Adolescents' dietary polyphenol intake in relation to serum total antioxidant capacity: the HELENA study.

We evaluated the association between intake of total polyphenols, polyphenol classes and the 10 most consumed individual polyphenols with serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in 749 European adolescents (53% girls; 15% overweight; 12.5-17.5 years-old) from the cross-sectional HELENA study of 2006-2007. Dietary polyphenol intake was calculated from two non-consecutive 24-h recalls matched with the Phenol-Explorer database. Multilevel linear models examined the associations between dietary polyphenols and TAC. Polyphenol intake was rather low (median = 321mg/day; p25 = 158; p75 = 536) and TAC was comparable to other literature findings (median = 1.57 mmol/L; p25 = 1.45; p75 = 1.74). Total polyphenol intake, polyphenol classes and the top 10 compounds were not associated with TAC in a linear, quadratic or cubic way in partially or fully confounder-adjusted models. A direct anti-oxidative effect of dietary polyphenol intake was not observed in European adolescents. Polyphenol biomarkers and additional antioxidant measures are needed in future prospective studies to confirm these results.

Sodium Intake and Related Diseases.

Moderation in the use of salt (sodium chloride) in food and food preparations prevents the tendency of blood pressure to increase with age, and this is documented by many studies in current literature [...].

Links Between Teachers' Liking of Students, Peer Inclusion, and Students' Academic Achievement: A Two-Wave Longitudinal Study.

Students who are more liked by their teachers tend to be included by their peers and to perform successfully at school. Yet, very little is known whether peer inclusion can mediate the effect of teachers' liking of students on students' academic achievement. Teachers from Grades 5 and 6 reported their liking of each student and academic achievement (N = 1209; 49% females), whereas peers rated the inclusion of classmates. Results from a multilevel growth curve model revealed that, only at the individual level, higher values of peer inclusion mediated the association between teachers' liking of students and academic achievement over time. This study provides new insights into the complex associations between teachers' liking of students and academic achievement during early adolescence.

Understanding the Victimization-Aggression Link in Childhood: The Roles of Sympathy and Resting Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia.

With a sample of 4- and 8-year-olds (N = 131), we tested the extent to which more frequent experiences of victimization were associated with heightened aggression towards others, and how sympathetic concern and resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) factored into this relationship. Caregivers reported their children's aggression and sympathy. Children reported their victimization and their resting RSA was calculated from electrocardiogram data in response to a nondescript video. Findings revealed that children who reported more frequent victimization were rated as less sympathetic and, in turn, more aggressive. However, resting RSA moderated this path, such that children with high levels were rated as more versus less sympathetic when they reported less versus more victimization, respectively. Results suggest that considering children's sympathetic tendencies and physiology is important to gain a nuanced understanding of their victimization-related aggression.

Clinically Oriented Subtyping of Chronic Insomnia of Childhood.

OBJECTIVES: To identify different profiles of pediatric insomnia, based on the most frequent clinical presentations (nocturnal awakenings, difficulty in falling asleep, nocturnal restlessness, early morning awakenings). STUDY DESIGN: A structured parent interview was conducted in 338 children (mean age 21.29 months, SD 10.56) referred by pediatricians because of insomnia resistant to behavioral approaches and common drug treatments. The aim was to assess the characteristics of insomnia in children, together with family sleep-related history. A latent class analysis was run to identify profiles of insomnia. ANOVA and the χ2 test were used to examine differences between profiles. RESULTS: A 3-class model was built by latent class analysis: 17% (n = 58) of children constituted the first class, characterized by difficulties in falling asleep, with restlessness, nocturnal restlessness, and awakenings during the night; the second class, characterized by early morning awakenings, comprised 21% (n = 71) of children; 62% (n = 209) of children fell within the third class because of their high frequency of nocturnal awakenings and difficulties in falling asleep. The first class reported longer sleep latency and the presence of restless legs syndrome and anemia in the family history; depression and/or mood disorders were more frequent in class 2 and allergies and/or food intolerance were more frequent in class 3. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests the existence of 3 different phenotypes of insomnia in children, based on clinical, personal, and familial data. The identification of these different phenotypes might help to optimize the assessment and treatment of insomnia in young children.

Risk Assessment of Human Toxoplasmosis Associated with the Consumption of Pork Meat in Italy.

Toxoplasmosis is a cosmopolitan disease and has a broad range of hosts, including humans and several wild and domestic animals. The human infection is mostly acquired through the consumption of contaminated food and pork meat has been recognized as one of the major sources of transmission. There are, however, certain fundamental differences between countries; therefore, the present study specifically aims to evaluate the exposure of the Italian population to Toxoplasma gondii through the ingestion of several types of pork meat products habitually consumed in Italy and to estimate the annual number of human infections within two subgroups of the population. A quantitative risk assessment model was built for this reason and was enriched with new elements in comparison to other similar risk assessments in order to enhance its accuracy. Sensitivity analysis and two alternative scenarios were implemented to identify the factors that have the highest impact on risk and to simulate different plausible conditions, respectively. The estimated overall average number of new infections per year among adults is 12,513 and 92 for pregnant women. The baseline model showed that almost all these infections are associated with the consumption of fresh meat cuts and preparations (mean risk of infection varied between 4.5 × 10-5 and 5.5 × 10-5 ) and only a small percentage is due to fermented sausages/salami. On the contrary, salt-cured meat products seem to pose minor risk but further investigations are needed to clarify still unclear aspects. Among all the considered variables, cooking temperature and bradyzoites' concentration in muscle impacted most the risk.

From Plant Compounds to Botanicals and Back: A Current Snapshot.

This work aims at giving an updated picture of the strict interaction between main plant biologically active compounds and botanicals. The main features of the emerging class of dietary supplements, the botanicals, are highlighted. Focus is also on the definition of actual possibilities of study approach and research strategies. Examples of innovative directions are given: assessment of interaction of bioactive compounds, chemometrics and the new goal of biorefineries. Current models of existing databases, such as plant metabolic pathways, food composition, bioactive compounds, dietary supplements, and dietary markers, are described as usable tools for health research. The need for categorization of botanicals as well as for the implementation of specific and dedicated databases emerged, based on both analytical data and collected data taken from literature throughout a harmonized and standardized approach for the evaluation of an adequate dietary intake.

Intakes of whole grain in an Italian sample of children, adolescents and adults.

PURPOSE: There is wide evidence that regular consumption of whole grain foods may reduce the risk of chronic diseases. The aim of this work was to quantify the intake of whole grains and identify main dietary sources in the Italian population. METHODS: Whole grain intakes were calculated in a sample of 2830 adults/older adults and of 440 children/adolescents from the last national survey INRAN-SCAI 2005-06. Food consumption was assessed from a 3-day food record. The whole grain content of foods was estimated mainly from quantitative ingredient declarations on labels. RESULTS: Mean whole grain intakes were 3.7 g/day in adults/older adults and 2.1 g/day in children/adolescents. Overall, 23 % of the sample reported consumption of whole grain foods during the survey, among which mean whole grain intakes ranged from 6.0 g/day in female children to 19.1 g/day in female older adults. The main sources of whole grains were breakfast cereals in children/adolescents (32 %) and bread in adults/older adults (46 %). Consumption of whole grain among adults was associated with significantly higher daily intakes and adequacy of dietary fibre, several vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B6) and minerals (iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium) compared to non-consumption. Among children, whole grain intake was associated with significantly higher intakes of iron and magnesium. CONCLUSIONS: The study reveals very low whole grain intakes across all age groups of the Italian population. Considering the positive association in consumers between whole grain intakes and fibre and micro-nutrient intakes, public health strategies to increase whole grain consumption should be considered.

Risk Assessment of Human Listeriosis from Semisoft Cheeses Made from Raw Sheep's Milk in Lazio and Tuscany (Italy).

Semisoft cheese made from raw sheep's milk is traditionally and economically important in southern Europe. However, raw milk cheese is also a known vehicle of human listeriosis and contamination of sheep cheese with Listeria monocytogenes has been reported. In the present study, we have developed and applied a quantitative risk assessment model, based on available evidence and challenge testing, to estimate risk of invasive listeriosis due to consumption of an artisanal sheep cheese made with raw milk collected from a single flock in central Italy. In the model, contamination of milk may originate from the farm environment or from mastitic animals, with potential growth of the pathogen in bulk milk and during cheese ripening. Based on the 48-day challenge test of a local semisoft raw sheep's milk cheese we found limited growth only during the initial phase of ripening (24 hours) and no growth or limited decline during the following ripening period. In our simulation, in the baseline scenario, 2.2% of cheese servings are estimated to have at least 1 colony forming unit (CFU) per gram. Of these, 15.1% would be above the current E.U. limit of 100 CFU/g (5.2% would exceed 1,000 CFU/g). Risk of invasive listeriosis per random serving is estimated in the 10-12 range (mean) for healthy adults, and in the 10-10 range (mean) for vulnerable populations. When small flocks (10-36 animals) are combined with the presence of a sheep with undetected subclinical mastitis, risk of listeriosis increases and such flocks may represent a public health risk.

Persuasion in school-aged children: How does it change if the persuadee is the mother or the peer?

The present study was designed to verify how school-aged children's persuasive tactics changed if the persuadee was the mother or the peer. One hundred and forty-nine children at two grade levels (4th and 5th) were enrolled in the study. Persuasive strategies were investigated using pictures representing two common situations in which each child had to convince his/her playmate and his/her mother to obtain a toy. As predicted, with mothers children engaged more frequently in strategies aimed at encouraging cognitive reappraisal of the situation and offering guarantees. Conversely, with the peers, children adopted a greater variety of persuasive strategies, engaging in lower-order tactics. Implications and limitations of the study were discussed.

Comparison of different approaches to calculate nutrient intakes based upon 24-h recall data derived from a multicenter study in European adolescents.

PURPOSE: The European "Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence" (HELENA) project evaluated two different approaches to harmonize the matching procedures between 24-h recall data and food composition databases. In the first approach, the 24-h recall data were linked to the local/national food composition databases using standardized procedures, while in the second approach, the 24-h recall data were linked to the German BLS database which includes a larger food list. The aim of this paper was to compare the intakes of energy and eight nutrient components calculated via both approaches. METHODS: Two non-consecutive 24-h recalls were performed in 1268 adolescents. Energy, carbohydrates, proteins, fat, fiber, water, alcohol, calcium and vitamin C were calculated via the two approaches at individual level. Paired samples t test and Pearson's correlations were used to compare the mean intakes of energy and the eight mentioned nutrients and to investigate the possible associations between the two approaches. RESULTS: Small but significant differences were found between the intakes of energy and the eight food components when comparing both approaches. Very strong and strong correlations (0.70-0.95) were found between both methods for all nutrients. CONCLUSION: The dietary intakes obtained via the two different linking procedures are highly correlated for energy and the eight nutrients under study.

The moderating role of internalising negative emotionality in the relation of self-regulation to social adjustment in Italian preschool-aged children.

The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of internalising negative emotionality (i.e., anxious, concerned, and embarrassed displays) in the association between children's self-regulation and social adjustment. Seventy-four Italian children (44 girls, 30 boys; M age = 35.05 months, SD = 3.57) were assessed using two self-regulation tasks. Internalising negative emotionality was assessed through observations of children's emotion expressions during the tasks. Teachers evaluated children's social competence and internalising and externalising problems. Results demonstrated that among children who exhibited internalising negative emotionality, self-regulation was positively associated with social competence and negatively related to externalising problems. Our results suggest that self-regulation may play a crucial role for social adjustment when children show emotions such as anxiety and embarrassment during challenging situations.

Diet quality of Italian yogurt consumers: an application of the probability of adequate nutrient intake score (PANDiet).

The diet quality in yogurt consumers and non-consumers was evaluated by applying the probability of adequate nutrient intake (PANDiet) index to a sample of adults and elderly from the Italian food consumption survey INRAN SCAI 2005-06. Overall, yogurt consumers had a significantly higher mean intake of energy, calcium and percentage of energy from total sugars whereas the mean percentage of energy from total fat, saturated fatty acid and total carbohydrate were significantly (p < 0.01) lower than in non-consumers. The PANDiet index was significantly higher in yogurt consumers than in non-consumers, (60.58 ± 0.33 vs. 58.58 ± 0.19, p < 0.001). The adequacy sub-score for 17 nutrients for which usual intake should be above the reference value was significantly higher among yogurt consumers. The items of calcium, potassium and riboflavin showed the major percentage variation between consumers and non-consumers. Yogurt consumers were more likely to have adequate intakes of vitamins and minerals, and a higher quality score of the diet.

Dietary protein and amino acids intake and its relationship with blood pressure in adolescents: the HELENA STUDY.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between dietary protein and amino acids intake and systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure in European adolescents. METHODS: Participants were from the cross-sectional study performed in Europe, Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA study; n = 1605; 12.5-17.5 years; 833 girls) selected by complex sampling. The associations between dietary protein and amino acids intake and SBP/DBP were examined by multilevel linear regression models (context variable by school); the analysis being stratified by sex. Cities, seasonality, age, socioeconomic level, parental education level, body mass index, waist circumference, Tanner stage and physical activity were used as covariates. RESULTS: In boys, we found an inverse association between protein (animal and vegetable) intake and DBP; and a positive association between histidine and SBP. In girls, we observed a positive association among tryptophan, histidine with SBP and methionine with DBP. On the other hand, we observed an inverse association between tyrosine and both SBP and DBP levels in girls. CONCLUSIONS: The association between amino acids and BP levels is controversial and depends on the type of amino acids, and protein intake can help control the DBP in boys.

FoodEx2 Harmonization of the Food Consumption Database from the Italian IV SCAI Children's Survey.

Estimating the habitual food and nutrient intakes of a population is based on dietary assessment methods that collect detailed information on food consumption. Establishing the list of foods to be used for collecting data in dietary surveys is central to standardizing data collection. Comparing foods across different data sources is always challenging. Nomenclatures, detail, and classification into broad food groups and sub-groups can vary considerably. The use of a common system for classifying and describing foods is an important prerequisite for analyzing data from different sources. At the European level, EFSA has addressed this need through the development and maintenance of the FoodEx2 classification system. The aim of this work is to present the FoodEx2 harmonization of foods, beverages, and food supplements consumed in the IV SCAI children's survey carried out in Italy. Classifying foods into representative food categories predefined at European level for intake and exposure assessment may lead to a loss of information. On the other hand, a major advantage is the comparability of data from different national databases. The FoodEx2 classification of the national food consumption database represented a step forward in the standardization of the data collection and registration. The large use of FoodEx2 categories at a high level of detail (core and extended terms) combined with the use of descriptors (facets) has minimized information loss and made the reference food categories at country level comparable with different food databases at national and international level.

The third National Food Consumption Survey, INRAN-SCAI 2005-06: major dietary sources of nutrients in Italy.

INTRODUCTION: To promote healthy food consumption patterns, information is required on the contribution of food groups to total nutrient intake. The objective of this paper is to identify the main dietary sources of nutrients in the diet of the population in Italy. METHODS: Data collected through individual food records within the INRAN-SCAI 2005-06 survey were required. The final sample included 3323 subjects aged 0.1-97.7 years. RESULTS: The percentage contributed by each food category to the intake of energy, dietary fibre and of 26 nutrients was calculated. Above 3 years of age, the main contributors to macro- and micro-nutrient intakes were similar among the various age-sex groupings with few exceptions. CONCLUSION: These data might be used to develop specific strategies for Italy in order to increase the intake of dietary fibre and to decrease that of total fats and of sugars in the population.

Links Among Italian Preschoolers' Socio-Emotional Competence, Teacher-Child Relationship Quality and Peer Acceptance.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relations of teacher-child relationship quality (close, conflictive, and dependent), children's social behavior, and peer likability in a sample of Italian preschool-aged children (46 boys; 42 girls). Preschool teachers evaluated the quality of the teacher-child relationship and children's social behaviors (i.e., social competence, anger-aggression, and anxiety-withdrawal). Peer-rated likability was measured using a sociometric procedure. Results indicated that conflictual teacher-child relationships were related to high aggressive behavior, and dependent teacher-child relationships were positively associated with children's anxiety-withdrawal. Moreover, we found an indirect association between close teacher-child relationship quality and peer likability through children's social competence. The findings provide evidence that the teacher-child relationship is critical for children's social behaviors, and that social competence was uniquely related to peer likability.

Motivations for Social Withdrawal, Mental Health, and Well-Being in Emerging Adulthood: A Person-Oriented Approach.

Emerging adults seek solitude because of different underlying motivational and emotional processes. The current short-term longitudinal study aimed to: (1) identify subgroups of socially withdrawn emerging adults characterized by different motivations for solitude (shyness, unsociability, social avoidance) and affect (positive, negative); and (2) compare these subgroups in terms of indices of internalizing difficulties and life-satisfaction. Participants were N = 348 university students (Mage = 21.85 years, SD = 3.84) from Italy, who completed online questionnaires at two-time points separated by three months. Results from a latent profile analysis (LPA) suggested three distinct subgroups characterized by different social withdrawal motivations (i.e., shy, unsociable, and socially avoidant), as well as a non-withdrawn subgroup (characterized by low social withdrawal motivations, low negative affect, and high positive affect). Among the results, the socially avoidant subgroup reported the highest levels of social anxiety, whereas the avoidant and shy subgroups reported the highest loneliness and lowest life satisfaction. The unsociable subgroup appeared to be the most well-adjusted subgroup of socially withdrawn emerging adults and reported similar levels of life satisfaction as the non-withdrawn subgroup. Our findings confirmed the heterogeneity of emerging adults' experiences of solitude, with different motivations for social withdrawal appearing to confer a differential risk for maladjustment.

The role of early social play behaviors and language skills for shy children's later internalizing difficulties in school.

Research has demonstrated links from early childhood shyness to socioemotional problems later in life. This longitudinal study explored the role of early social play behaviors and language skills in the associations between childhood shyness and later internalizing and language difficulties in school. Participants were N = 7,447 children (50.1% girls) from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Latent direct, indirect, and interaction path analyses were performed within a structural equation framework. Results showed that mother-rated childhood shyness from age 18 months to age five years was associated with mother-rated internalizing difficulties and language problems at age eight years. Lower levels of teacher-reported social play behaviors and poorer language skills in preschool increased the risk of later anxiety problems among shy children, whereas higher levels of language competencies and social play behaviors buffered against later anxiety problems. The study identifies some of the early risk and protective factors that may influence shy children's socio-emotional functioning and adjustment.