Associations between parenting stress, parent feeding practices, and perceptions of child eating behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aim of this study was to explore associations between parenting stress, feeding practices, and perceptions of children's eating behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents (n = 284) of children ages 4-6 years completed a cross-sectional online survey during the onset of pandemic-related stay-at-home mandates in the U.S. Parents reported current levels of parenting stress, feeding practices, and child eating behaviors. Parents also reported whether parenting stress had increased, stayed the same, or decreased since prior to the onset of pandemic-related stay-at-home mandates. Greater levels of parenting stress were associated with less desirable feeding practices, including greater odds of high use of food for emotional regulation (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.03-1.08), food as a reward (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.02-1.08), and pressure to eat (OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 1.01-1.06), and low use of encouraging a balanced diet (OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 1.01-1.06). Greater levels of parenting stress were also associated with greater perceptions that children exhibited problematic eating behaviors, including greater odds of high food fussiness (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.02-1.08) and low enjoyment of food (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.02-1.07). For parents who reported their parenting stress had increased, greater parenting stress was associated with more frequent use of pressure to eat (p = .009) and less frequent monitoring their child's diet (p = .028). In conclusion, parenting stress during the pandemic was associated with use of food for emotional and behavioral regulation and perceptions that children exhibited problematic eating behaviors. Further research is needed to understand how to mitigate parenting stress and promote healthy feeding practices during times of crisis.

No Change in Executive Function or Stress Hormones Following a Bout of Moderate Treadmill Exercise in Preadolescent Children.

Several studies suggest that acute bouts of exercise improve executive function in preadolescent children. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects are not completely understood. Specifically, no studies have examined the relationship between the stress hormone response to exercise and improvements in executive function in preadolescent children. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a bout of moderate intensity exercise versus rest on working memory (List Sorting Working Memory Task) and selective inhibition/attention (Eriksen flanker task) in preadolescent children, as well as to investigate whether changes in stress hormones (salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase) could explain any differences in performance on these tasks. Twenty-four children completed both a 30-minute moderate intensity bout of treadmill walking and seated rest in a laboratory setting. Tests of executive function and salivary stress hormone analyses were completed before and after each condition. 2x2 Repeated Measures ANOVAs were used to test the effects of time, condition, and time*condition on all executive function and hormonal outcomes. Linear regression models were used to determine if changes in executive function measures were related to changes in stress hormones in the exercise condition. Likely due to methodological limitations, there were no effects of time, condition, nor an interactive effect on working memory, selective inhibition, salivary cortisol, or salivary alpha-amylase. However, there was a trend observed, where the magnitude of the increase in salivary alpha-amylase levels in the exercise condition marginally predicted the improvement in reaction time on the Eriksen flanker task. This suggests that exercise-induced changes in alpha-amylase may underlie improvements in executive function and highlights the need for additional research to more fully understand these relationships in preadolescent children.

Características clínicas y descompensación en pacientes con cirrosis hepática atendidos en dos centros de hepatología en la ciudad de Bogotá D.C. 2010-2014 / Clinical Characteristics and Decompensation in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis Treated at Two Hepatology Centers in Bogota DC from 2010 To 2014

Introducción: la cirrosis es la condición médica final de diversas enfermedades hepáticas de carácter progresivo, con una prevalencia variable de un país a otro; en la actualidad, el abuso de alcohol, el hígado graso no alcohólico y las hepatitis crónicas virales son mencionados como sus principales causas. En nuestros centros no se dispone de estudios clínicos en relación con esta enfermedad. Materiales y métodos: estudio retrospectivo y descriptivo de pacientes con diagnóstico de cirrosis hepática entre el 1 de enero del 2010 al 31 de marzo del 2014. Se realizó revisión de historias clínicas. Resultados: la serie incluyó 419 pacientes, 50,1% mujeres y 49,9% hombres, con una edad promedio de diagnóstico de cirrosis de 63 años; el 73% de los pacientes presentaban hallazgos de hepatopatía crónica en el examen físico y el 27% tenía un examen físico normal. Las principales etiologías en esta serie fueron: esteatohepatitis no alcohólica (25,5%), alcohólica (14,8%), infección por virus C (14,6%), autoinmunidad (10%), esteatohepatitis no alcohólica más alcohol (6,7%), y otras (14,6%). La clasificación de Child-Pugh se pudo calcular en 394 pacientes y de estos, el 59,1%, 32,4% y 8,3% eran A, B y C, respectivamente. En relación con las descompensaciones, las principales fueron ascitis (36,1%), sangrado variceal (28,4%) y hepatocarcinoma (15,3%). Conclusiones: el comportamiento epidemiológico local no difiere en relación con el mundial. Llama la atención su detección en fases tempranas y la NASH como factor etiológico principal.

Introduction: Cirrhosis is the final medical condition of various progressive liver disease. Its prevalence varies from one country to another. Currently alcohol abuse, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and chronic viral hepatitis are mentioned as the main causes. In our centers we have no clinical studies regarding this disease. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective, descriptive study of the clinical histories of patients who were diagnosed with liver cirrhosis between January 1, 2010 to March 31, 2014. Results: The study included 419 patients, 50.1% of whom were women and 49.9% of whom were men. The average age at diagnosis of cirrhosis 63 years. 73% of patients had physical findings of chronic liver disease and 27% had normal physical examinations. The main etiologies in this series were nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (25.5%), alcoholic cirrhosis (14.8%), hepatitis C infection (14.6%), autoimmune cirrhosis (10%), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis plus alcohol (6.7%), and others (14.6%). The Child-Pugh classification could be calculated in 394 patients. Of these 59.1% were classified A, 32.4% were classified B, and 8.3% were classified C. The primary reasons for decompensation ascites (36.1%), bleeding varices (28.4%) and hepatocellular carcinoma (15.3%). Conclusions: Local epidemiological behavior does not differ from those found elsewhere in the world. Attention needs to be paid to detection in early stages and NASH as the main etiological factor.