Africa Knowledge Hub for Children

Peer-reviewed articlePubMed (US National Library of Medicine)6 Aug 2026

Association between body roundness index and asthma in children and adolescents: findings from NHANES 1999-2020.

BACKGROUND: Childhood and adolescent asthma remains a major public health concern, and obesity may contribute through mechanical and inflammatory pathways. The Body Roundness Index (BRI), derived from waist circumference and height, may better reflect central adiposity than general body-size measures. AIM: To investigate the association between BRI and asthma in children and adolescents. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 28,789 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2020 participants aged 6-20 years were included. Current asthma was identified using questionnaire data. BRI, calculated from waist circumference and height, was used as the primary exposure. Weighted multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the association between BRI and current asthma, and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were applied to assess potential nonlinear associations. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the findings. Weighted receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were used to compare the predictive abilities of BRI and Body Mass Index (BMI) z-score in fully adjusted models. RESULTS: Higher BRI was associated with higher odds of current asthma (OR = 1.233, 95% CI:1.158-1.313, p < 0.001). RCS analysis suggested a nonlinear association between BRI and current asthma. In fully adjusted analyses, BRI and BMI z score showed comparable discriminative performance, with no significant difference in the area under the curve. CONCLUSIONS: Higher BRI was positively associated with current asthma among children and adolescents. Future prospective studies are warranted to clarify the temporal relationship and underlying biological mechanisms.

Tingqiaonan Chen, Shujing Cai, Huiqin Wang

SurvivalRead at source

Peer-reviewed articlePubMed (US National Library of Medicine)6 Aug 2026

Obstructive sleep apnea severity and morning hypertension in children: Age-stratified associations across developmental stages.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common in children and has been linked to cardiovascular dysregulation, including elevated blood pressure (BP). This study examined whether OSA severity is independently associated with morning hypertension in a pediatric clinical cohort, and whether associations vary by developmental stage and sex. We retrospectively analyzed 806 children aged 1 to 18 years (55.2% Male) who underwent overnight polysomnography (PSG) and had BP recorded before and after the PSG at the University of Louisville and Norton Pediatric Sleep Center. OSA was categorized based on the total apnea hypopnea index (AHI) and severity was categorized based on the obstructive apnea hypopnea index (OAHI) the cohort was stratified as: normal/snoring (OAHI < 1 event/hr, n = 318), mild OSA (OAHI 1-4.9 events/hr, n = 205), moderate OSA (OAHI 5-9.9 events/hr, n = 103), and severe OSA (OAHI ≥ 10 events/hr, n = 180). Evening and morning blood pressures were recorded and classified per American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines. ANOVA/ANCOVA, linear regression, and multivariable logistic regression examined associations between the total AHI and blood pressure, with adjustment for age, sex, body mass index (BMI) z-score, and comorbidities. Morning systolic blood pressure (SBP) rose from 108 ± 13 mmHg in non-OSA children to 118 ± 15 mmHg in severe OSA. Severe OSA more than doubled the odds of morning hypertension across all adjusted models (OR 2.35; 95% CI 1.57-3.52, p < 0.001). Each 1-unit increase in AHI was associated with a 0.137 mmHg rise in morning SBP after adjustment (p < 0.001). Moderate OSA's association was attenuated after BMI adjustment, while BMI z-score itself was an independent predictor of BP grade (OR 1.52; 95% CI 1.27-1.82; p < 0.001). Participants were categorized by developmental age. Subgroup analyses found the strongest association between AHI and systolic blood pressure in preschool children, while the link with diastolic blood pressure appeared only in older groups. Sex-stratified analyses showed similar AHI-blood pressure associations in both males and females, with no significant interaction. Severe OSA independently increased the risk of morning hypertension in children, regardless of obesity status, sex, or developmental stage. Routine BP monitoring is warranted across the full OSA severity spectrum.

Rohan Bellary, Ankita Nair, Prasad Malavika et al.

DevelopmentRead at source

Peer-reviewed articlePubMed (US National Library of Medicine)24 Jul 2026

School re-entry for children and adolescents with cancer: A qualitative study from the perspectives of school personnel.

OBJECTIVE: School re-entry after a cancer-related interruption may involve academic, social, emotional, and health-related adjustment. Evidence from school personnel remains limited. This study explored school personnel's perspectives on school re-entry among children and adolescents undergoing or having completed childhood cancer treatment. METHODS: This qualitative descriptive study was conducted in Türkiye with 12 school personnel recruited through purposive maximum-variation and snowball sampling: eight teachers, two school administrators, one school counselor, and one school nurse. Data were collected through online semi-structured interviews between April 2025 and January 2026 and analyzed using a team-based inductive thematic analysis informed by Braun and Clarke's six phases. RESULTS: Three analytic domains encompassing eight themes were identified: academic and health-related adjustment; social and emotional reintegration; and school-side support needs and coordination gaps. Participants described school absence as involving academic disruption, weakened belonging, peer-related vulnerability, and a need for individualized adjustment. Support was often dependent on individual initiative, with limited school-useable health information, unclear role boundaries, and insufficient coordination. CONCLUSIONS: School personnel described school re-entry as a gradual, individualized process requiring coordinated communication, planning, and follow-up. The school-side needs identified may inform future interdisciplinary models linking children and families, schools, and health care teams. Pediatric oncology nurses may contribute to communication and planning; however, role-specific recommendations require direct investigation with nurses, children, and families.

Birgül Erdoğan, Tuba Arpaci

DevelopmentTRRead at source

Peer-reviewed articlePubMed (US National Library of Medicine)8 Aug 2026

Exploring the malleability of Sensitivity to Intersensory Synchrony in typically developing preschoolers: Insights from single-session Intersensory Synchrony Experiential Practice (ISEP-SS).

Temporal proximity is a fundamental cue for integrating sensory inputs into unified percepts. Sensitivity to Intersensory Synchrony (SIS) enables detection of this cue, fostering intersensory redundancy that not only enriches perception but also appears to support the development of higher-order functions. In adults, single-session perceptual training can enhance SIS with lasting effects, although generalization to untrained stimuli remains unclear. Developmental evidence is scarce. To date, only one study has been conducted, which reported traininginduced enhancements in SIS in six-month-old infants. Given the role of experience in shaping SIS and its rapid refinement during the preschool years, the present study examined whether brief multisensory perceptual training can enhance SIS in typically developing children aged 3 to 6 years. A 20-min individually administered playbased multisensory perceptual training was tested in 77 participants versus 62 agematched controls. Training efficacy was examined in relation to Age and Inhibitory Control, assessed prior to training via a standardized test battery. A preferential-looking task administered before and immediately after training revealed a significant enhancement in SIS, reflected in an increased preference for synchronous over asynchronous intersensory events, with effects generalizing to untrained, complex speech stimuli. No age-related differences emerged. Notably, children with lower Inhibitory Control showed the greatest improvements, suggesting that brief multisensory interventions may also benefit atypical developmental profiles characterized by reduced SIS and impaired Inhibitory Control. These findings highlight the potential of a simple, nonverbal, and play-based training to strengthen fundamental perceptual mechanisms thought to support the development of higher-order functions.

Silvia Ampollini, Ada Cigala

DevelopmentRead at source

Peer-reviewed articlePubMed (US National Library of Medicine)10 Aug 2026

Children's experiences of sleep disturbances in ADHD: A qualitative investigation.

INTRODUCTION: Sleep disturbances are nearly three times as common in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) than in the non-clinical child population. Nevertheless, little is known about how children with ADHD perceive their sleep disturbances, as existing literature relies on caregiver accounts. The current study aimed to investigate children's experiences of comorbid sleep disturbances. METHOD: Adopting a qualitative, child-centered approach the study draws on 15 semi-structured interviews with children aged 9-13 diagnosed with ADHD and parent-reported sleep disturbances. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Three themes were generated, including one comprising two subthemes. Theme 1 captures how the children often experience sleep disturbances as persistent, severe, and generally life aggravating. Theme 2 captures how the children commonly experience restlessness at bedtime and throughout the night, which is perceived as a central cause of sleep disturbances. Restlessness emerged as a mental and a physical phenomenon, thus the theme is divided into two subthemes, each exploring one of these manifestations. Theme 3 captures how conflicts at bedtime, concerning sleep and the process of going to bed, are common both with parents and within the child. These conflicts further shape bedtime and sleep as unpleasant experiences. CONCLUSION: The findings reinforce the need for sustained clinical attention in this population, as sleep disturbances are commonly perceived as severe and persistent, with evenings and nights often dominated by restlessness and conflicts. The study represents a novel contribution to the field as one of few qualitative studies exploring pediatric ADHD-related sleep disturbances directly with a child participant group.

Freja Mayland, Sonja Breinholst, Monika Anna Walczak et al.

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Peer-reviewed articlePubMed (US National Library of Medicine)13 Aug 2026

Decomposing SNARC: How distinct spatial-numerical association components relate to specific early numerical skills in kindergarten.

The SNARC effect (Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes) is the most extensively studied spatial-numerical association, referring to faster left- and right-sided responses to small and large numbers, respectively. However, evidence for a relation between the SNARC effect and mathematical performance remains inconclusive. Several factors may explain these inconsistencies. First, they may arise from how the SNARC effect is typically computed. Conventional analyses use a single regression slope linking numerical magnitude and spatial response, thereby conflating two dimensions: the directionality (left-right polarity) and the size of the association, which may differentially relate to mathematical performance and should be examined separately. Moreover, intra-individual variability in SNARC estimates introduces imprecision that can obscure meaningful relations. Second, different mathematical skills may engage spatial-numerical processes to varying degrees. Accounting for this is essential to clarify the nature of the SNARC-math relation, particularly in younger children when early mathematical skills are first emerging. To address these issues, we examined the SNARC effect in 135 kindergarteners using a magnitude judgment task (i.e., a speeded task in which participants judge whether centrally presented Arabic digits are smaller or larger than a reference value), deriving three indices characterising the SNARC slope: absolute size, directionality, and intra-individual variability. Early numerical skills were assessed through counting, numerosity comparison, magnitude judgment and ordinal judgment tasks. Traditional SNARC slopes did not correlate with mathematical performance, but regression analyses separating size, directionality, and variability revealed distinct effects: intra-individual variability predicted magnitude judgment, whereas directionality predicted ordinal judgment. These findings indicate that decomposing the SNARC effect and accounting for intra-individual variability reveals meaningful, task-specific associations, offering a potential explanation for previous inconsistencies.

Tânia Ramos, Christine Schiltz, Carrie Georges

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Reliability and Repeatability of At-Home Parent-Reported Height and Weight Measurement of Young Children.

Mothers' intentions for adolescent sons' human papillomavirus vaccination in Japan: Psychosocial factors and relative influences across intention groups.

A community sensitive mixed-methods protocol for parental reporting of child sexual abuse.