Neurotrophic factor levels and executive functions in children of parents with bipolar disorder: A case controlled study.

BACKGROUND: In the current study, it was aimed to evaluate neurotrophic factor levels and their relationship with executive functions in high-risk children and adolescents (high-risk group) whose parents were diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD) but not affected by any psychiatric disease,and in order to determine possible vulnerability factors related to the disease. METHODS: The study sample consisted of 32 high-risk group and 34 healthy controls. The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version-Turkish Adaptation (KSADS-PL-T), Stroop Test, Serial Digit Learning Test (SDLT) and Cancellation Test to evaluate executive functions were administered to all participants by the clinician.Serum levels of neurotrophic factors were measured using commercial enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kits. RESULTS: Serum BDNF, NT-3, NT-4 levels and SDLT scores were significantly lower in the high-risk group for BD compared to the healthy control group. A moderate negative correlation was found between BDNF levels and the Cancellation Test scores in the high-risk group. In addition to these results, the odds ratios of age, NT-4, SDLT scores for being in the risky group in terms of BD diagnosis were 1.26, 0.99 and 0.86 respectively. LIMITATIONS: This was a cross-sectional study. Causality between study results is therefore difficult to establish. The relatively small sample size of the study is another limitation. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study suggest that BDNF, NT-3, NT-4 may play a role in the physiopathology of BD and may be associated with impaired executive function areas such as attention and response inhibition in the high-risk group.

The Effect of Internet Addiction and Emotion Regulation on Trauma Reactions During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Adolescents With Anxiety Disorder.

ABSTRACT: In this study, we examined the relationship among trauma reactions, anxiety severity, Internet addiction (IA), and emotion regulation difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic in adolescents with anxiety disorders. The sample of study consisted of 63 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years who were diagnosed with AD and their parents. IA scores and emotional regulation difficulties were significantly higher in the group with pathological trauma reactions than the group exhibiting nonpathological trauma reactions. The trauma scores of adolescents with AD were correlated with IA, emotional regulation difficulties, and anxiety scores. The results of mediation analysis found that IA was the full mediating factor in the relationship between anxiety and trauma scores and a partial mediating factor in the relationship between emotional regulation difficulties and trauma scores. As a result, monitoring adolescents' Internet use not exceeding healthy levels and developing and strengthening emotion regulation skills can help protect against trauma during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chronotypes, sleep problems and trauma reactions in adolescents with anxiety disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between chronotype preferences/sleep problems and trauma symptoms during the COVID-19 outbreak of adolescents diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder (AD) in the pre-COVID-19 period. The sample of this study consisted of 71 adolescents with AD. Trauma symptoms were evaluated using the Children's Event Impact Scale (CRIES-13); sleep habits were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); and chronotype was evaluated using the Children's Chronotype Questionnaire (CCQ). The CRIES-13 arousal scores and PSQI sleep latency scores were significantly higher in the eveningness type group compared with the non-eveningness type group. The CRIES-13 arousal scores of adolescents with AD were related to the CCQ and PSQI scores. In linear regression analysis, sleep problems were found to be an associated factor on the CRIES-13 scores. The findings of the present study suggest that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the chronotype may play an important role in the adversities experienced by adolescents with AD. In addition, it was thought that the association between sleep problems and trauma in adolescents with AD who spent a lot of time in the home environment during the pandemic period needs further evaluation.