Prevalence of Parent Mental Health Problems in an Interdisciplinary Feeding Clinic: Short Communication.

Parents of children with pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) often experience high stress and may be at advanced risk for mental health conditions. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 413 parents who completed intake surveys at an interdisciplinary feeding clinic to determine the prevalence and types of mental health conditions among parents; 41.8% of parents reported a mental health diagnosis among the mother and/or father.

Beyond Picky Eating.

Joseph is a 20-month-old boy who was thriving and developing well before a 4-day hospitalization for paralytic ileus at 11 months of age. Joseph is the first child born to parents who immigrated to the United States from Southeast Asia 3 years ago. Before the hospitalization, Joseph consumed 3 meals and 480 to 600 mL of milk daily.

Decision Making in the PICU: An Examination of Factors Influencing Participation Decisions in Phase III Randomized Clinical Trials.

Background. In stressful situations, decision making processes related to informed consent may be compromised. Given the profound levels of distress that surrogates of children in pediatric intensive care units (PICU) experience, it is important to understand what factors may be influencing the decision making process beyond the informed consent.

Differences in age-related effects on brain volume in Down syndrome as compared to Williams syndrome and typical development.

Background: Individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) are reported to experience early onset of brain aging. However, it is not well understood how pre-existing neurodevelopmental effects versus neurodegenerative processes might be contributing to the observed pattern of brain atrophy in younger adults with DS. The aims of the current study were to: (1) to confirm previous findings of age-related changes in DS compared to adults with typical development (TD), (2) to test for an effect of these age-related changes in a second neurodevelopmental disorder, Williams syndrome (WS), and (3) to identify a pattern of regional age-related effects that are unique to DS.

Self-reported and laboratory-based responses to stress in children with recurrent pain and anxiety.

Objective: To examine heart rate (HR) responses to and coping with stress in children with recurrent abdominal pain (RAP), anxiety, and healthy controls.

Methods: A clinical sample (children with RAP and children with anxiety) was compared to control children on self-reported and HR responses to stress and a laboratory test of pain tolerance and intensity (cold pressor).

Results: Children in the clinical sample had elevated HRs compared to healthy controls before, during, and after laboratory tasks.