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2 Effects of Early Exposure to More Than One Language in the Home on Language Skills and Brain Functional Network Organization in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Bosi Chen, Adriana Rios, Lindsay Olson, Madison Salmina, Stephanie Peña, Annika Linke, Inna Fishman
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 210-211
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Objective:
Concerns that exposure to more than one language in the home might negatively impact language development in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are common among caregivers. Although research directly examining the impact of a multilingual home environment in ASD is scarce, emerging evidence shows that language outcomes might be equivalent or better in children with ASD exposed to more than one language (Romero & Uddin, 2021). However, no evidence to date exists on whether exposure to more than one language affects early brain functional development in children with ASD. The current study aims to examine the (1) cross-sectional and (2) longitudinal associations between home language environment (exposure to one v. multiple languages at home, H1l vs. H>1l) and receptive and expressive language skills in young children with and without ASD, and (3) to investigate links between home language environment and brain functional network organization.
Participants and Methods:Participants included young children with ASD (n=67, mean age: 35±13 months, H>1l n=43) and typically developing (TD) children (n=39, mean age: 32±16 months, H>1l n=17) enrolled in a longitudinal study of early brain markers of autism. A subset of children with ASD for whom longitudinal behavioral data from two study visits were available (n=21, H>1l n=11) were used for exploratory analysis. Receptive language (RL) and expressive language (EL) skills were assessed by the Mullen Scales of Early Learning at each study visit. Data from 42 children with ASD (H>1l n=27) and 38 TD children (H>1l n= 15) for whom functional MRI data were acquired during natural sleep were included in functional connectivity (FC) analysis. ANCOVAs were employed to examine the effect of diagnosis, home language environment (H1l vs. H>1l) and its interaction on RL and EL skills while controlling for socioeconomic variables (i.e., maternal education level, income-to-needs ratio) and gestational age at birth. Linear mixed models were applied to explore the longitudinal effect of home language environment on RL and EL skills across two study visits in the ASD group. Lastly, FC analysis was conducted to compare functional connectivity across 7 canonical brain networks in children with and without ASD who were raised in H1l and H>1l.
Results:We found significant diagnosis by home language environment interaction effect on EL skills, with children with ASD and H1l exhibiting the lowest EL skills. Longitudinal analysis identified a significant home language environment by study visit interaction effect on EL skills in children with ASD. Specifically, children with ASD and H1l showed lower EL skills at study visit 1 but equivalent EL skills at study visit 2 compared to children with ASD and H>1l. FC analysis revealed that children with ASD and H>1l displayed more typical brain network organization (similar to TD children) compared to those with H1l, specifically for FC between language, frontoparietal, and default mode networks.
Conclusions:These results suggest that early exposure to more than one language in the home may be linked with better expressive language skills in young children with ASD. Results of functional connectivity analysis also suggest that exposure to more than one language may be associated with more neurotypical functional network organization, particularly involving language and high-order networks.
Coronavirus disease 2019 is associated with long-term depressive symptoms in Spanish older adults with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome
- Sangeetha Shyam, Carlos Gómez-Martínez, Indira Paz-Graniel, José J. Gaforio, Miguel Ángel Martínez-González, Dolores Corella, Montserrat Fitó, J. Alfredo Martínez, Ángel M. Alonso-Gómez, Julia Wärnberg, Jesús Vioque, Dora Romaguera, José López-Miranda, Ramon Estruch, Francisco J. Tinahones, José Manuel Santos-Lozano, J. Luís Serra-Majem, Aurora Bueno-Cavanillas, Josep A. Tur, Vicente Martín Sánchez, Xavier Pintó, María Ortiz Ramos, Josep Vidal, Maria Mar Alcarria, Lidia Daimiel, Emilio Ros, Fernando Fernandez-Aranda, Stephanie K. Nishi, Oscar García Regata, Estefania Toledo, Jose V. Sorli, Olga Castañer, Antonio Garcia-Rios, Rafael Valls-Enguix, Napoleon Perez-Farinos, M. Angeles Zulet, Elena Rayó-Gago, Rosa Casas, Mario Rivera-Izquierdo, Lucas Tojal-Sierra, Miguel Damas-Fuentes, Pilar Buil-Cosiales, Rebeca Fernández-Carrion, Albert Goday, Patricia J. Peña-Orihuela, Laura Compañ-Gabucio, Javier Diez-Espino, Susanna Tello, Ana González-Pinto, Víctor de la O, Miguel Delgado-Rodríguez, Nancy Babio, Jordi Salas-Salvadó
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- Journal:
- Psychological Medicine / Volume 54 / Issue 3 / February 2024
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 05 September 2023, pp. 620-630
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Background
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has serious physiological and psychological consequences. The long-term (>12 weeks post-infection) impact of COVID-19 on mental health, specifically in older adults, is unclear. We longitudinally assessed the association of COVID-19 with depression symptomatology in community-dwelling older adults with metabolic syndrome within the framework of the PREDIMED-Plus cohort.
MethodsParticipants (n = 5486) aged 55–75 years were included in this longitudinal cohort. COVID-19 status (positive/negative) determined by tests (e.g. polymerase chain reaction severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, IgG) was confirmed via event adjudication (410 cases). Pre- and post-COVID-19 depressive symptomatology was ascertained from annual assessments conducted using a validated 21-item Spanish Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Multivariable linear and logistic regression models assessed the association between COVID-19 and depression symptomatology.
ResultsCOVID-19 in older adults was associated with higher post-COVID-19 BDI-II scores measured at a median (interquartile range) of 29 (15–40) weeks post-infection [fully adjusted β = 0.65 points, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.15–1.15; p = 0.011]. This association was particularly prominent in women (β = 1.38 points, 95% CI 0.44–2.33, p = 0.004). COVID-19 was associated with 62% increased odds of elevated depression risk (BDI-II ≥ 14) post-COVID-19 when adjusted for confounders (odds ratio; 95% CI 1.13–2.30, p = 0.008).
ConclusionsCOVID-19 was associated with long-term depression risk in older adults with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome, particularly in women. Thus, long-term evaluations of the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and preventive public health initiatives are warranted in older adults.
Characteristics of healthcare personnel who reported concerns related to PPE use during care of COVID-19 patients
- Nora Chea, Stephanie Tavitian, Cedric Brown, Taniece Eure, Rebecca Alkis, Gregory Blazek, Austin Penna, Joelle Nadle, Linda Frank, Christopher Czaja, Helen Johnston, Devra Barter, Kathleen Angell, Kristen Marshall, James Meek, Monica Brackney, Stacy Carswell, Stepy Thomas, Scott Fridkin, Lucy Wilson, Ashley Fell, Sara Lovett, Sarah Lim, Ruth Lynfield, Ruth SarahShrum, Erin C. Phipps, Marla Sievers, Ghinwa Dumyati, Cate Concannon, Kathryn McCullough, Woods, Sandhya Seshadri, Christopher Myers, Rebecca Pierce, Valerie Ocampo, Judith Guzman-Cottrill, Gabriela Escutia, Monika Samper, Sandra Pena, Cullen Adre, Tiffanie Markus, Kathryn Billings, Matthew Groenewold, Ronda Sinkowitz-Cochran, Shelley Magill, Cheri Grigg, Betsy Miller
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- Journal:
- Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology / Volume 2 / Issue S1 / July 2022
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 16 May 2022, pp. s8-s9
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Background: Healthcare facilities have experienced many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, including limited personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies. Healthcare personnel (HCP) rely on PPE, vaccines, and other infection control measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections. We describe PPE concerns reported by HCP who had close contact with COVID-19 patients in the workplace and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Method: The CDC collaborated with Emerging Infections Program (EIP) sites in 10 states to conduct surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 infections in HCP. EIP staff interviewed HCP with positive SARS-CoV-2 viral tests (ie, cases) to collect data on demographics, healthcare roles, exposures, PPE use, and concerns about their PPE use during COVID-19 patient care in the 14 days before the HCP’s SARS-CoV-2 positive test. PPE concerns were qualitatively coded as being related to supply (eg, low quality, shortages); use (eg, extended use, reuse, lack of fit test); or facility policy (eg, lack of guidance). We calculated and compared the percentages of cases reporting each concern type during the initial phase of the pandemic (April–May 2020), during the first US peak of daily COVID-19 cases (June–August 2020), and during the second US peak (September 2020–January 2021). We compared percentages using mid-P or Fisher exact tests (α = 0.05). Results: Among 1,998 HCP cases occurring during April 2020–January 2021 who had close contact with COVID-19 patients, 613 (30.7%) reported ≥1 PPE concern (Table 1). The percentage of cases reporting supply or use concerns was higher during the first peak period than the second peak period (supply concerns: 12.5% vs 7.5%; use concerns: 25.5% vs 18.2%; p Conclusions: Although lower percentages of HCP cases overall reported PPE concerns after the first US peak, our results highlight the importance of developing capacity to produce and distribute PPE during times of increased demand. The difference we observed among selected groups of cases may indicate that PPE access and use were more challenging for some, such as nonphysicians and nursing home HCP. These findings underscore the need to ensure that PPE is accessible and used correctly by HCP for whom use is recommended.
Funding: None
Disclosures: None
Eye Refraction in Doubly Exchanged Monozygotic Twins
- Nancy L. Segal, Yesika S. Montoya, Fernando Y. Peña, Stephany Burgos, Ximena Katz
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- Journal:
- Twin Research and Human Genetics / Volume 22 / Issue 3 / June 2019
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 19 June 2019, pp. 177-182
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This case study examined the hypothesis that longer outdoor time results in normal vision and refractive status, using unique genetically informative kinships. The participants were the members of 29-year-old doubly exchanged monozygotic male twin pairs from Bogotá, Colombia, in South America. Comprehensive ophthalmological examinations, including uncorrected and corrected visual acuity, refraction and keratometry, and visual life history interviews were undertaken; all examinations were conducted by two ophthalmologists blind to the hypothesis, relatedness, and rearing status of the four participants. Normal uncorrected vision and refractive status were present in the two rural-raised, unrelated brothers, relative to their urban-raised counterparts. Uncorrected visual acuities were 20/160 and 20/200 for the city-raised twins and 20/20 and 20/30 for the country-raised twins. Premature birth, low birth weight, computer use, and reading time could not explain these differences. It was concluded that time spent outdoors appears to be a significant factor in the development of myopia, reinforcing extant findings via a novel experimental approach.