Processed meat products and snacks consumption in ADHD: A case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been linked to "unhealthy" food consumption, but the studies in this area are insufficient. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between ADHD/related symptoms and processed meat products and snack consumption. METHODS: This study was conducted on 390 children aged between 6 and 17 with 169 ADHD (38 Girls, 131 Boys) and 221 healthy controls (93 Girls, 128 Boys). Food consumption was evaluated by a modified food frequency questionnaire, including 18 food containing processed meat products and snacks. ADHD symptoms were evaluated by the teacher and parent Turgay DSM-IV-Based Child and Adolescent Disruptive Behavioral Disorders Screening and Rating Scale (T-DSM-IV-Scale) and Conners' Rating Scale (CPRS, CTRS). RESULTS: Children with ADHD consumed more processed meat products, milk-based desserts, and chocolate-sweets than controls (p<0.05). A positive correlation was observed between the ADHD symptom scores and the consumption amount of all snacks, the amount of chocolate-sweets consumption, the frequency of consumption of sujuk, chocolate, jelly beans, sweets, cakes, and chocolate spread (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Children with ADHD consume more foods rich in saturated fat and sugar than their healthy peers. Processed food consumption of children with ADHD may be associated with ADHD symptoms.

Parental psychological distress associated with COVID-19 outbreak: A large-scale multicenter survey from Turkey.

AIMS: Pandemics can cause substantial psychological distress; however, we do not know the impact of the COVID-19 related lockdown and mental health burden on the parents of school age children. We aimed to comparatively examine the COVID-19 related the stress and psychological burden of the parents with different occupational, locational, and mental health status related backgrounds. METHODS: A large-scale multicenter online survey was completed by the parents (n = 3,278) of children aged 6 to 18 years, parents with different occupational (health care workers-HCW [18.2%] vs. others), geographical (Istanbul [38.2%] vs. others), and psychiatric (child with a mental disorder [37.8%]) backgrounds. RESULTS: Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that being a HCW parent (odds ratio 1.79, p < .001), a mother (odds ratio 1.67, p < .001), and a younger parent (odds ratio 0.98, p = .012); living with an adult with a chronic physical illness (odds ratio 1.38, p < .001), having an acquaintance diagnosed with COVID-19 (odds ratio 1.22, p = .043), positive psychiatric history (odds ratio 1.29, p < .001), and living with a child with moderate or high emotional distress (odds ratio 1.29, p < .001; vs. odds ratio 2.61, p < .001) were independently associated with significant parental distress. CONCLUSIONS: Parents report significant psychological distress associated with COVID-19 pandemic and further research is needed to investigate its wider impact including on the whole family unit.

Priapism With Methylphenidate Use in a Preschool-Aged Boy Resolved With Switching to Atomoxetine.

BACKGROUND: Priapism is a persistent unwanted erection that is not linked with sexual stimulation. A number of previous case reports have shown priapism with methylphenidate (MPH) use, especially in adolescence and preadolescence period. In all of these cases, the unwanted erections ceased after the medication was discontinued and no further attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder medication was initiated. Hereby, we present the case of a boy who had priapism episodes with MPH, which resolved with switching to atomoxetine (ATX). CASE REPORT: A 5-year, 10-month-old medically healthy boy was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and was prescribed methylphenidate immediate-release (10 mg/d). Two weeks later, his family communicated and reported penile erection episodes since the initiation of MPH. With the suspect of a medication-induced adverse reaction, MPH was discontinued and priapism resolved within a week. Thereafter, 10 mg/d of ATX was initiated. Four-week follow-up with ATX treatment revealed that the medication was tolerated well, and priapism or any other adverse effect was not reported. CONCLUSIONS: This case report suggests that ATX may be safely used in some children who experienced priapism with MPH. Future studies are needed to clarify the risk factors and etiologic mechanisms of this adverse reaction.