Publications by authors named "Alina Rodriguez"

Background: Externalizing symptoms are associated with risk of future substance use disorder (SUD). Few longitudinal studies exist using general population-based samples which assess the spectrum of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms.

Aims/objectives: We aimed to study the associations between adolescent ADHD symptoms and subsequent SUD and additionally examine whether the risk of SUD is influenced by comorbid oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms.

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Using data from a large-scale screening program (N = 19634), we aimed to prospectively identify factors predicting uptake (i.e. acceptance of the invitation) and engagement (i.

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Substantial genetic correlations have been reported across psychiatric disorders and numerous cross-disorder genetic variants have been detected. To identify the genetic variants underlying general psychopathology in childhood, we performed a genome-wide association study using a total psychiatric problem score. We analyzed 6,844,199 common SNPs in 38,418 school-aged children from 20 population-based cohorts participating in the EAGLE consortium.

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Background: Diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) has been associated with increased risk of mortality in large register samples. However, there is less known about the association between symptoms of ADHD in adolescents and risk of mortality in general population samples.

Methods: The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 ( = 9432 at recruitment in early pregnancy) linked to nationwide register data for deaths was utilized to study the association between parent-rated ADHD symptoms assessed using Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD symptoms and Normal Behaviors (SWAN) questionnaire and mortality until age 33 years.

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Adolescent obesity persists as a major concern, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, yet evidence gaps exist regarding the pivotal early adolescent years. Our objective was to provide a comprehensive picture using a holistic approach of measured anthropometry in early adolescence, including body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and reported lifestyle characteristics. We aimed to elucidate potential sex/gender differences throughout and associations to biomarkers of disease risk for obese adolescents.

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Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often co-occurs with obesity, however, the potential causality between the traits remains unclear. We examined both genetic and prenatal evidence for causality using Mendelian Randomisation (MR) and polygenic risk scores (PRS). We conducted bi-directional MR on ADHD liability and six obesity-related traits using summary statistics from the largest available meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies.

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Article Synopsis
  • Childhood aggressive behavior (AGG) is significantly heritable, with around 50% of its variation attributed to genetics, as shown in a study analyzing data from over 87,000 children aged 1.5 to 18 years; however, no genome-wide significant SNPs were identified.* -
  • Three significant genes (ST3GAL3, PCDH7, and IPO13) linked to educational traits were found, and genetic analysis revealed moderate to strong correlations between AGG and various psychiatric traits, with notable weak correlations concerning teacher assessments.* -
  • The research also showed negative genetic correlations of aggression with cognitive abilities and age at first birth, alongside strong correlations with smoking behaviors, highlighting complex genetic interactions within childhood aggression.*
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The objective was to investigate the association between time spent on waking activities and nonaligned sleep duration in a representative sample of the US population. We analysed time use data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), 2015-2017 ( = 31,621). National Sleep Foundation (NSF) age-specific sleep recommendations were used to define recommended (aligned) sleep duration.

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Insomnia is common in patients with tinnitus and negatively affects tinnitus symptoms and quality of life. This systematic review aimed to synthesise evidence of the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) based interventions on insomnia in adults with tinnitus. We conducted a comprehensive database search (MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, CENTRAL, ClinicalTrials.

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We investigated whether family income gradients in obesity, overweight, and adiposity persist at geographic-level deprivation quintiles using a nationally representative cohort of UK adolescents. Data from 11,714 eligible adolescents from the sixth sweep of the Millennium Cohort Study (14 years old) were analysed in this study. The International Obesity Task Force age- and sex-specific thresholds were used to define obesity and overweight.

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Article Synopsis
  • Early childhood growth patterns are linked to health in adulthood, but the genetic influences and developmental stages remain unclear.
  • This study uses genome-wide association studies and various analyses to explore how genetics of early growth relate to adult health, finding significant connections between child and adult body mass index (BMI).
  • The research also reveals distinct genetic factors influencing peak BMI during infancy, implying different strategies may be needed for addressing childhood obesity in prevention efforts.
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Background: Maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with adverse offspring health outcomes across their life course. We hypothesize that DNA methylation is a potential mediator of this relationship.

Methods: We examined the association of prenatal maternal smoking with offspring blood DNA methylation in 2821 individuals (age 16 to 48 years) from five prospective birth cohort studies and perform Mendelian randomization and mediation analyses to assess whether methylation markers have causal effects on disease outcomes in the offspring.

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Background: Antenatal corticosteroid therapy (ACT) is used clinically to prepare the fetal lung for impending preterm birth, but animal and human studies link corticosteroids to smaller birth size. Whether ACT is associated with birth size is debated; therefore, we assessed differences in birth size in treated versus untreated pregnancies.

Methods And Findings: This observational register-based study used data from the Finnish Medical Birth Register (FMBR) covering all births in Finland (January 1, 2006-December 31, 2010).

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Background: The association of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) results in a complex constellation of symptoms that complicates the successful diagnosis and treatment of the affected individual. Current literature lacks formal guidelines, randomized control trials, and evidence-based treatment plans for individuals with ADHD and associated FASD. Therefore, a meeting of professional experts was organized with the aim of producing a consensus on identification and treatment guidelines that will aid clinicians in caring for this unique patient population.

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Importance: The literature focuses on mortality among children younger than 5 years. Comparable information on nonfatal health outcomes among these children and the fatal and nonfatal burden of diseases and injuries among older children and adolescents is scarce.

Objective: To determine levels and trends in the fatal and nonfatal burden of diseases and injuries among younger children (aged <5 years), older children (aged 5-9 years), and adolescents (aged 10-19 years) between 1990 and 2013 in 188 countries from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2013 study.

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Background: In the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013), knowledge about health and its determinants has been integrated into a comparable framework to inform health policy. Outputs of this analysis are relevant to current policy questions in England and elsewhere, particularly on health inequalities. We use GBD 2013 data on mortality and causes of death, and disease and injury incidence and prevalence to analyse the burden of disease and injury in England as a whole, in English regions, and within each English region by deprivation quintile.

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Background: The Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor study 2013 (GBD 2013) is the first of a series of annual updates of the GBD. Risk factor quantification, particularly of modifiable risk factors, can help to identify emerging threats to population health and opportunities for prevention. The GBD 2013 provides a timely opportunity to update the comparative risk assessment with new data for exposure, relative risks, and evidence on the appropriate counterfactual risk distribution.

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Objective: To compare outcomes of critically ill patients transferred from another island compared to those patients with direct admission from Emergency Department to intensive care unit (ICU).

Patients And Methods: Retrospective study of prospectively collected data during 8 years. The population studied was all critical adult patients transferred from another island to our hospital and those directly admitted from the Emergency Department.

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Individual differences in aggressive behavior emerge in early childhood and predict persisting behavioral problems and disorders. Studies of antisocial and severe aggression in adulthood indicate substantial underlying biology. However, little attention has been given to genome-wide approaches of aggressive behavior in children.

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A prevailing theory regarding the evolution of language implicates a gestural stage prior to the emergence of speech. In support of a transition of human language from a gestural to a vocal system, articulation of the hands and the tongue are underpinned by overlapping left hemisphere dominant neural regions. Behavioral studies demonstrate that human adults perform sympathetic mouth actions in imitative synchrony with manual actions.

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Common genetic variants have been identified for adult height, but not much is known about the genetics of skeletal growth in early life. To identify common genetic variants that influence fetal skeletal growth, we meta-analyzed 22 genome-wide association studies (Stage 1; N = 28 459). We identified seven independent top single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (P < 1 × 10(-6)) for birth length, of which three were novel and four were in or near loci known to be associated with adult height (LCORL, PTCH1, GPR126 and HMGA2).

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Twin studies suggest that expressive vocabulary at ~24 months is modestly heritable. However, the genes influencing this early linguistic phenotype are unknown. Here we conduct a genome-wide screen and follow-up study of expressive vocabulary in toddlers of European descent from up to four studies of the EArly Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology consortium, analysing an early (15-18 months, 'one-word stage', N(Total) = 8,889) and a later (24-30 months, 'two-word stage', N(Total)=10,819) phase of language acquisition.

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Objective: To examine different risk factors between disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) and ADHD or combined DBD and ADHD.

Method: The study population was derived from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986. Psychiatric diagnoses were defined from the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) interview.

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Background: The comorbidity of purging behaviours, such as vomiting, inappropriate use of laxatives, diuretics or slimming medications, has been examined in literature. However, most studies do not include adolescents, individuals who purge in the absence of binge eating, or those purging at subclinical frequency. This study examines the prevalence of purging among 16-year-old girls across three countries and their association with substance use and psychological comorbidity.

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Studies of leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and adiposity have produced conflicting results, and the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and telomere length throughout life remains unclear. We therefore tested association of adult LTL measured in 5,598 participants with: i) childhood growth measures (BMI and age at adiposity rebound (AR)); ii) change in BMI from childhood to adulthood and iii) adult BMI, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), body adiposity index (BAI). Childhood BMI at AR was positively associated with LTL at 31 years in women (P = 0.

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