Kawasaki disease, an acute systemic small- and medium-vessel vasculitis, is mostly detected in children under 5 years old.

We aimed to explore the predictive value of long non-coding ribonucleic acid small nucleolar RNA host gene 5 (SNHG5) and microRNA (miRNA)-27a for the effect of standard intravenous immunoglobulintherapy on children with Kawasaki disease.

The study included 182 children undergoing standard intravenous immunoglobulin therapy for Kawasaki disease and another 182 healthy children receiving physical examinations as a control group. LncRNA SNHG5 and miRNA-27a expression levels were determined at admission.

The ineffective group had higher levels of interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, lncRNA SNHG5, and miRNA-27a and Kobayashi score than those of the effective group (P < 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis showed that Kobayashi score, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, lncRNA SNHG5, and miRNA-27a were associated with the treatment outcomes (P < 0.05). LncRNA SNHG5 and miRNA-27a levels were positively correlated with Kobayashi score, interleukin-6, receiver operating characteristic and procalcitonin levels (r > 0, P < 0.05). High Kobayashi score and levels of interleukin-6, c-reactive roe, procalcitonin, lncRNA SNHG5, and miRNA-27a were influencing factors for treatment failure (odds ratio > 1, P < 0.05). The areas under the curves of lncRNA SNHG5, miRNA-27a, and their combination were 0.757, 0.766, and 0.831, respectively.

LncRNA SNHG5 and miRNA-27a are highly expressed in children with Kawasaki disease, and their levels are closely correlated with the efficacy of standard immunoglobulin therapy.

Limited studies have examined the association between the whole range of parental psychopathology and offspring major depression (MD). No previous study has examined this association by age of onset of offspring MD, or restricting to parental psychiatric diagnoses before offspring birth.

This nested case–control study included 37,677 cases of MD and 145,068 controls, identified from Finnish national registers. Conditional logistic regression models examined the association between parental psychopathology and MD, adjusting for potential confounders.

Increased risk of MD, expressed as adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (aOR [95% CI]) were most strongly observed for maternal diagnoses of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders (2.51 [2.24–2.82]) and depression (2.19 [2.11–2.28]), and paternal diagnoses of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders (2.0 [1.75–2.29]) and conduct disorders (1.90 [1.40–2.59]). The aORs for any psychiatric diagnosis were (2.66 [2.54–2.78]) for mothers, (1.95 [1.86–2.04]) for fathers, and (4.50 [4.24–4.79]) for both parents. When both parents had any psychiatric diagnosis, the highest risk was for MD diagnosed at the age of 5–12 years (7.66 [6.60–8.89]); versus at 13–18 years (4.13 [3.85–4.44]) or 19–25 years (3.37 [2.78–4.07]). A stronger association with parental psychopathology and offspring MD was seen among boys than girls, especially among 13–19 years and 19–25 years.

Parental psychiatric disorders, including those diagnosed before offspring birth, were associated with offspring MD, indicating potential genetic and environmental factors in the development of the disorder.

Parents’ experiences of loss and grief in the context of caring for a child with life-limiting severe neurological conditions are complex. Supportive interventions delivered by multidisciplinary teams have the potential to mitigate illness-related and anticipatory grief before and after bereavement. To date, the literature on professionals’ discussion of loss and grief with parents has not been synthesized. This systematic review aims to synthesize the evidence to establish what is known about professionals’ experience of these discussions with this population, with particular emphasis on timing, frequency, and the setting in which discussions occur.

A scoping review was developed, informed by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta analyses – Scoping Extension guidelines and the PCC (Population, Concept, Context) framework. Three electronic databases (PsycINFO, CINAHL, and PubMED) were searched using medical subject heading (MeSH) terms and keywords search strings in January 2023. The search was not limited to year of publication. Overall, 35 articles were analyzed using a combination of descriptive analysis and thematic synthesis.

Two overarching themes were identified, “loss and grief are part of this context” and “lack of recognition of loss and grief,” illustrating that despite the lack of evidence of explicit discussion of these issues, some aspects of loss and grief appeared to guide or implicitly influence healthcare professionals’ practice. Failure to acknowledge loss and grief was associated with an increase in parental distress and had implications for future care planning.

Healthcare professionals are well placed to discuss loss and grief with parents of children with life-limiting severe neurological conditions. However, these discussions are only implicitly reported in the literature. Findings suggest that some professionals avoided discussing loss and grief. Bereavement outcomes are not typically considered in findings of the papers reviewed. Based on these findings, future research should focus on what this means for understanding professionals’ capacity to engage with loss and grief.

The most common cause of morbidity and mortality in type 1 diabetes mellitus is cardiovascular system involvement. Sudden death has been reported in type 1 diabetes mellitus patients. To analyse the use of the cardiac electrophysiological balance index in predicting ventricular arrhythmias in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus disease.

One hundred type 1 diabetes mellitus paediatric patients and 100 healthy children, divided into three groups according to their haemoglobin A1C levels, were included in the study. All participants were evaluated with transthoracic echocardiography, 12-lead electrocardiography, and 24-h Holter after a detailed physical examination. Systolic and diastolic function parameters, electrocardiography intervals, and heart rate variability parameters were evaluated.

The mean age in the type 1 diabetes mellitus and control groups was 11.52 (± 3.52) and 11.78 (± 3.45) years, respectively. In total, 57% of the type 1 diabetes mellitus group and 56% of the control group were male. The mean haemoglobin A1C value was 9.14% (± 1.79) and the disease duration was 3.71 years (± 3.13). The type 1 diabetes mellitus group had a higher QTc duration, deceleration time duration, A velocity, and a lower E/A ratio than the control group. In the type 1 diabetes mellitus group, Tpe, Tpe/QT ratio, QTc/QRS ratio, Tpe/QRS ratio, Tpe/(QT × QRS) ratio values were significantly higher than in the control group.

Children with type 1 diabetes mellitus are at risk for atrial and ventricular arrhythmias without valvular disease, ischemic heart disease, or diastolic dysfunction despite normal systolic function. No correlation was found between disease duration, metabolic control, autonomic function parameters, and arrhythmia risk; however, it was associated with diastolic function parameters.

To characterise children’s lunchbox contents for food, waste and packaging.

A cross-sectional study was conducted. Lunchboxes were photographed at two time points on the same day: before first morning break to capture food and packaging and post-lunch break to capture food waste. Contents were coded using an audit tool developed using REDCap.

Twenty-three sites across metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia including fourteen preschools and nine primary schools in low (n 8), medium (n 7) and high (n 8) socioeconomic areas.

Preschool (ages 3–5 years) to Grade 7 primary school (ages 6–13 years) students.

673 lunchboxes were analysed. Grain foods dominated (with at least half of them being discretionary varieties), with 92 % of lunchboxes having at least one item from that category, followed by fruits (78 %), snacks (62 %), dairy (32 %) and vegetables (26 %). Lunchboxes of preschool children contained more fruits (92 % v. 65 %; χ2(1) = 73·3, P < 0·01), vegetables (36 % v. 16 %; χ2(1) = 34·0, P < 0·01) and dairy items (45 % v. 19 %; χ2(1) = 53·6, P < 0·01), compared to lunchboxes of primary school children. Snack foods were more prevalent in primary school (68 %) than preschool (55 %; χ2(1) = 11·2, P < 0·01). Discretionary foods appeared more frequently, and single-use packaging accounted for half (53 %) of all packaging in lunchboxes, primarily from snacks and grain foods. Preschool children had less single-use packaging but more food waste. Vegetables were the most wasted food group.

Sandwiches, fruits and various snacks are typical lunchbox foods, often accompanied by single-use packaging. Considering both health and environmental factors in lunchbox choices could benefit children and sustainability efforts in schools.

Earthquakes cause great destruction due to their suddenness and intensity. Although all people are affected by earthquakes, children are among those most affected. Every year, millions of children and young people are exposed to many natural disasters and are affected differently. Earthquakes can cause physical, mental, and sleep disorders in children. The aim of this study is to investigate the post-traumatic response and its effects on sleep on child and adolescent earthquake survivors living in the earthquake zone in Turkey.

This research was carried out between June and August 2023 as a descriptive and cross-sectional study. A total of 230 earthquake survivor children from Adıyaman were included in the study. Personal information forms, the Child Posttraumatic Stress Reaction Index (CPTS-RI), and the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) were used to collect data.

It was determined that the scale scores of the children who were financially affected by the earthquake, who were injured, and who were under the rubble were higher (P < 0.05).

It was observed that more than half of the children had severe trauma and had sleep disorders. Children who experience trauma from an earthquake have more sleep disorders. For this reason, in addition to emergency aid and interventions in earthquakes, arrangements should be made for the mental health of children and social and psychological support should be provided.

This commentary highlights the release of findings now available in the report International Food Policy Study Youth Surveys: Summary of Findings 2019–2021.

The survey data described in this commentary consist of repeated cross-sectional surveys conducted annually beginning in 2019.

Online surveys were conducted in 2019 to 2021 among respondents living in Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the USA.

Survey respondents were youth aged 10–17 years in 2019 (n 12 031), 2020 (n 11 108) and 2021 (n 10 459).

The report described in this commentary summarises findings on food and nutrition behaviours, attitudes and knowledge among youth, including their diet sources and patterns, school nutrition environments, food security, diet intentions, weight perceptions and weight loss behaviours, sugary drink perceptions, awareness of public education and mass media campaigns, perceptions of food labels and exposure to food and beverage marketing.

Results from the IFPS Youth surveys provide important insights into key policies of global interest, including front-of-package nutrition labelling, levies on sugary beverages and restrictions on marketing unhealthy food and beverages to children. As policymakers continue to seek effective strategies to improve adolescent health outcomes, ongoing cross-country monitoring of food and nutrition-related indicators, such as the data from the International Food Policy Study, will be critical in assessing dietary trends and evaluating upcoming policies.

To describe the prevalence of food poverty according to dimensions of socio-economic inequality and the food groups consumed by Brazilian children.

Dietary data from a structured qualitative questionnaire collected by the Brazilian National Survey on Child Nutrition (ENANI-2019) were used. The new UNICEF indicator classified children who consumed 3–4 and <3 out of the eight food groups as living in moderate and severe food poverty, respectively. The prevalence of consumption of each food group and ultra-processed foods (UPF) was estimated by level of food poverty according to age categories (6–23; 24–59 months). The most frequent combinations of food groups consumed by children living in severe food poverty were calculated. Prevalence of levels of food poverty were explored according to socio-economic variables.

123 municipalities of the five Brazilian macro-regions.

12 582 children aged 6–59 months.

The prevalence of moderate and severe food poverty was 32·5 % (95 % CI 30·1, 34·9) and 6·0 % (95 % CI 5·0, 6·9), respectively. Children whose mother/caregiver had lower education (<8 years) and income levels (per capita minimum wage <¼) had the highest severe food poverty prevalence of 8·3 % (95 % CI 6·2, 10·4) and 7·5 % (95 % CI 5·6, 9·4), respectively. The most consumed food groups among children living in food poverty in all age categories were ‘dairy products’, ‘grains, roots, tubers, and plantains’ and ‘ultra-processed foods’.

Food poverty prevalence was high among Brazilian children. A significant occurrence of milk consumption associated with grains and a considerable prevalence of UPF consumption were found among those living in severe food poverty.

The study assessed mothers, children and adolescents’ health (MCAH) outcomes in the context of a Primary Health Care (PHC) project and associated costs in two protracted long-term refugee camps, along the Thai-Myanmar border.

Myanmar refugees settled in Thailand nearly 40 years ago, in a string of camps along the border, where they fully depend on external support for health and social services. Between 2000 and 2018, a single international NGO has been implementing an integrated PHC project.

This retrospective study looked at the trends of MCAH indicators of mortality and morbidity and compared them to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) indicators. A review of programme documents explored and triangulated the evolution and changing context of the PHC services, and associated project costs were analysed. To verify changes over time, interviews with 12 key informants were conducted.

While maternal mortality (SDG3.1) remained high at 126.5/100,000 live births, child mortality (SDG 3.2) and infectious diseases in children under 5 (SDG 3.3) fell by 69% and by up to 92%, respectively. Maternal anaemia decreased by 30%; and more than 90% of pregnant women attended four or more antenatal care visits, whereas 80% delivered by a skilled birth attendant; caesarean section rates rose but remained low at an average of 3.7%; the adolescent (15–19 years) birth rate peaked at 188 per 1000 in 2015 but declined to 89/1000 in 2018 (SDG 3.7).

Comprehensive PHC delivery, with improved health provider competence in MCAH care, together with secured funding is an appropriate strategy to bring MCAH indicators to acceptable levels. However, inequities due to confinement in camps, fragmentation of specific health services, prevent fulfilment of the 2030 SDG Agenda to ‘Leave no one behind’. Costs per birth was 115 EURO in 2018; however, MCAH expenditure requires further exploration over a longer period.