Background: Annually, approximately 15 million babies are born preterm (<37 weeks gestational age) globally. In the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) environment, infants are exposed to repeated stressful or painful procedures as part of routine lifesaving care. These procedures have been associated with epigenetic alterations that may lead to an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. Telomere length has been negatively associated with adverse life experiences in studies of adults.
Objectives: This pilot study aimed to describe telomere length in a sample of preterm infants at NICU discharge and examine any associations with pain, feeding method, and neurodevelopment.
Methods: This descriptive pilot study sample includes baseline absolute telomere length (aTL) of 36 preterm infants immediately prior to discharge. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to determine aTL. Infant demographics, pain/stress, type of feeding, antibiotic use, neurodevelopment, and buccal swab data were collected. Descriptive data analysis was used to describe the telomere length using graphs.
Results: Among our preterm infant samples, the mean aTL was far greater than the average adult telomere length. Although no significant associations were found between aTL and pain, feeding method, and neurodevelopment, a trend between sex was noted where male telomere lengths were shorter than females as they aged.
Discussion: This is one of few studies to evaluate preterm infant telomere length. Although other researchers have used relative telomere length, we used the more accurate aTL. We found nonsignificant shorter telomere lengths among males. Additional large-scale, longitudinal studies are needed to better identify the predictors of telomere length at the time of discharge from NICU.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/NNR.0000000000000535 | DOI Listing |
J Cancer Surviv
December 2024
Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
Purpose: The Healthy Hearts pilot study evaluated the effect of an eHealth motivational interviewing-framed intervention on cardiomyopathy screening-related knowledge, health beliefs, intrinsic motivation, and behavioral action steps among adult survivors of childhood cancer.
Methods: We consented N = 73 survivors to participate in a single-arm pilot study. Participants completed an online baseline survey (n = 68) assessing knowledge, health beliefs, and intrinsic motivation related to cancer therapy-induced cardiomyopathy and screening echocardiograms.
BMC Med Ethics
December 2024
TIME (Tübingen Institute for Medical Education), Medical Faculty Tuebingen, Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Str. 3, Tuebingen, 72076, Germany.
Background: Effective healthcare delivery in today's diverse society necessitates healthcare providers' adeptness in navigating cultural and religious nuances in patient care. However, the integration of cultural competence training into medical education remains inadequate, particularly concerning the care of Muslim patients. In response, we introduce a novel educational intervention aimed at enhancing intercultural proficiency among medical students, emphasizing care for Muslim patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Public Health
December 2024
Air Force Medical Center, Air Force Medical University, Beijing, 100142, China.
Background: There is a lack of data support and scientific validation of the Exemption Approach policy for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of protecting the health of flight crews and meeting the requirements for passenger and cargo transportation in emergencies, in terms of its safety and the circumstances that contribute to pilots' symptoms of jet lag and the risk of fatigue.
Methods: To assess pilots' sleep issues related to jet lag symptoms and fatigue, this study evaluated an example of risk management for flight crews on flights across time zones during the COVID-19 pandemic. To evaluate the crew's sleep status, variations in sleep index changes between before and after the flights, variations in sleepiness levels, and data on sleep indexes recorded by ActiGraph bracelets were collected from 146 crew members before and after flights eastward or westward across time zones.
Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi
December 2024
Department of Allergy, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Ministry of Education, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children's Health, Beijing100045, China.
This study aimed to analyze the test results and changing trend of specific IgE (sIgE) for common allergens in children in the hospital from 2019 to 2023, so as to provide a basis for the diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases in children. The test results of children who were admitted to Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University and underwent serum allergen sIgE quantitative detection (Immuno CAP system) from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2023 were retrospectively included. According to the allergen type, the allergens were divided into food allergens and inhaled allergens (dust mite group, mold group, animal dander group and pollen group).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Sch Psychol
February 2025
School of Psychology, University of Sussex, UK.
We trialed a novel method aimed at reducing educational inequalities in any given school by tailoring an intervention to address the specific local social, cultural, and psychological barriers that contribute to those inequalities. In Study 1 (N = 2070), we validated measures in a student survey of barriers experienced by students ages 11-16 years in two schools in England. We used a pilot version of these measures to identify two barriers that appeared to be contributing in both schools to poorer attendance and behavioral records of Black versus Asian students and of lower socioeconomic status (SES) students versus higher SES students.
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