The Benefits of Acute Exercise for Children's Cognition are Associated with Trait Anxiety.

INTRODUCTION: Children's anxiety is associated with decreased cognitive performance. One well-established behavioral intervention to transiently improve cognitive performance in children is acute aerobic exercise (AAE). Thus far, however, it is unclear whether the benefits of AAE on cognition vary based on individual differences in children's anxiety level. Therefore, we investigated whether trait anxiety levels mediate the effects of AAE on cognitive outcomes in preadolescent children. METHODS: Ninety-five preadolescent children (9-11 years, 41 females) underwent two experimental interventions in a random, crossover, and counterbalanced design: an exercise protocol (20 minutes of walking at 65-75% of HRpeak) and a non-exercise control (seated rest). Behavioral indices of cognitive performance (accuracy, reaction times, response time variability) were assessed before and after each intervention using a modified flanker task. The effects of each intervention on cognitive performance were calculated as pre- to post-intervention differences (effect scores). These scores were first correlated with children's personal characteristics: anxiety (STAIC), sex, age, BMI, IQ, and aerobic fitness. Significant correlations guided subsequent hierarchical regression models, which specifically tested for associations between the effects scores and anxiety levels while controlling for remaining relevant covariates. RESULTS: Regression analysis revealed that anxiety was a significant predictor of the effects that AAE and rest had on cognitive performance. Specifically, higher anxiety scores were associated with greater exercise-induced cognitive benefits (increased accuracy, decreased response time variability; p's < 0.05) and greater rest-induced cognitive impairments (decreased accuracy, increased response time variability; p's < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that children reporting higher trait anxiety might experience greater cognitive benefits from a single bout of AAE.

Papanicolaou Test Rates Among Sexual Minority Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Purpose: The purpose of this review was to compare differences in Papanicolaou (pap) test rates between sexual minority women (SMW) and heterosexual women. Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Scopus were searched from inception until June 2020 for articles reporting pap test rates among SMW. Studies were selected if they included pap test rates for SMW with a comparison rate for heterosexual women; studies were excluded if they did not report pap test rates. A quality assessment scale was used to assess study quality. A random-effects model was employed to calculate pooled odds ratios (ORs) for each outcome along with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed by implementation of the I2 statistic, and L'Abbe plots were inspected visually to assess for homogeneity. Sensitivity analyses were performed by omitting each study sequentially and analyzing the overall impact of that study on the pooled results. Meta-regression was conducted to identify potential causes of heterogeneity among any statistically significant outcomes by an examination of the covariable of insurance coverage. Results: We identified 21 cross-sectional studies comprising 24,207 SMW and 546,259 heterosexual women that met inclusion criteria. Overall, studies were of a fair quality. When compared with heterosexual women, SMW received less frequent pap tests (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.48-0.71, 21 studies, 24,207 SMW, 546,259 heterosexual women). Compared with heterosexual women, lesbian women had routine pap tests less frequently (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.37-0.56, 17 studies, 9595 lesbian women and 516,760 heterosexual women). Meta-regression for insurance status did not alter these results. Conclusion: SMW, in general, and lesbian women, in particular, receive pap tests less frequently than heterosexual women. The reasons for this disparity should be investigated to better serve the needs of this population. PROSPERO Registration: CRD#42020191887.

A Review of the Effects of Physical Activity on Cognition and Brain Health across Children and Adolescence.

Physical activity (PA) can improve physical, mental, cognitive, and brain health throughout the lifespan. During preadolescent childhood, the benefits of PA for cognitive health have been widely studied, with evidence indicating enhanced executive control, improved academic performance, and adaptation in underlying brain structure and function. Across school age children, the predominant literature has focused on preadolescent children, with a comparatively smaller body of evidence in adolescent children. Yet, preliminary findings suggest improvements in verbal, numeric, and reasoning abilities as well as academic achievements. Further, benefits of PA are also rarely examined in preschool children. Consequently, lack of standardization across studies has led to various approaches in the measurement of PA and fitness. However, since implementing tools that objectively quantify active play, PA has been related to better executive function, language acquisition, and academic achievement. Despite evidence that PA promotes cognitive and brain health during development, a growing number of schools have minimized PA opportunities across the school day. The minimization of PA along with several other factors, including lack of active commuting to school, nutrition transition, and availability of electronic devices, for example, has reduced children's physical and mental health. Accordingly, today's children have become increasingly inactive, which affects public health and contributes to educational concerns. By dedicating time to active play, sports, physical education, and other forms of PA, children are best positioned to thrive in both the physical and cognitive domains.