Author Interviews, Depression, Gender Differences, Pediatrics / 12.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jie-Yu Chuang PhD Department of Psychiatry University of Cambridge Cambridge, United Kingdom  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Men and women appear to suffer from depression differently, and this is particularly striking in adolescents. By 15 years of age, girls are twice as likely to suffer from depression as boys. There are various possible reasons for this, including body image issues, hormonal fluctuations and genetic factors, where girls are more at risk of inheriting depression. However, differences between the sexes don't just involve the risk of experiencing depression. Men are more liable to suffer from persistent depression, whereas in women depression tends to be more episodic. Compared with women, depressed men are also more likely to suffer serious consequences from their depression, such as substance abuse and suicide. Despite this, so far, most researchers have focused on depression in women, likely because it is more common. As a result, we'd like to make people more aware of the sex difference issue in depression. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics / 06.07.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Seetha Shankaran, M.D. Professor, Neonatology Wayne State University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The study was performed because infants with moderate or severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (abnormal neurological exam within 6 hours of birth due to lack of blood and oxygen supply to the brain at birth) have rates of death or survival with disability that were still high in spite of current intensive care including hypothermia. Whole-body hypothermia, cooling the infant for 72 hours at a depth of 33.5°C that was performed by the Neonatal Research Network funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development was the first trial of this therapy in the USA. We found that hypothermia therapy did decrease the rate of death or survival with disability from 62 to 44%. Since 44% is still high we wanted to see if longer cooling or deeper cooling or both would reduce this rate. This was a randomized controlled clinical trial to examine whether longer cooling or deeper cooling or both reduced the rate of death or survival with disability among full term neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. The study lasted from October of 2010 to January 2016. 364 infants were enrolled. Neonates were randomly assigned to 4 groups of cooling therapy and the major findings were that neither longer cooling nor deeper cooling nor both were more superior to cooling for 72 hours at 33.5°C. Our results were surprising because at the time we planned this study there were reports from animal model studies that longer/deeper cooling were more protective to the brain. (more…)
Author Interviews, Hearing Loss, Pediatrics / 23.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Peter Carew Lead author, MCRI PhD student Clinician The University of Melbourne MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The age at diagnosis of a congenital hearing loss has dropped over time. This has allowed for earlier fitting of amplification (hearing aids, cochlear implants) and earlier access to education intervention programs, all intended to lessen the impact of hearing loss on development. Much research has focused on the outcomes achieved by children with severe and profound losses, but relatively little attention has been given to milder hearing losses (mild and moderate). Despite this lack of evidence, we are observing children with mild loss being fitted with hearing aids earlier than ever before. From a historical age of fitting not uncommonly at 2 years of age or older, today the largest number of children under 12 months who receive a hearing aid for the first time in Australia have a mild hearing loss in their better hearing ear. To this end, clinical practice may have jumped ahead of the evidence in terms of understanding any benefits children with mild hearing loss receive from having hearing aids earlier. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 22.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: David C. Grossman, M.D., M.P.H. US Preventive Services Task Force Chair Senior Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute Senior Associate Medical Director, Market Strategy & Public Policy Kaiser Permanente Washington Physician, Washington Permanente Medical Group, Pediatrics MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this recommendation? Response: Recognizing that obesity is a nation-wide health problem, affecting approximately 17% of 2-to 19-year-old children and adolescents in the U.S., the Task Force finalized its recommendation on screening for obesity in children and adolescents and the benefits and harms of weight management interventions. The Task Force found sufficient evidence to recommend screening for obesity in children and adolescents age 6 years and older and then offering or referring those who are found to be obese comprehensive, intensive behavioral interventions to manage their weight and improve overall health. MedicalResearch.com: What are the potential benefits and harms of early screening and intervention for obesity in children? Response: The Task Force found that intensive behavioral interventions for children and adolescents who have obesity can result in benefits of improvement in weight status for up to 12 months’ post-intervention. Additionally, the evidence indicated very little harm from screening and comprehensive, intensive behavioral interventions. This is due to likely minimal harms of using BMI (body mass index), the absence of reported harms of behavioral interventions, and the noninvasive nature of the programs. (more…)
Author Interviews, Global Health, Infections, Pediatrics / 19.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Aleksandra Jakubowski, MPH PhD candidate Department of Health Policy and Management Gillings School of Global Public Health University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The US President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) provides approximately $600 million annually to fund implementation of key evidence-based malaria prevention and treatment interventions, including insecticide treated nets (ITNs), artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), and indoor residual spraying (IRS) to populations in 19 recipient countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Despite this considerable investment, no study to date has evaluated the impact of PMI on population health outcomes. Previous evaluations have noted improved health outcomes in PMI countries, but comparison groups are needed to establish whether these changes were beyond the declining trends in mortality observed in the rest of the region. Our study sought to generate objective evidence for policy makers about the role this US-funded malaria aid program may have played in curbing child mortality in SSA. We used a quasi-experimental design known as difference-in-differences to compare trends in health outcomes in PMI-recipient vs. PMI non-recipient countries. We analyzed publicly-available data from 32 countries in SSA spanning a period that included about ten years before and after the introduction of the program. (more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, JAMA, Opiods, Pediatrics / 19.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Scott Hadland, MD, MPH, MS Youth Addiction Specialist Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Boston University School of Medicine Director, Urban Health and Advocacy Track, Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center Associate Program Director, Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Almost no data have been available on this topic to date.  A recent study showed that teens in subspecialty treatment for opioid addiction were significantly less likely than adults to receive a medication.  Our study was the first to comprehensively look across the health care system, including looking at adolescents and young adults diagnosed with opioid use disorder in outpatient clinics, emergency departments, and inpatient hospitals. We had three important findings.  First, looking at a large sample of 9.7 million adolescents and young adults between the age of 13 and 25 years, we found that the number of youth diagnosed with opioid use disorder increased six-fold from 2001 to 2014.  This is perhaps not surprising given the national opioid crisis we know to be occurring. Second, we found that only a minority of youth (1 in 4) received buprenorphine or naltrexone, the two medications available for opioid addiction that can be prescribed in usual medical settings.  These two medications are evidence-based and their use is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.  Utilizing them is critical to ensure that we offer effective treatment early in the life course of addiction, which can help prevent the long-term harms of addiction. Third, we found significant differences in who received medications.  Whereas approximately 1 in 3 young adults in our study received a medication, only 1 in 10 of the 16- and 17-year-olds we studied received one, and among adolescents under 15 years of age, 1 in 67 received a medication.  Females were less likely than males to receive medications, as were black youth and Hispanic youth relative to white youth. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, OBGYNE, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 19.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Cuilin Zhang MD, PhD Senior Investigator, Epidemiology Branch Division of Intramural Population Health Research NICHD/National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD 20817  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Refined grains with a high glycemic index and reduced fiber and nutrient content have been linked to increased adiposity and higher risk of metabolic syndrome among adults. Despite these differences and the growing body of literature on the link between maternal diet/nutrition during pregnancy and subsequent offspring health consequences throughout the lifespan, little is known about the intergenerational impact of refined-grain intake during pregnancy on long-term cardio-metabolic outcomes in the offspring. (more…)
Allergies, Author Interviews, Nutrition, Pediatrics / 19.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Malcolm Sears, Professor MB, ChB, FRACP, FRCPC, FAAAAI Co-director of the CHILD Study Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, McMaster University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) Study is a longitudinal birth cohort study commenced in 2008 with 3,495 families across Canada.  We recruited the mothers during pregnancy and are following their children to age 5 with the intent of determining the underlying developmental causes of allergy and asthma. In the current analysis, we have looked at the relationship between the timing of first introduction of three “allergenic” foods (milk products, egg and peanut) and the likelihood of sensitization to these foods at age 1 year.  We found that earlier introduction was associated with a reduced risk of sensitization, which is consistent with some recent randomized controlled trials.  For instance, infants who avoided cow’s milk product in their first year of life were nearly four times as likely to be sensitized to cow’s milk compared with infants who did consume cow’s milk products before age 12 months.  Similarly, infants who avoided egg or peanut in the first year were nearly twice as likely to be sensitized to those foods compared to infants who consumed them before 12 months of age. (more…)
Abuse and Neglect, Addiction, Alcohol, Pediatrics / 19.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tammy E. Corr, D.O. Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Division of Newborn Medicine Penn State Hershey College of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Recent literature has revealed hospital charges related to neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) have increased. However, there are no data available regarding costs of an NAS admission. Because charges are variable and influenced by a number of factors, provider costs to care for a patient offer more meaningful information. Therefore, we endeavored to determine the incidence of NAS in the United States and estimate the total annual costs and hospital length of stay for an neonatal abstinence syndrome admission as well as the incremental costs and hospital days of admission for an NAS patient compared to a non-NAS admission. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Pediatrics / 14.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Charlotte Cecil, PhD ESRC FRL Fellow Edward Barker, PhD Lab Director, DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOPATHOLOGY LAB Department of Psychology Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology& Neuroscience King's College London MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Conduct problems (CP) are the most common reason for child treatment referral in the UK, costing an estimated £22 billion per year. Children with CP engage in a range of aggressive and antisocial behaviours (e.g. fighting, stealing, lying), that affect their ability to follow rules and adapt to society, do well in school, and form healthy relationships. Those who do not receive treatment are also at increased risk for many negative outcomes in adulthood, including lower job prospects and earnings, more contact with the police and a lower quality of life. Therefore, it is important to understand how CP develop in the first place, in order to create more effective prevention and intervention strategies. Studies have found that children who develop conduct problems before the age of 10 (early-onset CP) are at greatest risk for poor outcomes across the lifespan. Compared to other children, those showing early-onset CP tend to have experienced more adversity in early life (e.g. prenatal stress, poverty) as well as having more genetic risk. However, little is known about about how genetic factors interact with environmental influences - especially during foetal development - to increase the risk for early-onset conduct problems. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Gender Differences, JAMA, Pediatrics, Surgical Research / 13.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mackenzie M. Herzog, MPH PhD Candidate, Injury Epidemiology The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In 1999, a study by Arendt et al. reported that women were more likely to tear their ACL than men while playing the same sport. Since then, numerous studies have investigated this sex difference in ACL injury, and many prevention programs targeting youth athletes have been developed and tested. Although randomized trials have demonstrated the value of injury prevention programs in reducing the risk of ACL injury, the overall impact of these programs has not been examined in the general population. Our study investigated the net impact of research and prevention efforts over nearly 20 years in reducing ACL injuries by assessing time trends of ACL reconstruction, a consequence of ACL injury, among commercially-insured individuals in the United States. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 10.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Raylene Reimer, PhD, RD Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology University of Calgary Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Cumming School of Medicine Full Scientist Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The human gut microbiota is a complex and dynamic population of microorganisms that benefit the human host through a variety of microbial activities (e.g. production of vitamins, immune regulation, utilization of dietary fiber). Despite these benefits however, it is now recognized that disruption of the microbiota (dysbiosis) can upset homeostasis and contribute to diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Manipulation of the gut microbiota to prevent or treat chronic disease is now an area of intense scientific and clinical interest. Dietary prebiotics, such as inulin and oligofructose, are used selectively by host microorganisms to confer a health benefit. Prebiotics have previously been shown to reduce body fat, improve appetite control and reduce blood glucose in adults with overweight or obesity. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 07.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Elsie M. Taveras, MD, MPH Ofer and Shelly Nemirovsky MGH Research Scholar Chief, Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics Mass General Hospital for Children Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Boston, MA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We designed this study to test the effectiveness of two interventions that linked clinical and community approaches in improving childhood body mass index (BMI) and obesity prevalence. Another important question we set out to understand was whether there were outcomes aside from BMI and obesity that mattered most to families of children with obesity. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Pediatrics / 04.06.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gary Smith, MD, DrPH Director, Center for Injury Research and Policy Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus, OH MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Lawn mowers continue to be an important source of serious pediatric morbidity in the United States (US) with initial treatment of pediatric lawn mower-related injuries costing about $90 million annually. The long-term physical, psychological, and financial effects of these traumatic injuries can be devastating for those injured and for their families. This study comprehensively analyzes data over a 25-year period using a nationally representative database to evaluate the epidemiologic characteristics, including mechanism of injury, of lawn mower-related injuries to children in the US. It also provides a discussion of relevant injury prevention strategies. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Orthopedics, Pediatrics / 31.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jacqueline Pasulka, OMS II Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine , Des Moines , IA Division of Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago , Chicago , IL MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In this study young athletes were recruited from both sports medicine and general practice clinics and were asked to complete surveys reporting on their sports participation, training patterns, and any sports-related injuries they had over the previous six months. We focused this study on the subset of athletes who met the criteria for being a single-sport specialized athlete based on their reported participation in only one sport and training for eight months or more during the year for that sport. Athletes participating in individual sports were more likely to be single-sport specialized than their team sport peers, and they also reported an earlier age at which they began specializing in their sport. Additionally, injury types differed among these two groups as single-sport specialized athletes in individual sport athletes had a greater proportion of overuse injuries, while single-sport specialized athletes in team sport athletes had a greater proportion of acute injuries. (more…)
Author Interviews, Education, Pediatrics / 27.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Hermundur Sigmundsson Department of Psychology Norwegian University of Science and Technology MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: There are around 23 baby-swimming instructors in Iceland who are offering baby swimming-courses. However, Snorris way to do this is unice after my knowledge. He has been doing baby swimming from 1990 - and has had around 7.000.- babies He heard about this from Norway and discovered that very young babies can stand in this way. He discovered this through practical experience. It works like this:  When holding children in the water - He put his hand under the feet of the children - and lift little bit under i.e gives some pressure (tactile stimuli) the children are gradually able to stand in the feet - so stimuli and experience is important. When they are able to stand once they are able to stand again. How long time it takes for each baby to be able to stand varies a lot - as in our study - the youngest was 3.6 months old. One of the participants was standing in 15 sec in the hands of Snorri in the first week of baby swimming course. I did see babies stand first soon after Snorri started baby swimming instruction around 1990-1991. I was very surprised - and was thinking how is it possible? This is not supported by the literature. My colleagues an I thought about this as a window to study development of balance and coordination in infants. The issue about reflexes versus voluntary movement through experience was central. (more…)
Author Interviews, Pediatrics / 24.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Megan Heere, MD Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University Medical Director Temple University Hospital Well Baby Nursery Temple Pediatric Care Philadelphia, PA 19140 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Bed-sharing, the unsafe practice in which parents sleep in the same bed as their babies, is associated with sleep-related deaths in infants, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed. No studies have examined the effect of a Finnish-style baby box on infant sleep environment. Face-to-face postpartum education about safe infant sleep, combined with the distribution of a baby box, which is a cardboard bassinet, reduced the rates of bed-sharing during babies' first 8 days of life. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Pediatrics / 10.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kris Jatana, MD FAAP Pediatric Otolaryngologist Nationwide Children’s Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This study looked at a 21-year period – 1990 through 2010 – and focused on children younger than 18 years of age treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments for cotton tip applicator-related ear injuries. About 263,000 children were injured during the study period, which comes out to approximately 1000 injuries seen in emergency departments every month or 34 per day. The majority of injuries occurred when cotton tip applicators were used to clean a child’s ear canal (73%), and most of those injuries occurred when a child was using a cotton tip applicator on their own (77%), or their parent was using the device (16%) to clean the ear canal. About two out of every three patients were younger than 8 years of age, and patients aged 0-3 years accounted for 40% of all injuries. Surprisingly, the highest rate of injury was in children 0-3 years old. The most common injuries were foreign body sensation (30%), perforated ear drum (25%) and soft tissue injury (23%). (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Pediatrics / 09.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Monika Goyal, M.D., M.S.C.E. Assistant Professor of Pediatrics & Emergency Medicine Director of Research, Division of Emergency Medicine and Attending Physician Children’s National Health System The George Washington University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: As pediatric emergency clinicians, unfortunately, many of us have cared for a number of children who have been victims of gun violence. We wanted to investigate whether gun laws may make a difference in the rates of firearm-related morbidity and mortality in children. We specifically were interested in emergency department visits because they relate directly to the care we provide to pediatric patients. Our main findings from our five-year study were that children are affected by gun violence nationally and, specifically, we saw regional differences in emergency department visits made by children who were victims of firearm violence. Overall, firearm-related visits by patients 21 and younger to emergency departments remained consistent over time at a rate of 65 per every 100,000 visits until 2013, when they decreased slightly to 51 per 100,000 visits. We also found that regions with more strict gun laws had lower rates of emergency department visits by children for gun violence compared with those regions with less stringent laws. We used the Brady Score, which looks at various state gun laws and assigns a score, to measure strictness. Then, based on state-level scores, we created regional composite scores. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Diabetologia, Nutrition, Pediatrics / 07.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sari Niinistö, PhD Senior Researcher, Public Health Solutions, Nutrition Unit National Institute for Health and Welfare Helsinki, Finland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Previous prospective studies have observed protective association between fish-derived fat and type 1 diabetes related autoimmunity in older children. Also some other fatty acids have been associated with the risk for type 1 diabetes associated autoimmunity. We wanted to study very young children, because type 1 diabetes associated autoimmunity often begins early, already in infancy. Therefore, we investigated whether serum fatty acid levels during infancy or the main dietary sources of fatty acids (breast milk and infant formula) were related to the development of autoimmunity responses among children at increased genetic risk of developing type 1 diabetes. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Ophthalmology, Pediatrics / 05.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rohit Varma, MD, MPH Executive Director - USC Roski Eye Institute and Dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Visual impairment in early childhood has profound impact on a child’s development. It can significantly impair development of visual, motor, and cognitive function1-3 and lead to adverse psychosocial consequences. There has been a lack of accurate data characterizing the current and expected numbers of visual impairment cases among preschool children in the United States from 2015 to 2060. The number of preschool children with visual impairment is projected to increase by 26% in 2060. And 69% of these visual impairment will result from simple uncorrected refractive error such hyperopia and myopia, which can be prevented or treated by low-cost refractive correction. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Pediatrics / 03.05.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tove Fall, PhD Department of Medical Sciences Molecular Epidemiology and Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University Uppsala, Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Type 1 diabetes is a severe chronic disease in children. There are few established risk factors, but it has been hypothesized that factors related to reduction of microbial exposure in childhood may increase the risk. We have previously shown that children in dog-owning families are at lower risk for asthma, and we now wanted to investigate the relationship of dog ownership and diabetes. We did this by studying the whole Swedish child population with record linkage across registers of health and dog ownership. We could not find evidence for an association of dog ownership and type 1 diabetes in the general population. (more…)
Author Interviews, HIV, JAMA, Pediatrics, Sexual Health / 25.04.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Robin Lin Miller, Ph.D. Professor, Ecological-Community Psychology Co-Director, MA in Program Evaluation Chair, Graduate Program in Ecological-Community Psychology Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We wanted to identify promising strategies for providing access to HIV-testing for gay and bisexual male youth. We were especially interested in testing strategies to reach gay and bisexual male youth of color, as they bear a disproportionate burden of the HIV epidemic and are the least likely to be aware of their HIV status. We also wanted to explore approaches to successfully link these youth with HIV-negative test results to diverse HIV prevention services, including pre-exposure prophylaxis, when warranted. Although some argue that the ideal place to test adolescents and young adults is via emergency rooms and in routine medical care visits, we found that we were able test many more youth with previously undiagnosed HIV-infection through intensive, targeted community outreach efforts. We also tested a much higher proportion of young men of color through targeted outreach. (more…)
Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, Education, Nursing, Pediatrics / 25.04.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Deborah A. Raines PhD, EdS, RN, ANEF School of Nursing University at Buffalo MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This research grew from my experience as a neonatal nurse. I have worked with many families preparing to take their baby home and have seen the anxiety they experience wondering if they will be able to take care of their baby’s medical needs at home. Parents are usually most anxious about emergency situations that may occur. Majority of these parents are able to state what they should do, but have never experienced the actual situation with their baby. This study was designed to see if a simulation experience would fill this gap in parents’ preparation for the discharge of their baby from the NICU. This study had parents participated in a customized simulation to have them experience the care needed by their baby at home following discharge from the NICU. The findings revealed that parents reported a nearly 30 percent increase in confidence in their abilities to care for their baby after participating in the simulation. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics / 25.04.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Yongfu Yu, PhD Department of Clinical Epidemiology Aarhus University Hospital Aarhus, Denmark MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Bereavement by the death of a close relative is ranked as one of the most severe life events and it is likely to cause psychological stress regardless of coping mechanisms. An increased risk of mortality and adverse health outcomes has been observed among the bereaved spouses, parents, and children. It is estimated that nearly 8% of individuals in the US experienced a sibling death in childhood but much less is known about its health consequences. Sibling relationship tends to be the longest and the most intimate in family thus the death of a sibling can be a devastating life event, especially when this event happens at early ages. However, to our knowledge, no study has investigated the effects of sibling death in childhood on subsequent mortality in bereaved siblings with a long follow-up time. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Karolinski Institute, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics / 22.04.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Charlotte Björkenstam PhD Dept of Clinical Neuroscience Karolinska Institutet Division of Insurance Medicine Stockholm MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In a prior study we revealed that exposure to childhood adversities were associated with a substantial risk increase for self-harm. The risk was even higher for those exposed to accumulated childhood adversities. This finding together with the fact that the suicide rate among young adults is increasing (as opposed to decreasing in the general population) lead us to want to examine the relationship between childhood adversities and death by suicide. We investigated 7 different childhood adversities, including familial death (suicide analyzed separately), parental substance abuse, parental psychiatric disorder, substantial parental criminality, parental separation/single-parent household, public assistance recipiency, and residential instability occurring between birth and age 14. We then followed the individuals up until age 24 at most. All adversities were entailed with an increased suicide risk from IRR: 1.6 (95% CI: 1.1 to 2.4) for residential instability to IRR: 2.9 (95% CI; 1.4 to 5.9) for familial suicide. We also found a dose-response relationship between accumulating CA and suicide risk where IRR ranged between 1.1 (95% CI: 0.9 to 1.4) for those exposed to 1 CA, to 2.6 (95% CI: 1.9 to 3.4) for those exposed to 3 or more adversities. (more…)
Allergies, Author Interviews, Microbiome, Pediatrics / 10.04.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Anita Kozyrskyj, PhD Department of Pediatrics Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry University of Alberta MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We have known for a while that early-life exposure to household pets can reduce risk for allergic disease; new studies also suggest a benefit in preventing overweight. Our pilot study in 2013 showed that postnatal pet exposure increases the number of different beneficial microbes in the infant gut. My team of 12, including first author and Albert Innovates-Health Solutions (AIHS) postdoctoral fellow Hein Min Tun, took the science one step closer to understanding this connection in our recently published work in the Microbiome journal. In a study of 746 infants from the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development Study (CHILD) birth cohort, we investigated the impact of pet exposure during pregnancy or afterwards on infant gut microbes, and whether this depended on how infants were born. In infants born vaginally or by cesarean section, pet exposure during pregnancy or pre and postnatally up to 3 months after birth increased the amounts of 2 bacteria found on dogs and cats. One is Ruminococcus, linked to lower rates of allergies in children. The other is a relatively unknown microbe, Oscillospira, reported to promote leanness. Another important finding suggested that contact with pets during pregnancy could reduce transmission of vaginal GBS (group B Streptococcus) during birth. (more…)
Author Interviews, NYU, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, Radiology / 10.04.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ayesha Rahman, MD Chief Orthopaedic Surgery Resident NYU Langone Medical Center. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Children are more vulnerable and susceptible to lifetime adverse events from radiation exposure, caused by imaging . We reviewed literature and found certain pediatric orthopaedic patients are at greater risk for radiation exposure, namely those who have surgery for hip dysplasia, scoliosis, and leg length discrepancy, as they are among those most likely to undergo CT imaging. After reviewing all types of imaging studies performed in orthopedics and how much radiation is involved in each test, we developed several recommendations that pediatric orthopaedic surgeons should follow. Among those recommendations are: utilize low-dose CT protocols or technology that uses less imaging (like EOS), limit CT scans of the spine and pelvis, know that female patients are more susceptible to adverse risk and plan accordingly, and follow the the “as low as reasonably achievable,”principle to limit exposure to parts of the body that are necessary for diagnosis. (more…)
Author Interviews, Global Health, JAMA, Pediatrics / 06.04.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Nicholas Kassebaum, MD Assistant Professor Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation University of Washington MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Reducing deaths of young children has been an international priority over the past few decades, and much progress has been made in this regard. Comprehensive and timely measurement of death and disease burden among children and adolescents is essential for improving the health of young people. Analyzing the latest estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), the current study quantifies and describes levels and trends of mortality and disease burden among children and adolescents under the age of 19 from 1990 to 2015. (more…)
Author Interviews, Pediatrics / 06.04.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Olivier Baud MD Chef de Service, Réanimation et Pédiatrie Néonatales Team leader, INSERM U1141 Université Paris-Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité Département Hospitalo-Universitaire "PROTECT" Hôpital Robert Debré, Paris, France MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Preterm birth is frequently associated with perinatal inflammation, a major risk factor for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Because glucocorticoids alleviate systemic inflammation, they have been proposed as a therapeutic option in very preterm infants. Early dexamethasone therapy led to short-term benefits but was associated with cerebral palsy and other adverse neurodevelopmental events. Early treatment with low-dose hydrocortisone has been reported to improve short-term outcomes in extremely preterm infants. However, its safety remains to be assessed with regard to the long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes. (more…)