Quantity and quality of sleep in young players of a professional football club.

PURPOSE: To investigate the quantity and quality of sleep hours in young athletes in a professional football club, to study if there is a significant relationship with mood state and subjective well-being, and to identify the relationship between sleep and quarterly academic performance. We also explored the relationship between sleep and quarterly academic performance. METHOD: the study included 261 players of the various age group categories from football at Barcelona Football Club (average age:13.04 ± 3.16). Participants maintained a sleep diary and completed questionnaires on their mood state and the quantity and quality of their sleep. RESULTS: 70% of the athletes slept less hours than recommended by the American National Sleep Foundation. Athletes with worse quantity and quality of sleep showed negative effects on academic results. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that the majority of young players sleep less than recommended and show that those who sleep more hours obtain better academic results.

A time-restricted feeding intervention in children and adolescents with obesity: The TRansForm study protocol.

Obesity during childhood is of special concern as adiposity is typically tracked into adult life and it constitutes a major risk factor for future obesity and associated metabolic disorders. Recent studies indicate that time-restricted feeding (TRF) interventions may provide a promising strategy for obesity treatment. However, TRF interventions have only been tested in adult subjects. This study aims to determine both short- and long-term effects of a TRF intervention in children and adolescents with obesity. We will also investigate potential mechanisms mediating the response to the intervention, including the circadian rhythm and the gut microbiota composition. We have designed a randomized-controlled parallel-group clinical study in which children and adolescents (age range 8-18 year-old) with obesity will be subjected to time-restricted eating or no time restrictions for 2 months. Follow-up visits will allow for long-term effect assessments. We will measure anthropometric (BMI, body composition) and metabolic parameters (glucose and lipid metabolism), indicators of the circadian rhythm, and gut microbiota composition will be analyzed. This study will (1) determine safety and effectiveness of the TRF intervention in children and adolescents; (2) assess its long-term effects; and (3) evaluate potential mechanisms involved in the response to the intervention. Clinical trial registration: [www.ClinicalTrials.gov], identifier [NCT05174871].

Prevalence of sleep disorders in early-treated phenylketonuric children and adolescents. Correlation with dopamine and serotonin status.

Phenylketonuric (PKU) patients are a population at risk for sleep disorders due to deficits in neurotransmitter synthesis. We aimed to study the prevalence of sleep disorders in early-treated PKU children and adolescents and assessed correlations with dopamine and serotonin status. We compared 32 PKU patients (16 females, 16 males; mean age 12 years), with a healthy control group of 32 subjects (16 females, 16 males; mean age 11.9 years). 19 PKU patients were under dietary treatment and 13 on tetrahydrobiopterin therapy. Concurrent phenylalanine (Phe), index of dietary control and variability in Phe in the last year, tyrosine, tryptophan, prolactin, and ferritin in plasma, platelet serotonin concentration, and melatonin, homovanillic and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid excretion in urine were analyzed. Sleep was assessed using Bruni's Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children. Sleep disorders were similar in both groups, 15.6% in control group and 12.5% in PKU group. In PKU patients, no correlations were found with peripheral biomarkers of neurotransmitter synthesis nor different Phe parameters, 43.3% had low melatonin excretion and 43.8% low platelet serotonin concentrations. Despite melatonin and serotonin deficits in early-treated PKU patients, the prevalence of sleep disorders is similar to that of the general population.

The prevalence of narcolepsy in Catalunya (Spain).

Previous studies have estimated an overall prevalence for narcolepsy between 15 and 70 cases per 100 000 inhabitants. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of narcolepsy in Catalunya (Catalonia), a north-east region of Spain (7 424 754 inhabitants), on 31 December 2014 by identifying all living subjects diagnosed with narcolepsy. First, we identified patients diagnosed by one of the 13 sleep, paediatric or neurological departments that perform tests regularly to diagnose narcolepsy. In a second phase, we searched for additional patients with narcolepsy in a clinical database of the primary health-care system. Clinical files were reviewed and narcolepsy diagnosis validated according to the Brighton Collaboration case definitions. Three hundred and twenty-five patients had a validated diagnosis of narcolepsy in the specialized centres (mean age: 44.6 years, range: 6-89; male: 60.3%; 85% with narcolepsy type 1), including 17.8% cases in Brighton, definition level 1, 62.5% in level 2, 15.4% in level 3 and 4.3% in level 4a. The overall prevalence for narcolepsy was 4.4; 3.7 for narcolepsy type 1 and 0.7 cases per 100 000 inhabitants for narcolepsy type 2. Fifty-six additional narcoleptic patients were identified in the primary health-care system, increasing the overall prevalence to 5.2 cases per 100 000 inhabitants. Prevalence rates for narcolepsy type 1 increased from childhood to adulthood, but in subjects aged more than 50 years there was a substantial drop in prevalence rates, suggesting the presence of a significant pool of undiagnosed cases in this population. Narcolepsy can be considered a rare neurological disorder in Catalunya.