Circadian health differs between boys and girls as assessed by non-invasive tools in school-aged children.
Clin Nutr
; 38(2): 774-781, 2019 04.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29609867
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND & AIMS:
Assessment of circadian health is confined to adults. However, understanding circadian status of school-aged children is necessary due to its health implications. The aim was to develop 1) a protocol to assess circadian function in school-aged children by combining the best non-invasive tools previously validated in adults; 2) a score to capture circadian function in children including food timing. This protocol will allow to explore gender differences and to compare the circadian function of school-aged children with adults from the same Mediterranean area.METHODS:
Healthy children (8-12 y) from 3 schools in a Mediterranean area of Spain were recruited (n = 248; 125 males and 123 females). Several non-invasive tools were used a) 7-day-diaries of food timing and food intake, physical-activity and sleep, b) Munich-chronotype-self-reported-questionnaire; c) cortisol and melatonin saliva determinations; d) 7-day-rhythms of wrist temperature (T), activity (A), position (P) and the integrative variable TAP e) 7-day-light exposure.RESULTS:
We have constructed the first school-aged children population for the assessment of circadian function (ONTIME-Jr) and a new circadian score has been developed. Among circadian-related measures, TAP was the most suitable and reliable to determine circadian system characteristics. Circadian function was better in girls than in boys [circadian score (AU) Mean ± SD (girls, 1216 ± 153 vs. 1159 ± 173 boys, P = 0.012)], and also in school-aged children than in adults from the same Mediterranean area (Circadian-Function-Index children 0.47 ± 0.06 vs. adults 0.45 ± 0.06 P = 0.001).CONCLUSIONS:
A new protocol, including TAP and food timing, demonstrated to be reliable in assessing circadian function in children. These non-invasive techniques provide the wherewithal for paediatricians to assess circadian function in clinical practice. TRIAL REGISTRATION Chronobiology and childhood obesity (ONTIME-Jr Obesity, Nutrigenetics, Timing and Mediterranean, Junior). ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT02895282, October 2014.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Fisiología
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Ritmo Circadiano
Tipo de estudio:
Guideline
Límite:
Child
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Female
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Humans
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Male
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Clin Nutr
Año:
2019
Tipo del documento:
Article