Somatosensory Amplification Scale-Chinese version: psychometric properties and its mediating role in the relationship between alexithymia and somatization.

The Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS) was designed to measure individual's tendency to experience visceral and somatic sensations as unusually intense, disturbing and alarming. In this study, we aimed to investigate the reliability and validity of the SSAS in the Chinese general population, as well as the mediating effect of somatosensory amplification in the relationship between alexithymia and somatization. A total of 386 healthy adults were enrolled in this study. Participants completed the Chinese versions of the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS-C), the somatization subscale of the Symptom Check List 90 (SCL-90 som), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and the Short form Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI). One hundred and thirty-three participants were randomly selected to complete the SSAS-C again two weeks after the initial assessment. The reliability and validity of the SSAS-C were analyzed. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the one-factor model achieved adequate model fits; one item was deleted due to low factor loading. The revised SSAS-C showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The SSAS-C scores correlated positively with the scores of SCL-90 som, TAS-20 and the SHAI, showing good convergent validity. In addition, somatosensory amplification mediated the association between alexithymia and somatization. The Chinese version of SSAS has acceptable reliability and validity for the general population. In addition, alexithymia may increase somatization through higher somatosensory amplification.

Prenatal exposure to PM2.5 and childhood body mass index growth trajectories from birth to 6 years old.

This study aimed to determine the relationships between prenatal PM2.5 exposure and childhood growth trajectories during the first 6 years of life. A total of 47,625 pairs of mothers and children were recruited from a prospective birth cohort conducted between 2011 and 2013 in Wuhan, China, and followed for 6 years. We used the group-based trajectory models to classify the population into three trajectory groups: slow growth (n = 13,671, 28.7%), normal growth (n = 29,736, 62.4%), and rapid growth (n = 4218, 8.9%). Multinomial logistic regression models were used to determine the associations of prenatal PM2.5 exposure and childhood growth trajectories. Compared to normal growth trajectory, increased PM2.5 exposure in trimester 1, trimester 2 and the entire pregnancy showed significant associations with an increased risk of the slow growth trajectory but reduced the risk for the rapid growth trajectory, significant association of prenatal PM2.5 exposure with rapid growth trajectory was only observed in the trimester 3. Stratified analyses displayed relatively stronger associations among those mothers with maternal age over 35 years, pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, and previous delivery experience. Prenatal exposure to PM2.5, particularly during the midpoint period of pregnancy, was more likely to have a slow growth trajectory and a lower risk of rapid growth trajectory. Maternal age, pre-pregnancy BMI, and previous delivery experience might modify these associations.

The adaptiveness of emotion regulation variability and interoceptive attention in daily life.

OBJECTIVE: In daily life, we must dynamically and flexibly deploy strategies to regulate our emotions, which depends on awareness of emotions and internal bodily signals. Variability in emotion-regulation strategy use may predict fewer negative emotions, especially when people pay more attention to their bodily states-or have greater "interoceptive attention" (IA). Using experience sampling, this study aimed to test whether IA predicts variability in strategy use and whether this variability and IA together predict negative affect. METHODS: University student participants (n = 203; 165 females; Mage = 20.68, SDage = 1.84) completed trait questionnaires and reported state-levels of IA, emotional awareness, negative affect, and emotion-regulation strategies, seven times daily for one week. RESULTS: State IA significantly predicted between-strategy variability, which was mediated by emotional awareness (indirect effect = .002, 95% confidence interval = [<.001, .003]). Between-strategy variability was associated with lower negative affect, particularly when individuals had higher state IA (simple slope = -.83, t = -5.87, p < .001) versus lower IA (simple slope = -.31, t = -2.62, p = .009). CONCLUSIONS: IA appears to facilitate adaptative emotion regulation and help alleviate negative affect. Findings underscore the key roles of IA and emotion-regulation flexibility in mental health.

Reciprocal effects between negative affect and emotion regulation in daily life.

The extended process model of emotion regulation provides a framework for understanding how emotional experiences and emotion regulation (ER) mutually influence each other over time. To investigate this reciprocal relationship, 202 adults completed a ten-day experience-sampling survey capturing levels of negative affect (NA) experience and use of ten ER strategies in daily life. Residual dynamic structural equation models (DSEMs) were used to examine within-person cross-lagged and autoregressive effects of NA and ER (strategy use and between-strategy variability). Results showed that NA predicted lower between-strategy variability, lower subsequent use of acceptance and problem-solving, but higher subsequent use of rumination and worry. Moreover, reappraisal and between-strategy variability predicted lower subsequent NA levels, while expressive suppression and worry predicted higher subsequent NA levels. Stable autoregressive effects were found for NA and for maladaptive ER strategies (e.g., rumination and worry). Exploratory correlation analyses revealed positive associations between NA inertia and maladaptive ER strategies. Together, these findings provide evidence of a dynamic interplay between NA and ER. This work deepens how we understand the challenges of applying ER strategies in daily life. Future clinical and translational research should consider these dynamic perspectives on ER and affect.

Mobile phone addiction and suicide behaviors among Chinese adolescents: The mediation of poor sleep quality.

Background and aims: Mobile phone addiction (MPA) is emerging among adolescents, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of knowledge regarding the correlation between MPA and suicide behaviors and its mechanism. The objective of the current study is exploring the direct effect of MPA on suicide behaviors and the indirect effect through poor sleep quality. Methods: A total of 18,900 Chinese adolescents aged 12 to 18 were recruited via a multi-stage cluster sampling method. Results: The prevalence of MPA and poor sleep quality was 26.2 and 23.1%, respectively. During the past year, 24.4% participants were involved in suicide behaviors. Specifically, suicide ideators, suicide planners, and suicide attempters were 10.7, 8.4, and 5.3%, respectively. Particularly, rural females had the highest prevalence of suicide behaviors, MPA, and poor sleep quality. Logistic regression analysis showed that MPA was significantly associated with suicide ideators (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.09-1.37, p < 0.001) and planners (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.04-1.34, p < 0.05), but not for suicide attempters (p > 0.05). Structural equation modelling demonstrated that MPA had direct effect on suicide behaviors (ß = 0.145, 95% CI = 0.127-0.160), and poor sleep quality partially mediated the relationship (the mediating ratio was 46.7%). The mediating ratio of poor sleep quality was the highest in urban males. Conclusions: MPA has both direct and indirect effects on suicide behaviors. For suicide prevention, limited mobile phone use and improvement sleep quality may be practical for adolescents. Additionally, more efforts of intervention could give priority to rural girls.

Sexual orientations in association between childhood maltreatment and depression among undergraduates in mainland of China.

BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence that sexual minorities including lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning individuals (LGBQ) have significantly higher rates of childhood maltreatment than heterosexuals. However, few studies focused on the association between different type of childhood maltreatment and depression in LGBQs. METHODS: Cross-sectional study by random sampling was conducted among the undergraduates in mainland of China. A total of 1920 undergraduates from different majors and colleges completed self-report questionnaires to record depression, childhood maltreatment, sexual orientation and other related information. The associations were examined via a set of logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Compared to the participants who had never experienced childhood maltreatment, the participants who reported emotional abuse (p < 0.001) and sexual abuse (p < 0.05) had higher odds of depression. The LGBQs have higher risk of being the victims of childhood maltreatment. The prevalence of depression was much higher in the LGBQ than that in the heterosexuals (33.9 % vs 16.1 %, χ2 = 43.627, p < 0.001). Compared to heterosexual adolescents, LGBQs had significantly higher odds of depression (p < 0.001). LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional design, self-reported information, and unable to examine underlying protective factors. CONCLUSIONS: Emotional abuse, emotional neglect and sexual abuse have stronger association with LGBQ than other kind of childhood maltreatment. Emotional abuse and sexual abuse have stronger association with depression. Sexual abuse has stronger association with depression in LGBQs than heterosexuals. More attention to the mental health should be paid especially in LGBQs to reduce the risk of depression.

Specific effects of five subtypes of childhood maltreatment on suicide behaviours in Chinese adolescents: the moderating effect of sex and residence.

AIMS: Although childhood maltreatment has been widely supported to be a robust predictor of suicide behaviours, the effects of different childhood maltreatment subtypes remain controversial and inconclusive. Moreover, whether the effects differ by sex in urban and rural adolescents is still unknown. This study aimed to quantify the associations between five subtypes of childhood maltreatment and different suicide behaviour involvement. METHODS: A multistage cluster sampling method was adopted from April to December 2021 for adolescents aged 12 to 18 across five representative provinces of China. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form was used to measure childhood maltreatment subtypes. Suicide behaviour involvement was classified as none group, suicide ideator, suicide planner and suicide attempter. Confounding variables include demographic characteristics, smoking, drinking alcohol, depression and anxiety. RESULTS: Among a total of 18,980 adolescents, 2021 (10.6%) were suicide ideator, 1595 (8.4%) were suicide planner and 1014 (5.3%) were suicide attempter. Rural females had the highest proportion of suicide ideator (13.8%) and suicide planner (11.5%). Multinomial logistic regression analysis indicated that five childhood maltreatment subtypes were independently associated with suicide behaviours, except for associations between sexual abuse and suicide ideator as well as suicide planner (p > 0.05). Moreover, these associations differ by sex and residence. After adjusted for interactions of different subtypes, structural equation model indicated that the direct effects of childhood maltreatment subtypes on suicide behaviours from high to low were emotional abuse (ß = 0.363, p < 0.001), physical abuse (ß = 0.100, p < 0.001) and sexual abuse (ß = 0.033, p = 0.003), while the effects of physical neglect and emotional neglect were not significant (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Five subtypes of childhood maltreatment have specific and non-equivalence associations with suicide behaviours. Emotional abuse may have the strongest effect, and sexual abuse have an acute effect on suicide behaviours. Suicide prevention programs for Chinese adolescents could focus on those who experienced emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Furthermore, strategies should be tailored by sex and residence, and rural females deserve more attention.

Prenatal ambient air pollutants exposure and the risk of stillbirth in Wuhan, central of China.

BACKGROUND: The existing studies on the relationships of prenatal ambient air pollutants exposure with stillbirth in the Chinese population are very limited and the results are inconsistent, and the susceptible windows and potential modifiers for air pollutants exposure on stillbirth remain unanswered. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the relationships between exposure to ambient air pollutants and stillbirth, and explored the susceptible windows and potential modifiers for air pollutants exposure on stillbirth. METHODS: A population-based cohort was established through the Wuhan Maternal and Child Health Management Information System involving 509,057 mother-infant pairs in Wuhan from January 1, 2011 through September 30, 2017. Personal exposure concentrations of fine particles (PM2.5), inhalable particles (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O3) for mothers were estimated based on their residential address during pregnancy using the inverse distance weighted (IDW) method. We used the logistic regression models to determine the associations at different stages of pregnancy with adjustment for confounding factors. RESULTS: There were 3218 stillbirths and 505,839 live births among the participants. For each 100 µg/m3 of CO and 10 µg/m3 of O3 increase in the first trimester (conception to 13+6 weeks), the risk of stillbirth increased by 1.0% (OR = 1.01, 95%CI: 1.00-1.03) and 7.0% (OR = 1.07, 95%CI: 1.05-1.09). In the second trimester (14 weeks-27+6 weeks), PM2.5, PM10, CO, and O3 exposure were closely related to the risk of stillbirth (P＜0.05). In the third trimester (28 weeks to delivery), for each 10 µg/m3 increase in exposure concentrations of PM2.5, SO2, and O3, the risk of stillbirth increased by 3.4%, 5.9%, and 4.0%, respectively. O3 exposure was positively relevant to the risk of stillbirth (OR = 1.11, 95%CI: 1.08-1.14) in the whole pregnancy. Exposure to NO2 was not significantly associated with the risk of stillbirth. Stratified analyses also presented a stronger association among mothers with boy infant, living in rural areas, delivering between 2011 and 2013, and those without gestational hypertension and history of stillbirth. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence that maternal exposure to PM2.5, PM10, SO2, CO, and O3 were related to the increased risk of stillbirth. Both the second and third trimesters might be vital susceptible windows for stillbirth. Our findings expand the evidence base for the important impacts of air pollution on fetal growth.

Maternal paraben exposure and intra-pair thyroid-stimulating hormone difference in twin neonates.

Thyroid hormones are essential for fetal growth and neurodevelopment. The recent frequent use of parabens has raised concerns about their endocrine-disrupting potential. However, the effects of maternal paraben exposure on neonatal thyroid hormone levels are still largely unknown. In our study, a co-twin control design was employed to analyze the relationships between maternal paraben exposure and neonatal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) difference. We collected information from 252 mother-twin pairs from a twin birth cohort in Wuhan, China. Concentrations of six parabens were measured in maternal urine samples collected at < 16, 16-28, and > 28 weeks of gestation. Data of neonatal TSH levels were retrieved from medical records. Multiple informant models were applied to explore the time-specific relationships between paraben exposure and intra-twin TSH difference and to determine the susceptible window of exposure. We found that maternal urinary methyl paraben (MeP) during early pregnancy was positively associated with intra-twin TSH difference (%change = 5.96 %; 95 % confidant interval (CI): 0.04 %, 12.2 %). However, no significant differences were observed for exposure to ethyl paraben (EtP) and propyl paraben (PrP), and the associations between parabens and intra-twin TSH difference did not differ materially across pregnancy. Further, a stratified analysis based on twin zygosity and chorionicity and sex types indicated that the positive association between early pregnancy MeP exposure and intra-twin TSH difference was significant in monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twins of female-female fetuses and dichorionic diamniotic (DCDA) twins of opposite-sex. The prospective twin study provides first evidence that MeP exposure in early pregnancy was associated with an increased TSH difference in twin neonates, especially in female fetuses.

Interoceptive attention facilitates emotion regulation strategy use

Background: Perception of bodily signals—or interoception—has been suggested to facilitate individuals’ habitual use of emotion regulation (ER) strategies and to guide the flexible deployment of specific ER strategies. Previous research has shown that the emotional intensity of stimuli modulates regulatory choice between disengagement (i.e., distraction) and engagement strategies (i.e., reappraisal). Method: This study used experience-sampling methods to investigate the role of interoceptive attention in dynamic changes in ER strategies. Healthy participants first completed one-time measurements of ER strategies, emotional awareness and interoceptive attention in the lab and then reported on negative events and use of strategies including reappraisal and distraction, throughout daily life. Results: Results showed that interoceptive attention was positively associated with habitual use of several ER strategies, and emotional awareness mediated the relations between interoceptive attention and these ER strategies. Results also suggested an interaction between interoceptive attention and intensity of negative events; individuals with higher interoceptive attention used distraction rather than reappraisal only during high intensity negative life events, but those with lower interoceptive attention used more distraction than reappraisal, regardless of event intensity. Conclusions: Overall, these findings suggest interoceptive attention may increase emotional awareness, which in turn facilitates application of certain ER strategies but also the flexible deployment of appropriate strategies tailored to a given situation. Training interoceptive attention may provide a promising way to improve ER and promote mental health. (AU)

Interoceptive attention facilitates emotion regulation strategy use.

Background: Perception of bodily signals-or interoception-has been suggested to facilitate individuals' habitual use of emotion regulation (ER) strategies and to guide the flexible deployment of specific ER strategies. Previous research has shown that the emotional intensity of stimuli modulates regulatory choice between disengagement (i.e., distraction) and engagement strategies (i.e., reappraisal). Method: This study used experience-sampling methods to investigate the role of interoceptive attention in dynamic changes in ER strategies. Healthy participants first completed one-time measurements of ER strategies, emotional awareness and interoceptive attention in the lab and then reported on negative events and use of strategies including reappraisal and distraction, throughout daily life. Results: Results showed that interoceptive attention was positively associated with habitual use of several ER strategies, and emotional awareness mediated the relations between interoceptive attention and these ER strategies. Results also suggested an interaction between interoceptive attention and intensity of negative events; individuals with higher interoceptive attention used distraction rather than reappraisal only during high intensity negative life events, but those with lower interoceptive attention used more distraction than reappraisal, regardless of event intensity. Conclusions: Overall, these findings suggest interoceptive attention may increase emotional awareness, which in turn facilitates application of certain ER strategies but also the flexible deployment of appropriate strategies tailored to a given situation. Training interoceptive attention may provide a promising way to improve ER and promote mental health.

Social anxiety and suicidal ideation among middle-school students in China: a mediation model of internet addiction.

Background: Suicide is a fatal public health issue for adolescents, and it is of great significance to explore the precursors of suicidal behaviors, especially suicidal ideation. However, the relationship between social anxiety and suicidal ideation and its mechanism are still unclear. The study aims to examine the association between social anxiety and suicidal ideation and the mediating effect through Internet addiction. Methods: A total of 2,278 middle-school students aged 12 to 16 years were recruited through a multistage cluster sampling method in this cross-sectional study. Logistical regression analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) were conducted to examine the direct and indirect effects of social anxiety. Results: During the past year, 262 (11.50%) participants reported suicidal ideation. Females had a higher prevalence of suicidal ideation than males (12.9% vs. 10.0%, p = 0.034), and urban adolescents reported a higher prevalence than their rural counterparts (13.4% vs. 9.6%, p = 0.006). In the total sample, social anxiety and Internet addiction were independently associated with suicidal ideation (p < 0.05). In the subgroup analysis, the association between social anxiety and suicidal ideation was significant only among rural females and urban males (p < 0.05). SEM demonstrated that social anxiety had direct and indirect effects on suicidal ideation, and Internet addiction partially mediated the relationship, with a mediating ratio of 30.53%. The partial mediating effect was also significant only in rural females and urban males. Conclusion: Adolescents may overuse the Internet to cope with social anxiety and further have suicidal ideation. Limiting Internet use and improving interpersonal skills in real life may be efficient for suicide prevention. In addition, targeted interventions should be tailored by different sexes across urban and rural regions.

Development of the gut microbiota in healthy twins during the first 2 years of life and associations with body mass index z-score: Results from the Wuhan twin birth cohort study.

The gut microbiota undergoes rapid and vital changes to microbial community structure and the microbial-immune crosstalk during the first 3 years of life, which is thought to be involved in the pathobiology of later-life disease. Compared to single-born children, little is known about the gut microbiota of twins in early childhood. Based on the Wuhan Twin Birth Cohort study, 344 stool samples from 204 twin families were analyzed to investigate the difference in gut microbiota composition at 6, 12, and 24 months of age. Furthermore, this study evaluated the association between gut microbiota development curves and body mass index z-score (BMI_Z) curves at 6, 12, and 24 months of age. The predominant microbiota phyla identified in twins were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, and Verrucomicrobiota. The richness and diversity of gut microbiota increased from 6 to 24 months old (alpha diversity with p < 0.05). Beta diversity revealed 61 gut microbiota genera that were significantly different in relative abundance among the three age groups. Among the 61 gut microbiota genera, 30 distinct trajectory curves (DTCs) were generated by group-based trajectory models after log2 transformation of their relative abundance. Subsequently, Spearman correlation analysis revealed that only five gut microbiota DTC were correlated with the BMI_Z DTC. Therefore, we further examined the association between the five gut microbiota genera DTC and BMI_Z DTC using generalized estimation equation models. The results revealed a significant association between the DTC groups of Parabacteroides and that of BMI_Z (coefficient = 0.75, p = 0.04). The results of this study validated the hypothesis that the richness and diversity of gut microbiota developed with age in twins. Moreover, participants with a higher DTC of log2-transformed Parabacteroides had a higher BMI_Z DTC during the first 2 years of life. Further studies are needed to confirm the association between Parabacteroides and BMI_Z in other populations.

Association between childhood physical abuse and suicidal behaviors among Chinese adolescents: The mediation of aggression.

BACKGROUND: Although previous studies have examined many predictors of suicidal behaviors. However, little is known for childhood physical abuse (CPA) and aggression, which are prevalent among adolescents. This study aimed to explore association between CPA and suicidal behaviors, and the potential mediating role of aggression. METHOD: A total of 16,111 students graded 7 to 12 were recruited using a stratified cluster sampling across five representative provinces in China. Conflict Tactics Scale-Parents to Child (CTS-PC) and Buss and Warren's Aggression Questionnaire (BWAQ) were used to measure CPA and aggression, respectively. RESULTS: During the last year, 16.0 % of adolescents reported suicidal behaviors. Specifically, 7.9 % were suicide ideators, 4.6 % were planners, and 3.5 % were attempters. The prevalence of CPA in mild, moderate, and severe was 15.7 %, 26.9 %, and 4.4 %, respectively. Multinomial logistic regression indicated that moderate and severe CPA and overall aggression were associated with suicide ideators, planners, and attempters. In five sub-types of aggression, only hostility was significantly associated with all three suicidal behaviors. Structural equation modelling showed that aggression partially mediate the relationship between CPA and suicidal behaviors. The mediation proportion of overall aggression, physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, hostility, and indirect aggression were 27.2 %, 22.4 %, 5.2 %, 14.2 %, 23.5 %, and 12.1 %, respectively. LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional design, self-reported questionnaire, and no other forms of childhood maltreatment. CONCLUSIONS: CPA is a critical risk factor of suicidal behaviors among Chinese adolescents and aggression is a mediator between CPA and suicidal behaviors. Targeted suicide prevention should focus on those adolescents who report CPA and aggression, especially for hostility.

Spatial-topographic nestedness of interoceptive regions within the networks of decision making and emotion regulation: Combining ALE meta-analysis and MACM analysis.

Prominent theories propose that interoception modulates our behavioral and emotional responses involving decision-making and emotion regulation. Are the regions implicated in interoception also spatially related to and possibly nested within the networks of decision making and emotion regulation? Addressing this question, we performed three meta-analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies to identify the regions that are commonly activated by the three domains using activation likelihood estimation (ALE). Additionally, we assessed the coactivation pattern of identified common regions using meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM). The results showed major overlaps of interoception with both decision making and emotion regulation in specifically the right dorsal anterior insula. The pairwise contrast analyses confirmed this finding and revealed conjunction-based activities in decision making and emotion regulation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). MACM based on the identified insula revealed a widespread convergent coactivation pattern with the left anterior insula, dACC, and bilateral thalamus which, together, constitute the salience network. Among these co-activated regions, bilateral insula and the dACC were shared among all three domains. These results suggest that the regions mediating interoception including intero-exteroceptive integration and salience attribution are contained and thus spatially nested within the more extensive networks recruited during decision making and emotion regulation.

Sex differences in association between Internet addiction and aggression among adolescents aged 12 to 18 in mainland of China.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have reported that Internet addiction (IA) is an important predictor of aggression. However, little is known whether aggression is a risk factor of IA. This study aims to explore whether IA can predict total and sub-types of aggression, whether aggression also can predict IA, and the potential sex difference. METHOD: A total of 15,977 adolescents aged 12 to 18 were recruited though a stratified cluster sampling across five representative provinces in mainland of China. Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and Buss and Warren's Aggression Questionnaire (BWAQ) were used to measure IA and aggression, respectively. RESULTS: The prevalence of IA and total aggression was 16.8 % and 25.0 %, respectively. Binary logistic regression analysis indicated that IAT score was significantly associated with total and five sub-types of aggression (P < 0.001). However, scores of physical aggression, hostility, and indirect aggression were positively associated with IA (P < 0.001), while verbal aggression and anger were not significant (P > 0.05). Moreover, the interaction of sex and IA was significant for aggression. Specifically, females with IA had higher risks of anger and indirect aggression but had lower risks of physical and verbal aggression compared to males with IA. LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional design, self-reported information, and only Chinese rural adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: IA is a strong risk factor of total and five sub-types of aggression, while not all sub-types of aggression are predictors of IA. Prevention programs for adolescents' IA and aggression should consider different aggression sub-types and sex.

Gut Microbiota Diversity and Overweight/Obesity in Infancy: Results from a Nested Case-control Study.

OBJECTIVE: Childhood obesity is a major health concern worldwide. Previous studies have explored the relationship between obesity and gut microbiota. However, the results from such studies remain contradictory. METHODS: In the present nested case-control study, based on a twin birth cohort study, the relationship between gut microbiota diversity and overweight/obesity in 1- and 6-month-old infants was explored. Twins were enrolled when one child had normal weight and the other child was overweight/obese at six months old. For both infants, stool samples were collected at 1 and 6 months of age. Finally, 12 twins were enrolled in the study. The gut microbiota was identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing in the V3-V4 area. Six of the twins were monozygotic. RESULTS: The results revealed that the microbiota communities of monozygotic twins were similar to those of dizygotic twins. The relative abundance (RA) of microbiota of 1-month-old twins was significantly higher than that of 6-month-old twins. However, the microbiota diversity of 1-month-old twins was significantly lower than that of 6-month-old twins. In addition, 6-month-old twins had significantly higher RA levels of Bifidobacterium and Lachnospiracea incertae sedis than 1-month-old twins. The 6-month-old group had significantly lower RA levels of Veillonella, Klebsiella, Akkermansia, Streptococcus, or Staphylococcus than the 1-month-old group. At six months, the RA level of Clostridium sensu stricto was higher in the overweight/obesity group than the normal-weight group. CONCLUSION: These findings imply that changes in gut microbiota diversity during infancy may contribute to the development of obesity in early infancy.

The effect of music therapy on language recovery in patients with aphasia after stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the evidence on the effectiveness of music therapy in the recovery of language function in post-stroke aphasia, compared with conventional therapy or no therapy. METHODS: We searched studies that explored the effect of music therapy on language function in post-stroke aphasia and published in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CINAHL, ProQuest Digital Dissertations, and ClinicalTrials.gov from inception to March 2021. Six reviewers independently screened out eligible studies, extracted data, and evaluated the methodological quality. Results were pooled using mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed by the chi-square test and I2 statistic. RESULTS: Six studies were included in this meta-analysis involving 115 patients. The methodological quality of these studies ranged from poor to excellent. There was significant mean difference in functional communication for post-stroke aphasia by 1.45 (95% CI: 0.24, 2.65; P = 0.02, from poor to excellent evidence), in repetition by 6.49 (95% CI: 0.97, 12.00; P = 0.02, from acceptable to excellent evidence), and in naming by 11.44 (95% CI: 1.63, 21.26; P = 0.02, from acceptable to excellent evidence). But there was no significant difference in comprehension for post-stroke aphasia by 7.21 (95% CI: - 10.88, 25.29; P = 0.43, from acceptable to excellent evidence). CONCLUSIONS: Music therapy can improve functional communication, repetition, and naming in patients with post-stroke aphasia, but did not significantly improve comprehension. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CRD42021251526.

Distinct Effects of Anxiety and Depression on Updating Emotional Information in Working Memory.

Anxiety and depression have been shown to negatively influence the processing of emotional information in working memory. However, most studies have examined anxiety-related or depression-related working memory deficits independently, without considering their high co-morbidity. We tested the effects of emotional valence on working memory performance among healthy young adults with varying levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Ninety young adults aged between 18-24 (51 female) completed an emotional 2-back task in which positive, negative, and neutral images were presented. Multi-level modeling was used to examine anxiety and depressive symptoms as predictors of response accuracy and latency across the three emotional valence conditions. The results showed that participants responded to negative images with the highest accuracy and to positive images with the lowest accuracy. Both negative and positive images elicited slower responses than neutral images. Importantly, we found that more severe anxiety symptoms predicted a smaller difference in response accuracy between negative and neutral stimuli, whereas more severe depressive symptoms predicted a larger updating reaction time difference between positive and neutral stimuli. These findings demonstrated the uniquely anxiety-related deficits in processing negative contents and the uniquely depression-related deficits in updating positive contents in working memory, thus highlighting the necessity of novel cognitive bias modification interventions targeting the anxiety-specific and depression-specific deficits in working memory.

What Links Maternal Prepregnancy BMI to Early Childhood BMI: A Serial Mediation Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the potential impact of maternal gestational weight gain (GWG), infant birth weight, and postnatal weight change (ΔWAZ) on the relationship between maternal prepregnancy BMI (ppBMI) and childhood BMI. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study analyzed a data set from Wuhan, China. The mediation effect of targeted mediators on the association between maternal BMI and childhood BMI at the age of 2 years was analyzed. RESULTS: In the mediation model comprising maternal GWG, infant birth weight, and the first-6-month ΔWAZ as mediators of the association between ppBMI and children's BMI, the per unit increase in ppBMI resulted in a 0.01-kg/m2 increase in children's BMI, through all three mediators. For the model comprising infant birth weight and the first-6-month ΔWAZ as mediators but maternal GWG as a moderator, the indirect effects of the first-6-month ΔWAZ on the relationship between ppBMI and childhood BMI was 0.0018 higher when maternal GWG increased from average values to 1 SD above the average values. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal GWG, infant birth weight, and the first-6-month ΔWAZ mediated the effects of maternal ppBMI on children's BMI. Interventions targeting these factors can mitigate the risk of childhood obesity.