Screening for Iron Deficiency in Early Childhood Using Serum Ferritin in the Primary Care Setting.

OBJECTIVES: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends universal screening for anemia using hemoglobin at 12 months. However, hemoglobin lacks diagnostic accuracy for iron deficiency, and the optimal age for screening has not been determined. Our objective was to assess a screening strategy for iron deficiency using serum ferritin. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of children 1 to 3 years old attending a health supervision visit. We examined the relationship between child age and serum ferritin, age and hemoglobin, hemoglobin and serum ferritin, and the prevalence of elevated C-reactive protein (CRP). RESULTS: Restricted cubic spline analysis (n = 1735) revealed a nonlinear relationship between age and serum ferritin (P < .0001). A linear spline model revealed that from 12 to 15 months, for each 1-month increase in age, serum ferritin levels decreased by 9% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5 to 13). From 15 to 24 months, the rate of change was nonsignificant. From 24 to 38 months, for each month increase in age, serum ferritin increased by 2% (95% CI: 1 to 2). For hemoglobin, from 12 to 24 months, the rate of change was nonsignificant. From 24 to 38 months, for each 1-month increase in age, hemoglobin increased by 20% (95% CI: 9 to 32). Compared with the serum ferritin cutoff of <12 µg/L, the hemoglobin cutoff of <110 g/L had a sensitivity of 25% (95% CI: 19 to 32) and a specificity of 89% (95% CI: 87 to 91). Elevated CRP ≥10 mg/L occurred in 3.3% (95% CI: 2.5 to 4.2). CONCLUSIONS: Screening for iron deficiency using serum ferritin at 15 or 18 months may be a promising strategy. For children at low risk for acute inflammation, concurrent measurement of CRP may not be necessary.

A Meta-Analysis of Maternal Prenatal Depression and Anxiety on Child Socioemotional Development.

OBJECTIVE: Observed associations between maternal prenatal stress and children's socioemotional development have varied widely in the literature. The objective of the current study was to provide a synthesis of studies examining maternal prenatal anxiety and depression and the socioemotional development of their children. METHOD: Eligible studies through to February 2018 were identified using a comprehensive search strategy. Included studies examined the association between maternal prenatal depression or anxiety and the future development of their children's socioemotional development (eg, difficult temperament, behavioral dysregulation) up to 18 years later. Two independent coders extracted all relevant data. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to derive mean effect sizes and test for potential moderators. RESULTS: A total of 71 studies met full inclusion criteria for data analysis. The weighted average effect size for the association between prenatal stress and child socioemotional problems was as follows: odds ratio (OR) = 1.66 (95% CI = 1.54-1.79). Effect sizes were stronger for depression (OR = 1.79; 95% CI = 1.61-1.99) compared to anxiety (OR = 1.50; 95% CI = 1.36-1.64). Moderator analyses indicated that effect sizes were stronger when depression was more severe and when socio-demographic risk was heightened. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that maternal prenatal stress is associated with offspring socioemotional development, with the effect size for prenatal depression being more robust than for anxiety. Mitigating stress and mental health difficulties in mothers during pregnancy may be an effective strategy for reducing offspring behavioral difficulties, especially in groups with social disadvantage and greater severity of mental health difficulties.

Risk factors associated with self-injurious behaviors in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders.

While self-injurious behaviors (SIB) can cause significant morbidity for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), little is known about its associated risk factors. We assessed 7 factors that may influence self-injury in a large cohort of children with ASD: (a) atypical sensory processing; (b) impaired cognitive ability; (c) abnormal functional communication; (d) abnormal social functioning; (e) age; (f) the need for sameness; (g) rituals and compulsions. Half (52.3%, n = 126) of the children (n = 241, aged 2-19 years) demonstrated SIB. Abnormal sensory processing was the strongest single predictor of self-injury followed by sameness, impaired cognitive ability and social functioning. Since atypical sensory processing and sameness have a greater relative impact on SIB, treatment approaches that focus on these factors may be beneficial in reducing self-harm in children with ASD.

Dendritic morphology in the striatum and hypothalamus differentially exhibits experience-dependent changes in response to maternal care and early social isolation.

Changes in neuron morphology, stemming from experiences in early life or adulthood, may be the basis for changes in behavior and their underlying functional mechanisms. For example, reproductive experience has been shown to significantly alter neuron morphology in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. In contrast to the effects of reproductive experience, a form of enrichment, on neuron morphology, our understanding of the effects of early social isolation on adult neuron morphology is limited. Therefore, the present study examined changes in neuron morphology in the dorsal (caudate nucleus) and ventral (nucleus accumbens, shell region) striatum and the medial preoptic area of adult virgin and postpartum females exposed to either artificial or maternal rearing during development. Primary results show that regardless of early social isolation, neurons in the caudate nucleus of postpartum females have decreased dendritic complexity compared to virgin females. Maternal experience also increased dendritic complexity in neurons of the nucleus accumbens shell. However, both early social isolation and maternal experience in adulthood influenced dendritic complexity in the medial preoptic area. Together these findings suggest that hypothalamic and striatal neurons show experience-dependent dendritic plasticity and the type and timing of these experiences differentially affect the location and degree of these morphological changes.