Associations of behavioral, motivational, and socioeconomic factors with BMI among children and adolescents.

Background: Higher weight represents a significant health concern in youth and may be influenced by socioeconomic and behavioral factors. We investigated the relationship between BMI and parental education, nutritional health, eating culture, organized and non-organized physical activity (PA), motives for PA (weight loss/maintenance, enjoyment), and screen-time in children and adolescents.

Methods: 677 2- to 11-year-olds (young-age-group) and 464 12- to 20-year-olds (old-age-group) from Leipzig, a city in Germany, participated.

Epigenetics of childhood obesity.

Background: Childhood obesity has become a global pandemic and is one of the strongest risk factors for cardiovascular disease later in life. The correlation of epigenetic marks with obesity and related traits is being elucidated. This review summarizes the latest research and its challenges in the study of epigenetics of (childhood) obesity.

Are the Results of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Third Edition) Predictive for Later Motor Skills and School Performance?

Background/objectives: The first year of life represents a critical developmental stage in which the foundations for motor, cognitive, language, and social-emotional development are set. During this time, development occurs rapidly, making early detection of developmental disorders essential for timely intervention. The Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-Third Edition (Bayley-III) is an effective tool for assessing language, motor, and cognitive development in children aged 1 to 42 months.

A Training for Parents Prevents Clinically Relevant Handling Errors in the Use of Long-Term Antiseizure Medication.

Background: Medication handling errors (ME) in long-term antiseizure medication (ASM) compromise patient safety. Training programs to prevent those errors by parents are scarce.

Patients: The intervention concept is designed for parents of children and adolescents aged 0-18 years with at least one long-term ASM.

Parent-child interaction frequency: associations with age, sibling presence, and child health.

Objectives: Parent-child interaction plays a crucial role in child development. This study investigated associations between the frequency of parent-child-interactions and sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, socio-economic status, family structure, number and age of siblings), physical and psychological symptoms in children, and mental health of parents.

Methods: The frequencies of 11 different parent-child interactions (shared reading, singing, moving, painting, building, puzzle, playing ball, role games, language games, number games and talking about problems) were assessed in 739 children aged 2-6.

Association of Whole Blood Amino Acid and Acylcarnitine Metabolome with Anthropometry and IGF-I Serum Levels in Healthy Children and Adolescents in Germany.

Background: Physiological changes of blood amino acids and acylcarnitines during healthy child development are poorly studied. The LIFE (Leipziger Forschungszentrum für Zivilisationserkrankungen) Child study offers a platform with a large cohort of healthy children to investigate these dynamics. We aimed to assess the intra-person variability of 28 blood metabolites and their associations with anthropometric parameters related to growth and excess body fat.

The impact of a child's inborn error of metabolism: the parents' perspectives on restrictions, discrimination, family planning, and emergency management.

Background: To investigate the impact of children's inborn error of metabolism (IEMs) on the children's and their parents' lives from the parents' perspective. We focused on disease-related restrictions in various issues of daily life, experienced discrimination, parental family planning, and management of metabolic emergencies.

Methods: We conducted a questionnaire-based survey with 108 parents of 119 children with IEM who attended a metabolic outpatient clinic.

Associations between media use at bedtime and sleep: a cross-sectional analysis on differences between girls and boys.

Objectives: This study investigated associations between the use of electronic media and sleep in children and young adolescents, with a specific focus on the moderation of associations by sex and age.

Methods: Between 2021 and 2022, 453 10- to 14-year-old children participating in the LIFE Child cohort study (Germany) reported on their use of electronic media (daily screen time, use at bedtime, device ownership) and on their sleep difficulties (Sleep Self Report). Associations between media use and sleep as well as interactions with age and sex were assessed using linear regression analyses.

Executive functions & metabolic control in phenylketonuria (PKU) and mild hyperphenylalaninemia (mHPA).

Background: Due to newborn screening and early treatment, patients with phenylketonuria (PKU) and mild hyperphenylalaninemia (mHPA) develop largely normal, in terms of IQ testing and academic attainment. However, the impact of metabolic control in various stages of development on more complex cognitive abilities, i.e.

Bilirubin Levels in Infancy and Their Associations with Body Weight, Levels of Iron-Related Parameters and Steroid Hormone Levels.

It is assumed that bilirubin is hormonally regulated and influences weight development by preventing weight gain. However, studies in healthy infants are limited. The present study established reference values for bilirubin and investigated whether bilirubin levels are significantly associated with body weight, levels of ferritin and transferrin as well as steroid hormone levels in a study population of three- and six-month-old healthy infants.

Obesity Is Associated with Increased 11-Oxyandrogen Serum Concentrations during Puberty.

Introduction: While the influence of various factors on classical androgen synthesis in children and adolescents and its impact on puberty has been widely investigated, there appear to be gaps and contradictory findings regarding the association of overweight and obesity with the synthesis of adrenal-derived 11-oxygenated androgen (11-OA) serum levels. With this study, we aimed to examine how overweight and obesity affect 11-OA serum levels during puberty in a large cohort of children and adolescents.

Methods: Our cohort comprised 1,054 healthy children aged 6-19 years providing serum samples at a total of 1,734 visits.

Reference intervals and percentiles for soluble transferrin receptor and sTfR/log ferritin index in healthy children and adolescents.

Objectives: Soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) is a marker of both erythropoiesis and iron status and is considered useful for detecting iron deficiency, especially in inflammatory conditions, but reference intervals covering the entire pediatric age spectrum are lacking.

Methods: We studied 1,064 (48.5 % female) healthy children of the entire pediatric age spectrum to determine reference values and percentiles for sTfR and the ratio of sTfR to log-ferritin (sTfR-F index) using a standard immunoturbidimetric assay.

Drug-Drug Interactions Involving High-Alert Medications that Lead to Interaction-Associated Symptoms in Pediatric Intensive Care Patients: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Children treated in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) often receive several drugs together, among them drugs defined as high-alert medications (HAMs). Those drugs carry a high risk of causing patient harm, for example, due to a higher potential for interactions. HAMs should therefore be administered with caution, especially in a PICU.

Diurnal rythm of Nampt is gender and weight dependent.

Research Aim: Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt) is an adipocytokine that is elevated in obesity, type 2 diabetes and increased levels are associated with inflammatory processes. Nampt serum concentrations have been suggested to follow a diurnal rhythm peaking in the afternoon in lean males. However, no data exists regarding the effects of gender and body weight.

Pediatric Syncope: Is the Diagnostic Guideline Implemented and Adhered to?

Background: We sought to investigate adherence to the current pediatric syncope guideline in the emergency department and its impact on the frequency of missed or unnecessary diagnostic measures. For the first time, in 2014 updated guideline defines indispensable basic diagnostic measures and a consecutive algorithm for safe clinical decision making.

Patients And Method: We analyzed retrospectively 314 pediatric patients, 166 were presented before and 148 after publication of this guideline update.

Modifiable factors influencing attention performance in healthy children: insights from a comprehensive school nutrition study.

Background: There is inconclusive evidence for the effects of various leisure activities on attention performance in children. The literature reports inconsistent associations between activities such as physical activities or media use. To date, no study has thoroughly examined the various factors influencing attentional performance in a larger cohort of healthy children.

Epigenetic inheritance of diet-induced and sperm-borne mitochondrial RNAs.

Spermatozoa harbour a complex and environment-sensitive pool of small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs), which influences offspring development and adult phenotypes. Whether spermatozoa in the epididymis are directly susceptible to environmental cues is not fully understood. Here we used two distinct paradigms of preconception acute high-fat diet to dissect epididymal versus testicular contributions to the sperm sncRNA pool and offspring health.

Still an Unsolved Question: The Place of Cranial Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Acute Acquired Concomitant Esotropia.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to collect further data to estimate the risk of relevant intracranial pathology and thereby better assess the need for cranial imaging in children with acute acquired comitant esotropia (AACE). To date, there is still not enough literature on this topic to enable a consensus on the diagnostic algorithm.

Methods: We analyzed data from patients with convergent strabismus who received cranial imaging via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Creatine kinase serum levels in children revisited: New reference intervals from a large cohort of healthy children and adolescents.

Background: Creatine Kinase (CK) has become increasingly important in pediatrics as a commonly used laboratory screening parameter for neuromuscular diseases. Recent research suggests that hyperCKemia in children is not always associated with pathology and can occur due to several reasons. Little is known of various clinical factors that may influence CK throughout child development.

Drowning and Nonfatal Drowning in Children and Adolescents: A Subsequent Retrospective Data Analysis.

Fatal and nonfatal drowning are among the leading causes of death and lifelong severe neurological impairment among children and adolescents. This study aimed to complement research from Leipzig 1994-2008 to seek trends within risk factors, treatments, and outcomes throughout the last decade. We retrospectively investigated data of 47 inpatients aged 0-18 admitted to Leipzig University Department of Pediatrics who matched ICD-10 code T75.