Popular interventions to enhance sustained attention in children and adolescents: A critical systematic review.

There are a myriad of interventions promoting activities designed to help enhance sustained attention in children and adolescents. In this systematic review, we critically evaluate the evidence behind three popular sustained attention training approaches - cognitive attention training, meditation, and physical activity. Seven databases were searched in addition to secondary searches. Cognitive attention training, meditation training or physical activity intervention studies aimed at improving sustained attention (randomised-controlled or non-randomised-controlled designs) in samples of children and adolescents (3-18 years) were included. We screened 3437 unique articles. Thirty-seven studies satisfied inclusion criteria. In general, cognitive attention training (n = 14) did not reliably improve sustained attention. Physical activity (n = 15) and meditation interventions (n = 8) demonstrated somewhat more potential in enhancing sustained attention, but these effects should be considered preliminary and need to be replicated with greater methodological rigour. Cognitive attention training demonstrated very limited transfer to other aspects of attention. Notably, mindfulness training had rather consistent positive effects on selective attention. Across all three intervention types, there was very weak evidence for transfer to other aspects of cognition, behaviour, and academic achievement. The paper concludes with methodological recommendations for future studies to strengthen the evidence base.

Psychological distress impairs clearance of psoriasis in patients treated with photochemotherapy.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether psychological distress affects treatment outcome in psoriasis. DESIGN: Cohort study of patients with psoriasis receiving psoralen-UV-A (PUVA) photochemotherapy. SETTING: Two university hospital dermatology departments. PATIENTS: One hundred twelve patients with chronic plaque psoriasis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We assessed clinical severity of psoriasis, psychological distress, and other potential confounders of treatment outcome such as skin phototype, family history of psoriasis, and alcohol intake before starting PUVA therapy. Clinical severity of disease and response to therapy were assessed at every fourth appointment. RESULTS: Pathological or high-level worry was the only significant (P =.01) predictor of time taken for PUVA to clear psoriasis. Event curves of time to clearance significantly differed between high- and low-level worry groups (log rank test, 6.64; df = 1; P =.01). Patients in the high-level worry group cleared with PUVA treatment at a rate 1.8 times slower than that of the low-level worry group (ExpB = 1.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-2.90). Fiftieth percentile time to clearance of psoriasis in the high- and low-level worry groups showed a median difference of 19 days. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological distress, in the form of excessive worrying, has a significant and detrimental affect on treatment outcome in patients with psoriasis. Patients with psoriasis who are classified as high-level worriers may benefit from adjunctive psychological intervention before and during treatment. These findings provide further evidence of the existence of a brain-skin axis.