Associations of health-risk behaviors with mental health among Chinese children.

The study aimed to investigate the individual and combined association of health-risk behaviors with mental health among Chinese children. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Wuhan, China, from May to June 2018. Participants self-reported the information on physical activity (PA), screen time (ST), fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, and sleep duration. Mental health, including depression, social anxiety and self-esteem, was assessed using standard questionnaires. A total of 1296 children (704 males and 592 females) aged 9.2 ± 0.4 years were included in the present study. The prevalence of low PA, high ST, low FV intake, and inadequate sleep duration was 45.6%, 18.0%, 69.7%, and 64.7%, respectively. Overall, significant associations were found between individual health-risk behavior and increased risks of mental health. Furthermore, children with three or four health-risk behaviors showed significantly increased risks of anxiety (OR: 3.18, 95%CI: 1.63-6.21), depression (OR: 4.55, 95%CI: 2.28-9.09) and low self-esteem (OR: 3.59, 95%CI: 2.20-5.88) compared with those without health-risk behavior. Results of this study revealed a high prevalence of health-risk behaviors among Chinese children. Furthermore, the clustering of health-risk behavior was associated with significantly increased risks of mental health in this population. Considering these findings, it is important to perform early interventions to reduce children's health-risk behavior and prevent mental health problems.

Identification of key transcription factors in endometrial cancer by systems bioinformatics analysis.

Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common malignant diseases worldwide. Although many studies have been performed on EC, a systems analysis between transcription factors (TFs) and EC relationship remains poorly characterized. Here, we present a systems bioinformatics analysis of TFs in EC patient samples to identify key TFs in EC. First, dysregulated and survival-related TFs were identified in EC using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas database and Gene Expression Omnibus. Second, we investigated the mechanisms of dysregulated TFs and tested whether their expression is correlated with prognosis of EC. Finally, we addressed new perspectives in EC biomarker research, including comprehensive knowledge of previously suggested candidate biomarkers in conjunction with novel mass spectrometry-based proteomic technologies with enhanced sensitivity and specificity not yet applied to EC studies, enabling a directed clinical perspective of the study design. Our study identified three promising TFs, E2F1, HMGA1, and PGR, which closely correlate with EC. Although treatments targeting TFs are not always efficient, these TFs may be useful as biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of EC. Furthermore, we found that these dysregulated TFs and their target genes are primarily involved in the cell cycle and may promote endometrial carcinoma occurrence and development. Using integrated bioinformatic analysis, we identified candidate genes and pathways in EC, which could improve our understanding of the etiology and underlying molecular events of EC. Furthermore, these candidate genes and pathways could be therapeutic targets for EC.

Association Between Diet Quality and Cardiometabolic Risk Factor Clustering Stratified by Socioeconomic Status Among Chinese Children.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have evaluated the long-term relationship between diet quality and cardiometabolic risk factor clustering among children. The moderating effect of socio-economic status (SES) is of interest. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between diet quality with cardiometabolic risk among Chinese children and to explore the moderating effect of SES. DESIGN: In this cohort study, 5 waves (1997-2009) of the China Health and Nutrition Survey were used. Diet quality was measured by a modified version of the Chinese Children Dietary Index (mCCDI) based on Dietary Guidelines for Chinese. PARTICIPANTS: Children between the ages of 7 and 17 (n = 2903) who completed at least 2 surveys were included. Those who missed measures or had hypertension or diabetes at baseline were excluded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The fasting blood samples were collected in 2009. Waist circumference (WC) and blood pressure (BP) were measured in each survey. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS PERFORMED: A continuous cardiometabolic risk score (MetScore) was derived by a confirmatory factor analysis of 5 components: WC, BP, glucose, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Considering the latency period of the effect of behaviors, the mCCDI was lagged by the period between surveys. Linear regression was used to analyze the association of mCCDI with MetScore and its components. Mixed effect linear regression and lagged mCCDI were used for WC and BP models. RESULTS: Higher mCCDI was independently associated with a lower MetScore at follow-up (ß: -.11; 95% CI: -.18 to -.04). Higher lagged mCCDI over time was associated with a lower WC z score overall (ß: -.05; 95% CI: -.08 to -.01) and among children in the low SES group (ß: -.09; 95% CI: -.14 to -.04) but not those in the high SES group. When examining the 15 mCDDI components separately, scores for 5 components: more grains, vegetables, soybeans and its products; less sugar-sweetened beverages; and more diet variety were significantly associated with a lower MetScore. CONCLUSIONS: Among Chinese children, higher diet quality measured by mCCDI was independently associated with a lower MetScore at follow-up.

The association of child neglect with lifestyles, depression, and self-esteem: Cross-lagged analyses in Chinese primary schoolchildren.

Child neglect robustly predicts many behavioral problems and adulthood mental disorders, but little is known about its association with daily lifestyles and psychological development during childhood, particularly in the longitudinal study. We aimed to examine the association of child neglect with physical activity (PA), screen time (ST), eating habits (EHs), and depression/self-esteem using a two-wave follow-up study of primary schoolchildren in Wuhan, China. Data of 1085 schoolchildren aged 8-10 years (boys: 53.5%) were analyzed. Child neglect, lifestyles, and depression/self-esteem were collected in 2018 (T1) and 2019 (T2). Autoregressive cross-lagged models (ARCLMs) were fitted to explore the interrelationships among these variables. In ARCLM including child neglect and lifestyles, higher child neglect at T1 was significantly associated with higher ST and more risky EHs at T2, while insignificantly associated with PA. In ARCLM including child neglect and depression/self-esteem, lower T1 child neglect significantly predicted a higher T2 depression, but insignificantly for T2 self-esteem. In ARCLM including all variables, child neglect still significantly predicted later ST and depression, but insignificantly predicted EHs. Our study underscores that child neglect is strongly intertwined with ST, EHs, and depression during childhood. The prevention of child neglect may promote some healthy lifestyles and depression in children.

Fruit and vegetable intake in relation to depressive and anxiety symptoms among adolescents in 25 low- and middle-income countries.

BACKGROUND: Fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) has been inversely associated with the risk of depression. However, there is a gap in evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and among adolescents. Further, little is known about FVI in relation to the risk of anxiety. Therefore, we examined these associations among adolescents in 25 LMICs. METHODS: Data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey were analyzed in 65267 adolescents aged 12-15 years (mostly nationally representative). Depressive and anxiety symptoms during the past 12 months were self-reported. Frequencies of FVI during the past 30 days were collected. Multivariable logistic regression and meta-analyses of country-wise estimates were undertaken. RESULTS: The prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms were 30.3% and 9.8%, respectively. A meta-analysis indicated that FVI of <5 times/d (vs. higher) was associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms (OR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.02-1.18). The pooled estimate for anxiety symptoms was insignificant. When examined separately, fruit intake was significantly associated with both lower risks of depressive and anxiety symptoms; vegetable intake was significantly associated with a lower risk of depressive symptoms, but not with anxiety. LIMITATIONS: Only adolescents attending school were included; the cross-sectional design cannot reveal causality; outcomes were not measured against the gold-standard diagnostic criteria. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides multi-national evidence of the protective effect of FVI against depressive and anxiety symptoms among adolescents in LMICs, enabling key stakeholders to address mental health issues among adolescents globally.