The impact of COVID-19 on children and adolescents attending Child and Youth Mental Health Services in Queensland, Australia.

OBJECTIVE: This explorative study aims to provide insight into impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions, on mental health of children and adolescents treated at Child and Youth Mental Health Services, and their parents. METHOD: The COVID-19 Mental Health Survey was disseminated to parents of children and adolescents under treatment at community Child and Youth Mental Health Services (Brisbane, Australia) between July-November 2020 throughout different stages of COVID-19 related restrictions. Parents of 110 children participated. RESULTS: Most reported child's symptoms were sadness (46%), anxiety (60%), lack of focus (61%), lack of joy in their usual activities (38%) and reduction in sleep (42%). Parental emotions were significantly correlated with their child's emotions. Parent's lack of enjoyment of usual activities had the overall strongest average correlation (0.27) but this was no longer significant once other variables were controlled for. Children who attended school remotely for some of the days had a significantly (p < .05) higher risk of having more reported symptoms. Interestingly, in later stages of the lockdown with further easing of restrictions, symptoms also tended to be more severe. CONCLUSION: Cross-sectional data on children and adolescents in Queensland, Australia with pre-existing mental health issues suggests mental health continued to deteriorate through the pandemic even as restrictions eased. Changes in schooling seem to be an especially important risk factor.

Effect of Medications for Gastric Acid-Related Symptoms on Total Motile Sperm Count and Concentration: A Case-Control Study in Men of Subfertile Couples from the Netherlands.

INTRODUCTION: Gastric acid-related symptoms are highly prevalent in the general population (21-40%), and more than 11% of individuals use medication for the treatment of these symptoms. The uptake of micronutrients is dependent on the gastrointestinal potential of hydrogen (pH). OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that medication affecting gastrointestinal pH reduces the availability of B vitamins, thereby deranging one-carbon metabolism and detrimentally affecting spermatogenesis. METHODS: This explorative nested case-control study in men of subfertile couples investigated associations between medication used for gastric acid-related symptoms and semen parameters. We included 40 men using medication for gastric acid-related symptoms and 843 men not using medication. Semen analyses were performed between 70 days before and 21 days after the visit. RESULTS: The use of medication was associated with a twofold higher risk of a low total motile sperm count [TMSC <1 × 106, odds ratio (OR) 2.090, p = 0.049] and negatively with sperm concentration (ß -0.320, p = 0.028). Red blood cell folate was positively associated with TMSC (ß 0.257, p = 0.026), sperm count (ß 1.679, p = 0.013) and ejaculate volume (ß 0.120, p = 0.023), and total homocysteine (tHcy) was negatively associated with sperm count (ß -0.077, p = 0.021). CONCLUSION: Here we delineate associations between the use of medication for gastric acid-related symptoms and poor semen quality in men of subfertile couples. The use of medication for gastric acid-related symptoms is associated with a twofold higher risk of a low TMSC and a decreased sperm concentration. Although these findings warrant further research on causality, the associations between folate, tHcy and semen quality emphasize the importance of preconception counselling in male subfertility.