examines these pre-existing language rights within Romania’s legal framework, focusing on public education provisions. Central to the inquiry is whether the comprehensive language rights afforded to Romania’s Ukrainian minority could be extended to the Ukrainian-speaking refugees. The study begins with an introduction contextualizing the refugee crisis and outlining the existing legal framework for minority language rights in Romania. The legal analysis covers constitutional and sub-constitutional provisions, alongside with an examination of international agreements such as the bilateral treaty between Romania and Ukraine, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Special emphasis is placed on education provisions, including curriculum design, textbooks, language of instruction, and decision-making. By addressing these pivotal questions, this study contributes to the theoretical discourse around the personal scope of minority language rights in Europe and offers a nuanced insight into Romania’s legal framework on minority language education. It also seeks to elucidate how Romania’s legal commitments accommodate both established minority communities and newly arrived refugees with similar linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Further sociological research is needed to explore the implementation of Ukrainian-language education to the benefit of the Ukrainian refugees, which was beyond the scope of this study. Nevertheless, Romania possesses all the necessary legal elements to serve as a truly best practice model in Europe for organizing and ensuring good quality education in the mother tongue for Ukrainian refugees.

Risk factors for schistosomiasis

ABSTRACT In this review, I describe the progress in a study that focused on the risk factors for schistosomiasis around the globe for the purposes of the review. Human schistosomiasis affects 229 million people; at least 90% are in sub-Saharan Africa, and 54% are school-aged children. Schistosoma haematobium infects 112 million people, Schistosoma japonicum infects 3.1 million people, and Schistosoma mansoni infects 54 million people. Schistosomiasis can occur in endemic and non-endemic areas. A high risk of schistosomiasis can occur in, for example, preschool-aged children, school-aged children, and workers in endemic schistosomiasis areas. These people make contact with infested freshwater day by day. In addition, environmental factors and socioeconomic factors can affect the transmission of schistosomiasis. Various factors can cause the transmission of schistosomiasis, for example, climate changes and proximity to infested freshwater bodies. People with high risks for schistosomiasis need great attention for treatment and/or prevention programs. Risk factors for schistosomiasis, for example, human behavior and socioeconomic status, can affect the transmission of schistosomiasis. Many developing countries in Africa, Asia, and South America are at risk of this disease. High-risk people need special attention in programs for schistosomiasis elimination.

Effects of urinary organophosphate flame retardants in susceptibility to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in school-age children

Our previous studies have revealed a correlation between urinary phthalates (PAE) metabolites and parabens and PM2.5 exposure and susceptibility to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in school-age children. Our goal was to examine the relationships between urinary organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) and their metabolites and the susceptibility to ADHD in the same cohort of children. We recruited 186 school children, including 132 with ADHD and 54 normal controls, living in southern Taiwan to investigate five OPFRs (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl phosphate (TDCPP), tri-n-butyl phosphate (TnBP), tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBEP), and triphenyl phosphate (TPHP)) and five OPFR metabolites (bis(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (BDCPP), di-n-butyl phosphate (DNBP), bis(2-chloroethyl) hydrogen phosphate (BCEP), di-(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (DBEP), and diphenyl phosphate (DPHP)) in urine. ADHD patients’ behavioral symptoms and neuropsychological function were assessed using the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Version IV Scale (SNAP-IV) and the Conners’ Continuous Performance Test 3rd Edition (Conners CPT3), respectively. BCEP was predominant among urinary OPFRs and the metabolites in both the ADHD and control groups. ADHD children had significantly higher levels of urinary BDCPP, BCEP, DBEP, DPHP, TCEP, TBEP, TNBP, TPHP, and Σ10OPFR compared to the controls. After controlling for age, gender, body mass index, PM2.5 exposure scenarios, and urinary phthalate metabolites, parabens, bisphenol-A and creatinine, levels of urinary BDCPP, TDCPP, and TBEP in ADHD children showed significant and dose-dependent effects on core behavioral symptoms of inattention. DNBP levels were positively correlated with neuropsychological deficits (CPT detectability, omission, and commission), while urinary DPHP in ADHD children were negatively related to CPT detectability and commission. Hyperactivity and impulsivity were not correlated with urinary OPFRs and their metabolites in ADHD children. In conclusion, the ADHD symptom of inattention and CPT performance may be closely associated with certain urinary OPFRs and their metabolites, independent of urinary PAE metabolites, parabens, and bisphenol-A in school-age-ADHD children.

Urogenital schistosomiasis among school children in northwestern Tanzania: Prevalence, intensity of infection, associated factors, and pattern of urinary tract morbidities

BackgroundThe planning and implementation of intervention measures against schistosomiasis, particularly mass administration, require knowledge of the current status of the infection. This is important for monitoring the impact of the intervention on disease indicators such as a decline in infection prevalence, intensity of infection, and urogenital morbidities. Following repeated rounds of mass treatment in northwestern Tanzania, the epidemiology of urogenital schistosomiasis has changed; thus, for the effective planning and allocation of resources, it is important to understand the current status of the disease in the targeted groups. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to determine the prevalence, intensity, and associated factors of Schistosoma haematobium infection and urinary tract morbidities in school-aged children from northwestern Tanzania. Materials and methodsAn analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among schoolchildren aged 5–17 years between November and December 2022. A single urine sample was collected from each child and examined for the presence of S. haematobium eggs and microhaematuria using a urine filtration technique and a urine reagent dipstick. Each child underwent an ultrasonographic examination of the urinary tract according to the World Health Organization standards (Niamey protocol) to detect S. haematobium-related morbidities. ResultsOf the 3225 participants, 54.2 % were female, and the mean age was 10.9 (±1.89) years. The overall prevalence of S. haematobium was 17.7 % (95 % CI: 16.4–19.1, 572/3225). Of the 572 infected children, 81.8 % (95 % CI: 78.4–84.9, 468/572) had light-intensity infections, and 18.2 % (95 % CI: 14.9–21.4, 104/572) had heavy-intensity infections. The prevalence of macro- and microhaematuria was 2.4 % (95 % CI: 1.9–3) and 18.5 % (95 % CI: 17.2–19.8), respectively. Age (aOR: 1.2, 95 % CI: 1.0–1.5), district of residence (aOR: 2.1, 95 % CI: 1.7–2.7) and history of schistosomiasis (aOR: 2.5, 95 % CI: 1.9–3.2) were significantly associated with urinary schistosomiasis infection. However, swallowing praziquantel during the last mass drug administration was protective (aOR 0.6, 95 % CI: 0.4–0.8). The overall prevalence of ultrasound-detectable urinary tract abnormalities was 9.9 % (95 % CI: 8.9–11.1, 299/2994) and included urinary bladder abnormalities in 9.9 % (95 % CI: 8.8–11, 297/2994), ureter abnormalities in 0.2 % (95 % CI: 0.07–0.4, 6/2994), and kidney abnormalities in 0.2 % (95 % CI: 0.09–0.4, 7/2994). Calcification of the urinary bladder was observed in 0.9 % (95 % CI: 0.6–1.3, 29/2994) of the examined children. ConclusionsSchistosoma haematobium infection is still prevalent among schoolchildren in the study setting, and it causes substantial morbidity at an early age. Transmission is driven by the age of the child, district of residence, and history of schistosomiasis. However, swallowing praziquantel in rounds of mass drug administration reduces transmission. Urogenital schistosomiasis infection is associated with haematuria and ultrasound-detectable morbidities. In S. haematobium endemic areas, routine ultrasound screening for urinary tract morbidities could be considered in annual mass treatment programmes for early management. Special attention should be given to children with proteinuria, microhaematuria, and heavy infection intensities.

Modification of asthma treatment efficacy by healthcare access: A reanalysis of AsthmaNet Step-Up Yellow Zone Inhaled Corticosteroids to Prevent Exacerbations (STICS) clinical trial

BackgroundWhile randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in asthma management are designed to balance known and unknown variables across treatment groups, including social and environmental co-exposures, it remains important to consider how these co-exposures influence disease progression and treatment outcomes. The importance of considering socio-environmental co-exposures in the context of asthma is twofold: 1) asthma disproportionately affects low-income urban communities, where air pollution and chronic stress are pervasive; and 2) despite the wide range of asthma treatments, inadequate disease control persists. MethodsIn the present ancillary study of the Step-Up Yellow Zone Inhaled Corticosteroids to Prevent Exacerbations (STICS) RCT, we investigated how socio-environmental factors, such as air pollution exposure and healthcare access, modify the effect of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) therapy in children with asthma. The original STICS RCT evaluated the efficacy and safety of increasing the dose of inhaled glucocorticoids from a baseline daily low dose to five times the daily dose for 7 days in school-age children with mild -to-moderate persistent asthma who began to have short-term loss of asthma control (Jackson et al., 2018 Mar 8) [1]. Our study adds onto those findings by incorporating residential level particulate matter 2.5 μg/m3 (PM2.5) and geographic health provider shortage areas (HPSA) as potential modifiers. ResultsConsistent with the main trial results, we did not find a difference in the number of exacerbations between treatment arms. However, we found the effect of receiving 5xICS, as compared with 1xICS on the time to prednisone was significantly different for children living in areas a shortage of health professionals (HR: 2.09; 95 % CI: 0.74, 5.95) than for children living in no shortage areas (HR: 0.40; 95 % CI: 0.21, 0.77). ConclusionThis finding underscores the importance of considering environmental and social factors in asthma treatment. Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT02066129 https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02066129.

Latent class analysis of loneliness and the influencing factors among school-age children: A cross-sectional survey

Latent class analysis of loneliness and the influencing factors among school-age children: A cross-sectional survey

Adjustment problems and school bullying in grade school: Differentiating between- and within-person associations

This study examined the longitudinal relations between adjustment problems and school bullying in middle childhood by differentiating between- and within-person effects and putting the co-occurrence into consideration. Participants were 1091 U.S. children (51.2 % boys, 80.5 % White) and their teachers. When children were in the third, fifth, and sixth grades, bullying perpetration and victimization were self-reported and adjustment problems were rated by teachers. Using the random intercept cross-lagged panel models, the results demonstrated that adjustment problems, particularly externalizing problems, were independently predicative of bullying and victimization at the between-person level, adjusting for within-person fluctuations and the co-occurrence of adjustment problems. Moreover, at the between-person level, bullying perpetration and victimization were positively related, as were internalizing and externalizing problems. The findings contribute evidence that adjustment problems and school bullying were stably related over time and highlight the importance of adjustment problems in better understanding involvement in school bullying among school-aged children.

Erythema Infectiosum: A Narrative Review.

Erythema infectiosum occurs worldwide. School-aged children are most often affected. Since the diagnosis is mainly clinical, physicians should be well-versed in the clinical manifestations of erythema infectiosum to avoid misdiagnosis, unnecessary investigations, and mismanagement of the disease. The purpose of this article is to familiarize physicians with the wide spectrum of clinical manifestations and complications of erythema infectiosum associated with parvovirus B19 infection. A search was conducted in July 2022 in PubMed Clinical Queries using the key terms "Erythema infectiosum" OR "Fifth disease" OR "Slapped cheek disease" OR "Parvovirus B19". The search strategy included all clinical trials, observational studies, and reviews published within the past 10 years. Only papers published in the English literature were included in this review. The information retrieved from the above search was used in the compilation of the present article. Erythema infectiosum is a common exanthematous illness of childhood caused by parvovirus B19. Parvovirus B19 spreads mainly by respiratory tract secretions and, to a lesser extent, the saliva of infected individuals. Children between 4 and 10 years of age are most often affected. The incubation period is usually 4 to 14 days. Prodromal symptoms are usually mild and consist of lowgrade fever, headache, malaise, and myalgia. The rash typically evolves in 3 stages. The initial stage is an erythematous rash on the cheeks, with a characteristic "slapped cheek" appearance. In the second stage, the rash spreads concurrently or quickly to the trunk, extremities, and buttocks as diffuse macular erythema. The rash tends to be more intense on extensor surfaces. The palms and soles are typically spared. Central clearing of the rash results in a characteristic lacy or reticulated appearance. The rash usually resolves spontaneously within three weeks without sequelae. The third stage is characterized by evanescence and recrudescence. In adults, the rash is less pronounced than that in children and is often atypical. Only approximately 20% of affected adults have an erythematous rash on the face. In adults, the rash is more frequently found on the legs, followed by the trunk, and arms. A reticulated or lacy erythema is noted in 80% of cases which helps to distinguish erythema infectiosum from other exanthems. Pruritus is noted in approximately 50% of cases. The diagnosis is mainly clinical. The many manifestations of parvovirus B19 infection can pose a diagnostic challenge even to the best diagnostician. Complications include arthritis, arthralgia, and transient aplastic crisis. In most cases, treatment is symptomatic and supportive. When parvovirus B19 infection occurs in pregnant women, hydrops fetalis becomes a real concern. Erythema infectiosum, the most common clinical manifestation of parvovirus B19 infection, is characterized by a "slapped cheek" appearance on the face and lacy exanthem on the trunk and extremities. Parvovirus B19 infection is associated with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations. Physicians should be aware of potential complications and conditions associated with parvovirus B19 infection, especially in individuals who are immunocompromised, chronically anemic, or pregnant.

Sustainable Steps in the Snow: Exploring factors associated with active school commuting in Finland

Physical inactivity of children and youth is a major health problem. Active commuting could increase the amount of physical activity and be a more environmentally friendly traffic mode choice compared with motorized vehicles. Parents have an integral role in determining the options a child has for commuting. We explored parental barriers and motivators associated with the active commute of their children.This cross-sectional study used the CLIMATE NUDGE Survey data of parents with school-aged children. A set of 25 possible influencing factors included demographic factors, social aspects, and pro-environmental attitudes, and questions about the motivating role of journey characteristics and health effects. The data were analyzed with two multinomial logistic regression analyses (N = 320): first, comparing those who either never or sometimes commute actively to those who always do so, and second, those who always or sometimes commute actively to those who never do so.Results indicated the strongest determinants to differentiate those who always and those who never use active commute, were commute distance and parental beliefs about social commute norms. The longer the commute distance was, the more likely the child was to belong to the never active commuter group and less likely to belong to the always active commuter group. The more parents believed their child’s peers commuted actively, the more likely it was that their child always commuted actively and less likely they never did so.We found several factors associated with active commuting, yet somewhat surprisingly neither environmental attitudes nor climate change related reasons were significantly associated with active commuting. To conclude, instead of highlighting environmental aspects to promote active commute, we recommend highlighting social norms and perception of the commute distance, and addressing weather-related barriers and health related motivators.

The effect and burden of sand-dust storms on asthma hospitalization: Evidence from cities with arid climate in China

Evidence concerning the impact of sand-dust storms (SDS) on asthma is limited, and little is known about the associated public health burden, especially in regions with arid climates. Therefore, this study seeks to evaluate the effect of SDS on asthma hospitalization and quantify the associated hospital and economic burden in a province with typical arid climates. We collected provincial asthma hospitalization, air pollutants and meteorological data of 14 cities in Gansu province. The space-time-stratified case-crossover design combined with a conditional quasi-Poisson regression was used to estimate the association between SDS and asthma hospitalization during 2018-2022. We further explored the interactive effect of SDS and low temperature, and explored potential effect modifications of gender, age, seasons and regions by stratified analyses. Finally, we calculated the hospital and economic burden of asthma attributed to SDS. A total of 54,134 hospitalization records for asthma and 791 SDS events were recorded during the study period. Northwestern area with arid climate displayed more frequent SDS events and asthma hospitalization compared with regions with subtropical or temperate monsoon climate. The relative risk (RR) of asthma hospitalization increased with SDS, with the greatest RR at lag1, which was 1.164 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.101 to 1.231. We further found that low temperature had an interactive effect with SDS to trigger asthma hospitalization. Stronger associations were observed in males, school-aged children, cold season and northwestern area. The total fraction of asthma hospitalization attributable to SDS was 1.64 % (95% CI: 1.06% to 2.18%), and a conservative estimate of relative healthcare costs was 4.49 (95% CI: 2.92 to 5.99) million China Yuan. Our findings suggest the necessity of controlling SDS and implementing region-specific public health policies as well as personal protective measures against SDS.

The Effects of Wildfires on the Mental and Physical Health of School-Age Children in North America: A Scoping Review.

Wildfires are occurring more often and with greater intensity, leading to longer and harsher fire seasons. As a result, children are more frequently exposed to wildfire smoke, which increases their risk of mental and physical health effects. The purpose of our scoping review is to explore the current literature on what is known about the direct and indirect impacts of wildfires on the mental and physical health of school-age children in North America (5 to 18-year-olds). A health sciences librarian-assisted literature search, with input from the research team, was performed. A total of 16 studies were selected. Common mental health symptoms such as anxiety, depression, suicidal thinking, and post-traumatic stress disorder have been identified. The findings of this review are in line with recent studies showing a connection between adult wildfire exposure and respiratory conditions; however, no cardiovascular health effects in children were identified. The available studies in our review demonstrate that wildfires do increase the impacts on both mental and physical health postexposure in school-age children. Future research should specifically include larger samples, more qualitative and longitudinal studies that can more effectively analyze the effects of wildfire events on psychological factors over time, conceptual frameworks, and exposure metrics specific for PM2.5 from wildfire smoke.

Effects of high fluoride and iodine combined exposure on thyroid nodules and goiter in school-age children in Jiangsu, China

Effects of high fluoride and iodine combined exposure on thyroid nodules and goiter in school-age children in Jiangsu, China

Adverse events following immunization with DTaP-IPV (Tetraxim) in school-aged children in Taiwan, 2017–2020

Vaccination has been an effective method to prevent and control diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio diseases in infancy and adults for years. To maintain the protective effect, a DTaP-IPV vaccine, Tetraxim, was introduced into Taiwan’s national immunization program for children at 5 years of age after primary series vaccination in infancy in October 2017 replacing a Tdap-IPV. To survey the safety of this vaccine, data between 01 October 2017 and 31 December 2020 from two surveillance systems, the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) and Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), were reviewed. We analysed patient’s demographics, symptoms, time of onset, and outcome. A total of 667,497 doses of DTaP-IPV vaccine were administered during the study period. We combined data from VAERS and VICP and deleted duplicate subjects and reports. There was a total of 59 subjects with AEs and the reporting rate of AEs was 8.8 subjects per 100,000 doses. The most common AEs were injection site erythema and swelling. AEs occurred with a median 1 day after vaccination (range 0–3 days). Among the 59 subjects, eight (13.6 %) with serious AEs were hospitalized. These serious AEs included injection site erythema, swelling or extensive limb swelling after vaccination and hospitalization might have been due to ELS that was misdiagnosed as cellulitis. The national passive surveillance data support the safety profile of Tetraxim as a school-entry booster in children at 5 years old in Taiwan.

"The Association between Vitamin D Deficiency and Childhood Obesity and Its Impact on Children’s Serum Calcium, Alkaline Phosphatase, and Bone Age"

ObjectiveThe research aimed to investigate the Association between Vitamin D deficiency and childhood obesity and its Impact on children’s serum calcium, alkaline Phosphatase, and bone Age MethodsThe study analyzed clinical data from 159 school-aged children who underwent medical examinations. The children were divided into a 25-(OH)D3 deficiency group and a non-25-(OH)D3 deficiency group based on their serum 25-hydroxy Vitamin D3 levels. The two groups were compared regarding BMI, TC, TG, FBG, HbA1c, Ca, ALP, and bone age differences. ResultsIndividuals with a deficiency in 25-(OH)D3 exhibited higher levels of BMI, TC, TG, and ALP, and lower levels of Ca and bone age than those without the deficiency. These differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Further analysis revealed a negative association between 25-(OH)D3 levelsa positive correlation between Ca and bone age, and a positive correlation with, BMI, TC, TG, and ALP. ConclusionThe deficiency of 25-(OH)D3 in school-aged children is linked to obesity and impacts bone growth. Monitoring vitamin D levels is crucial for clinical practitioners.

Metalinguistic awareness in L2 Italian children with a migrant background: a trade-off between cognitive advantages and syntactic vulnerabilities

Metalinguistic awareness is a domain where bilingual advantages have been reported, with bilinguals outperforming monolinguals in tasks that require separating syntactic form from semantic content, demonstrating higher selective attention, interference suppression, and inhibition skills (Adesope et al., 2010). However, these cognitive advantages may be counterbalanced by weaknesses in specific linguistic domains, such as morphosyntactic processing. This study investigates the presence of such trade-offs in a Sentence-Judgment Task adapted fromBialystok (1986)in which monolinguals and bilinguals are compared in their ability to judge syntactically well-formed and ungrammatical utterances, regardless of their meaning.We assessed 80 school-aged children, including 36 Italian monolinguals and 44 bilinguals with Italian as a second language, using a task that involved 48 sentences varying in syntactic accuracy and semantic congruency across four conditions. Results from mixed-effects logistic regressions indicated that while both groups performed similarly when judging grammatical and semantically plausible sentences, bilinguals showed superior skills in evaluating syntactically correct but semantically anomalous sentences. Conversely, they underperformed in detecting grammatically incorrect but semantically plausible sentences, highlighting weaker morphosyntactic processing. These findings thussupportthe trade-off hypothesis (Leivada et al., 2023), revealing that while bilinguals display cognitive advantages in metalinguistic awareness, they also may face challenges in linguistic domains. Importantly, this study addressed bilingual children with a migrant backgrounds, a population less studied and potentially more vulnerable, ultimately underscoring the importance of maintaining the home language and providing rich, high-quality input to enhance both their cognitive and linguistic development.