Sleep and its associations with other health behaviours and sociodemographic factors in Australian children under 5 years old.

24-hour movement behaviors of physical activity, screen time, and sleep in youth with down syndrome compared to typically developing peers.

Several regions have published 24-h Movement Guidelines recommending durations of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), recreational screen time (ST) and sleep. This study aimed to investigate the global prevalence of school-aged children meeting the individual and combined recommendations of the 24-h Movement Guidelines. Six databases were initially searched from 2016 to 2025 and further updated in May 2026. This review included studies reporting adherence rates to the 24-h Movement Guidelines, including none, individual (MVPA, ST, sleep), combined (MVPA&ST, MVPA&sleep, ST&sleep) and all three guidelines among children aged 5-13 years. A random-effects model was used to pool prevalence rates across studies. Twenty-nine studies involving 83 396 school-aged children were included in the analysis, and only 10.2% met all three 24-h Movement Guidelines. Among individual and combined guidelines, adherence was the lowest for the MVPA&ST guideline (6.0%), followed by MVPA (7.9%), all three guidelines (10.2%) and MVPA&sleep (10.2%) guideline. Overall adherence to the 24-h Movement Guidelines among school-aged children is low, with the lower compliance for MVPA&ST guideline and MVPA guideline. Targeted interventions to increase MVPA may improve overall compliance.

Excessive electronic media use in early childhood is a potential risk factor for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), though evidence is inconclusive. This study examines screen exposure's relationship with ASD incidence and severity in Bangladeshi children. A hospital-based case-control study at the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh from July 1 2022 to June 30 2023, enrolled 260 participants (130 with ASD per DSM-5 criteria and 130 age-matched controls). Data were collected via structured caregiver interviews on children's screen exposure (including any exposure in the first year, initial exposure age, daily duration, hours during the first year and maternal screen use). ASD severity was assessed using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). Group differences were evaluated using t-tests and χ² tests and correlations between exposure variables and severity were examined using Pearson's coefficients. Eighty percent of ASD cases were exposed to screens in their first year, compared with 46.2% of controls (p<0.001). Mean daily screen time was 6.26±2.37 hours for cases and 1.72±1.29 hours for controls (p<0.001). Children with ASD began exposure earlier (13.68±8.21 vs. 18.09±5.42 months, p<0.001). Screen duration and infant hours showed significant positive correlations with ADOS severity scores (r ≈ 0.30, p<0.001), while age at first exposure correlated negatively (r = - 0.31, p<0.001). Early, prolonged screen exposure was significantly associated with ASD diagnosis and symptom severity. Though causality is not established, these findings emphasize delaying screen introduction and promoting interactive play during early development.

This scoping review examined neuroimaging evidence relating screen-based technology use to brain development in children aged 0-12years. Nine studies were included. Most reported associations between higher screen exposure and less favorable neurodevelopmental outcomes, including reduced cortical thickness, lower gray and white matter integrity, decreased cerebellar volume, and altered connectivity in networks involved in language, attention, executive functioning, and emotional regulation. These neural differences were associated with poorer literacy and language skills, increased anxiety and depressive symptoms, and greater behavioral difficulties. Some evidence suggested positive effects from structured and interactive digital activities, particularly video gaming, which was linked to improvements in working memory, spatial awareness, fine motor performance, and increased regional brain volume. Findings indicate that the impact of screen-based technology is complex and may depend on the type, duration, and context of use. While excessive or unregulated screen exposure appears associated with less favorable developmental outcomes, targeted digital engagement may support specific cognitive functions. Further longitudinal and experimental research is needed to clarify causal pathways and guide evidence-based recommendations for children's digital media use.

Equilibrium and non-equilibrium thermodynamics in drug repurposing: Machine learning-guided discovery of high-affinity WEE1 kinase inhibitors.

Post-stroke dysphagia (PSD) affects approximately 42% of acute stroke patients, increasing hospitalization costs and length of stay. Early identification improves outcomes, yet many patients-especially in low-resource settings-lack access to gold-standard evaluations. This scoping review explores the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and data science-defined as the interdisciplinary use of computational methods, statistical modeling, and machine learning to extract clinically meaningful patterns from biomedical data-in PSD screening and assessment. We synthesize evidence from bedside screening instruments, acoustic voice analyses, and emerging AI-driven models for dysphagia and aspiration risk stratification, critically appraising limitations related to small datasets, overfitting risk, and the need for external validation. Traditional tools like the water swallow test show high sensitivity but varying specificity; recent studies support augmenting these with voice-based biomarkers such as post-swallow wet voice, jitter, and shimmer. While wet voice as a standalone marker has limited sensitivity (8-29%), its high specificity (75-94%) within multimodal approaches justifies continued investigation. AI models trained on acoustic parameters have demonstrated strong performance in detecting penetration-aspiration events, while mobile and voice-based platforms may expand diagnostic reach, pending further validation. We also review optimal screening timing, emphasizing assessment within 24 h of stroke onset with repeated evaluations for high-risk patients. Future directions advocate multimodal, patient-centered approaches combining wearable biosensors, cloud-based analytics, and culturally adapted algorithms, while addressing implementation challenges including infrastructure requirements, digital literacy, workflow integration, and ethical considerations. The convergence of clinical expertise and computational technologies presents a promising path to equitable, scalable, and precise dysphagia care.

Peripartum depression and caregivers' practices of digital media exposure in infants and young children: A systematic review and meta-analysis study.

The relationship between problematic media use and parent-child relationship in children.

Cardiovascular (CV) prevention in young adults is pivotal due to escalating morbidity and mortality rates in this demographic. Assessing CV awareness and its socio-behavioural correlates is essential for developing effective prevention strategies. This study assessed CV awareness and lifestyle behaviours among Polish 18-year-olds, hypothesising that significant gender-specific disparities exist at the threshold of adulthood. A nationwide, representative survey was conducted over 10,000 students in final-year grades from 250 Polish secondary schools. Sampling employed a stratified cluster method. Data were weighted to ensure national representativeness. Awareness of CV risk factors and lifestyle behaviours (diet, physical activity, sleep, and substance use) were evaluated. Of 10,095 participants (6,076 females, 4,019 males), overweight and obesity were recorded at 17.0% and 4.1% in males, and 8.4% and 2.1% in females, respectively (p < 0.001). Only 14.6% of women and 14.3% of men knew their current blood pressure values (p = 0.48). Weekday screen time averaged 5.9 ± 2.7 hours, rising to 6.7 ± 2.8 hours on weekends, with significant gender differences on weekends (p = 0.009). Sleep duration was concerning, with 52.6% of women and 40.5% of men sleeping under seven hours on weekdays (p < 0.001), though 95% slept sufficiently on weekends. Awareness of sleep-related diabetes and obesity risks was minimal. Men had higher alcohol consumption, with 20.5% consuming 100g or more weekly, compared to 12.6% of women (p < 0.001). Smoking was prevalent, with 22.8% of women and 23.7% of men smoking daily. Exercise adherence varied, with only 61.0% of women and 76.7% of men meeting guidelines in summer, declining in winter (p < 0.001). Men generally consumed unhealthy foods more often. While most recognized common myocardial infarction risk factors, under 65% identified high cholesterol as a risk, with women generally performing better in awareness. Polish 18-year-olds exhibit distinct, gender-specific cardiovascular risk profiles. While females possess superior theoretical knowledge, they are more prone to physical inactivity and poor sleep hygiene. In contrast, males are primarily burdened by adverse dietary habits and substance use. These findings indicate that public health interventions should be gender-tailored: prioritising physical activity for young women and focusing on dietary improvements and addiction prevention for young men to effectively mitigate future cardiovascular risk.

The preschool years are a crucial period for development. Stable environments and responsive caregivers support children's cognitive and motor development, two interrelated and essential domains. Caregiver smartphone use in front of children may reduce attention and responsiveness, which have been negatively associated with young children's health and development. We examined associations between the frequency of caregiver smartphone use in a child's presence and motor skills and executive functions, and whether these associations vary by country income level. We analysed cross-sectional data from 27 countries participating in the SUNRISE International Study. Caregivers reported the frequency of smartphone use in the child's presence across five scenarios: mealtime, playtime, travel, walk and bedtime routines. Children's motor skills were assessed using four established tests. Early Years Toolbox games were used to assess children's visual-spatial working memory and inhibition. Mixed-effects linear regression models were used to assess the associations, including interaction terms to test variation by country income level. Models were adjusted for the child's sex, age, daily screen time, time spent outdoors, sleep duration and the caregiver's highest level of education. The analytical sample included 2232 preschoolers (mean age = 4.2 ± 0.6 years, 50.9% girls). In fully adjusted models, the frequency of caregiver smartphone use in a child's presence was not associated with gross motor skills, fine motor skills, visual-spatial working memory or inhibition (all p > 0.05). Results did not differ by country income level. Findings suggest that the frequency of caregiver smartphone use in a child's presence alone may not be associated with performance on motor skills and executive function. There is a need for more sensitive measures that capture the frequency, duration and context of interruptions and more longitudinal studies that examine motor development and cognition. Future research should also account for socioeconomic and demographic diversity, environmental factors and cultural context when assessing such associations.

Media Parenting Practices and Early Adolescent Cyberbullying: Findings From the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study.

Early childhood is a sensitive developmental period during which television exposure is widespread which may include portrayals of aggressive and prosocial behavior. Although prior research suggests modest associations between media content and child behavior, most studies focus on screen time rather than content quality and typically examine aggressive and prosocial content in isolation. From a public health perspective, there is limited longitudinal evidence on how early exposure to aggressive and prosocial television content, and their co-occurrence, relates to children's social and behavioral development over time. Data were drawn from the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal cohort. Children's exposure to aggressive and prosocial television content at age 2 was assessed using fine-grained content coding of children's most frequently watched television programmes. Children's conduct problems, peer relationship problems, and prosocial behavior were assessed at ages 2, 4.5, and 8 using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (N = 5,338). A series of latent growth curve models were estimated to examine associations between aggressive content exposure, prosocial content exposure, their interaction, and overall television viewing time, with children's initial levels and developmental trajectories of social and behavioral outcomes. Children's television exposure frequently included both aggressive and prosocial behaviors, highlighting the heterogeneity of content viewed by young children. Higher exposure to aggressive television content was associated with higher levels of conduct and peer relationship problems at age 2, though these associations were attenuated after accounting for overall television viewing time, which predicted a steeper decline in conduct problems across childhood. Exposure to prosocial television content, the co-occurrence of aggressive and prosocial content, and all interaction terms with overall television viewing time were not associated with any outcome at age 2 or over time. Overall, the findings suggest that early television content exposure is associated with behavioral differences early in development, though associations with developmental change across childhood did not contribute beyond the contribution of total television viewing time. From a public health perspective, these findings highlight the importance of considering television content quality alongside viewing quantity, recognizing that both are embedded within broader family and developmental contexts that warrant further investigation.

This study aimed to determine the proportion of Nepali preschool children (3-4 years of age) meeting the World Health Organization (WHO) 24- hour movement guidelines for physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour and sleep by sex (male vs. female) and place of residence (urban vs. rural) and evaluate their executive functions and motor skills. Furthermore, it evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of methods proposed for the main SUNRISE study in diverse settings. In this pilot study, a total of 99 preschool children, balancing sex and place of residence, each with one parent/caregiver, from Syangja District were recruited. Physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep were assessed using waist-worn ActiGraph accelerometers (ActiGraph wGT3x-BT) with ≥ 1 valid 24-hour period of data, motor skills (gross and fine) were evaluated using the NIH Toolbox motor battery, and executive functions were assessed using the Early Years Toolbox. Eight focus group discussions (FGDs) were carried out with parents/caregivers, and a short interview was conducted with eight Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre teachers to explore the feasibility and acceptability of implementing the SUNRISE protocol. Only 10% of children met all components of the WHO 24-hour movement guidelines (≥ 180min total PA, of which ≥ 60min were MVPA, ≤ 1h of screen time, and 10-13h of sleep). Proportions of those meeting the guidelines were higher for sleep (81%) and physical activity (79%) than for screen time (56%). Altogether, 96 children wore the accelerometer, of which 78 had at least ≥ 1 valid 24-hour period of data. Males and rural children accumulated more daily moderate-to-vigorous and vigorous physical activity than females and urban children, respectively. In contrast, females were more likely to meet screen time guidelines than males (66% vs. 42%, p = 0.018). Additionally, females had better inhibition control than males, and rural children had better working memory than urban children. Parent/caregivers and ECD teachers reported that the study procedures, including accelerometer use, were acceptable and feasible. Adherence to the full set of WHO movement guidelines was very low among preschool children in this study, with screen time emerging as the most challenging component. Targeted strategies are needed to promote healthier movement behaviours, particularly to reduce screen time. The findings support the feasibility and acceptability of conducting the main SUNRISE study in Nepal.

Silent spread: tuberculosis burden and care pathway delays among migrant and asylum-seeking children and adolescents in Scotland.

Associations between movement behaviors, sleep, and screen time exposure in middle childhood using multivariable modelling.

Early adolescence is a time of risk for disrupted or insufficient sleep, and widespread use of electronic media may exacerbate this risk. However, findings linking screen time to sleep in adolescent samples are inconsistent, rely primarily on self-report, and seldom consider sleep variability. We examined associations between 24-hour total screen time scraped from mobile devices and actigraphy-assessed indicators of sleep timing and quality across one week (means, variability, and day-to-day fluctuations) in a community sample of 677 adolescent twins (Mean age = 13.53, SD = 1.13; 50.96% female; 52.88% non-Hispanic White, 21.27% Hispanic/Latino), of whom 389 had actigraphy data and 488 had screen time data. For a subsample of Android users (n=171), hours of social media and mobile gaming were also considered. We conducted person-level associations using path analysis, with standard errors corrected for clustering of twins within families, and day-level analyses using three-level models. After multiple testing correction, greater person-level screen time was associated with later bedtime, and more variable wake time and duration, but not efficiency, latency, catch-up sleep, or social jetlag. More social media use was associated with later bedtime and greater duration variability. Mobile gaming was unrelated to sleep. Day-level screen time was weakly associated with later bedtime that night, with no other significant associations. Associations were mixed and modest, but not reliant on adolescent self-report. Findings do not provide strong evidence that moderate screen use is detrimental to sleep, but future studies should consider individual and contextual moderators and more nuanced objective measures.

ABSTRACT Young children’s digital technology use increased rapidly during and after the global COVID-19 pandemic. In early childhood years, parents and teachers either allow or prohibit children’s digital technology use. Teachers play an important role in guiding families and communicating with parents about children’s digital habits, development, and well-being. This qualitative study explored preservice and in-service teachers’ perspectives on young children’s increased digital technology use, including their mediation strategies (e.g., restrictive, active mediation, co-use). Using purposive sampling, the authors collected data from 70 participants in Türkiye (35 preservice and 35 in-service teachers) through open-ended written response forms and semi-structured focus group interviews. Thematic analysis was used to identify key patterns across responses. The findings revealed that in-service teachers emphasized practical strategies, such as setting screen time limits and curating appropriate content, while preservice teachers highlighted the need for coursework and practice to effectively guide parents in children’s digital technology use. Both groups emphasized the importance of family routines and safety concerns. These findings suggest the need for relevant coursework, application opportunities, and professional development programs to enhance preservice and in-service teachers’ technology and pedagogical skills and the need to raise awareness among parents and offer parent education initiatives.

Adolescent alcohol use and cyberbullying victimization represent significant global public health concerns. This two-year longitudinal study examined the prospective association between alcohol use and cyberbullying victimization among school-aged adolescents and explored the potential mediating roles of loneliness, sadness, and nervousness. We utilized data from 1,902 adolescents (mean age 12.2 ± 0.47 years; 51.3% boys) in the Ningbo Youth Risk Behavior Survey (2016-2018). Self-reported baseline data included alcohol use, lifestyle factors (physical activity, screen time, smoking status, and diet), and demographics. Cyberbullying victimization was assessed at follow-up. Multivariable logistic regression, adjusted for key covariates, was used to evaluate the association between alcohol and cyberbullying. Sensitivity analyses were performed to test the consistency of this association across subgroups stratified by sex, age of drinking initiation, and alcohol consumption frequency. Subgroup and mediation analyses were performed to examine potential effect modifiers and the indirect effects of loneliness, sadness, and nervousness. At baseline, 40.6% (n = 773) of the adolescents reported alcohol use. The incidence of cyberbullying victimization at follow-up was 11.4% (n = 217). After adjusting for confounders, baseline alcohol use was significantly associated with increased odds of subsequent cyberbullying victimization (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.06 to 2.00). Sensitivity analyses revealed that this association was stronger in boys (AOR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.10 to 2.42), those who initiated drinking at age ≥ 11 years (AOR = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.23 to 2.61), and those with higher drinking frequency (1-2 days/month: AOR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.09 to 2.63; 3-30 days/month: AOR = 2.41, 95% CI: 1.24 to 4.50). Mediation analyses indicated that loneliness and nervousness partially mediated the relationship between alcohol use and cyberbullying victimization, accounting for 11.59% and 7.25% of the total effect, respectively. Sadness did not have a significant mediating effect. Alcohol use is an independent predictor of subsequent cyberbullying victimization among adolescents, with a more pronounced effect among boys. This association is partially mediated by increased feelings of loneliness and nervousness. These findings suggest that interventions targeting alcohol use, in addition to efforts to reduce loneliness and nervousness, may help mitigate the risk of cyberbullying victimization in this population.

Systematic reviews of observational studies are central to causal inference in chronic disease epidemiology but are increasingly limited by the scale of the literature and heterogeneity in confounder control. There is a need for transparent, open methods that reduce screening burden and make reported exposures, outcomes, and covariates comparable across studies. To develop and evaluate modular LLM-based pipelines, LitScreen and VarEx, that automate study screening and variable extraction for observational systematic reviews across multiple use cases, including hypertension as a primary exposure with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) as outcomes, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as the exposure with self-harm, self-injury, and suicidality as outcomes. We built an end-to-end workflow in which reproducible MEDLINE via Ovid queries yield RIS corpora that are processed by LitScreen, a three-phase screening pipeline combining abstract-level evidence extraction, criterion-wise inclusion adjudication with high-recall gates, and full-text retrieval-augmented verification. Screened-in articles enter VarEx, a retrieval-augmented extraction pipeline that identifies role-specific passages and performs evidence-grounded extraction and semantic classification of exposures, outcomes, and covariates into predefined categories aligned with Metaconfoundr. Performance was evaluated on six labeled SYNERGY datasets and expert-annotated hypertension-to-ADRD and education-to-dementia corpora using precision, recall, F 1 , a strict score requiring correct variable identity and category, and time-per-reference estimates. In the primary hypertension-to-ADRD reference set, VarEx achieved covariate-level precision of 0.80, recall of 0.79, and F 1 of 0.76, with classification accuracy of 0.97 and similar performance for education-to-dementia and SYNERGY validation datasets. LitScreen preserved high recall while excluding most ineligible records and reduced total screening and extraction time by roughly 80-90 percent relative to manual review baselines by routing only uncertain or borderline citations to full-text verification. A retrieval-augmented LLM framework can automate major components of screening and variable extraction for observational systematic reviews, generating reusable structured covariate inventories that integrate with causal confounder assessment tools and substantially improve the efficiency and reproducibility of evidence synthesis, while remaining an assistant to, rather than a replacement for, human reviewers.