Emmie W Koevoets, Sanne L Nijhof, Maartje D Stutvoet, Remco C Veltkamp, Liesbeth Duijts, Manon H J Hillegers, Pauline W Jansen
{"title":"Longitudinal associations between chronic physical conditions, play behavior, and mental health problems in children.","authors":"Emmie W Koevoets, Sanne L Nijhof, Maartje D Stutvoet, Remco C Veltkamp, Liesbeth Duijts, Manon H J Hillegers, Pauline W Jansen","doi":"10.1007/s12519-025-00945-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-025-00945-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Children and adolescents with chronic physical conditions have an increased probability of mental health problems, which may be partly attributed to the variations in play behavior. This study explores the associations between having a chronic physical condition, play behavior, and having mental health problems.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data from the Generation R Study were analyzed, a population-based, prospective cohort in the Netherlands. Chronic physical conditions were typically identified before six years of age. Play behavior was assessed at ages 6 and 10. Mental health problems were measured with the Child Behavior Checklist at 14 years of age. Logistic, ranked-order, and linear regression analyses were used to examine direct associations, and mediation analyses were used to investigate indirect paths. P values were false discovery rate adjusted.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the 4043 included participants, 691 (17%) had a chronic physical condition. Having a chronic physical condition was associated with more mental health problems and limited activity at the age of six years. Playing sports and engaging in social interactions at age 10 were related to fewer mental health problems at age 14. Limited activity mediated the relationship between having a chronic physical condition and mental health problems (social: mediated<sub>proportion</sub> = 8.33%, 95% CI = 2.02%; 15.7%, P<sub>adj</sub> < 0.001; physical: mediated<sub>proportion</sub> = 7.72%, 95% CI = 1.73%; 19.1%, P<sub>adj</sub> = 0.040).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Health-related limitations in social and physical activities mediate the relationship between having a chronic physical condition and mental health problems in children. Participation in social and physical activities early in life may be crucial for the mental well-being of children with a chronic physical condition.</p>","PeriodicalId":23883,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Pediatrics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144761566","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Min Liang, Wen-Jin Wu, Lei Li, Huan Qin, Shu-Na Li, Gui-Liang Zheng, Dong-Ming Hou, Qi Huang, Lan Cheng, Hui-Qun Jie, Jing-Rong Lu, Jing-Chun He, Jun Yang, Wei Wei
{"title":"Characteristics of the microbiota in the nasopharynx and nasal cavity of healthy children before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.","authors":"Min Liang, Wen-Jin Wu, Lei Li, Huan Qin, Shu-Na Li, Gui-Liang Zheng, Dong-Ming Hou, Qi Huang, Lan Cheng, Hui-Qun Jie, Jing-Rong Lu, Jing-Chun He, Jun Yang, Wei Wei","doi":"10.1007/s12519-025-00953-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-025-00953-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Microbial colonization in the nasopharynx and nasal cavity plays a defensive role in children. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have an influence on the nasopharynx and nasal cavity microbiota. This study aimed to identify and compare the microbiota in the nasopharynx and nasal cavity before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a healthy pediatric population.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Separate mucosal swabs were collected from the nasopharynx and nasal cavity of healthy children before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A 16S ribosomal RNA-based metagenomic approach was employed to characterize and analyze alterations in the nasopharyngeal and nasal microbiota to determine whether isolation measures, such as mask wearing, influence microbial ecology.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The richness and diversity of the nasopharyngeal and nasal microbiota decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with before the pandemic. Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the most abundant phyla in the nasopharyngeal and nasal microbiota, respectively, both before and during the pandemic. Corynebacterium and Moraxella were the dominant genera in the nasopharyngeal and nasal microbiota during the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas Pseudomonas and Corynebacterium were dominant before the pandemic. Compared with pre-pandemic conditions, microbial colonization differed significantly for Cyanobacteria/Chloroplast and Bacteroidetes in the nasopharynx and for Planctomycetes in the nasal cavity during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study revealed a lower microbiota diversity during COVID-19, possibly accompanied by microbiota dysbiosis, increased risk of respiratory infections and inflammatory responses in healthy children. This study underscores the importance of reestablishing microbiota balance and highlights the need for personalized treatment and prophylactic strategies in routine public health practice. Supplementary file3 (MP4 150533 KB).</p>","PeriodicalId":23883,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Pediatrics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144761565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Vitamin D and asthma in pediatrics: evidence and clinical implications.","authors":"Chandra Sekhar Devulapalli","doi":"10.1007/s12519-025-00947-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-025-00947-x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23883,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Pediatrics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144761568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Development and validation of a real-time risk prediction model for acute kidney injury in hospitalized pediatric patients.","authors":"Chao Zhang, Chen Wang, Qin-Shi Hu, Xi-Ming Xu, Ruo-Hua Yan, Xiao-Lu Nie, Ya-Guang Peng, Hai-Ping Yang, Yao Song, Xue-Jun Yang, Xiao-Xia Peng","doi":"10.1007/s12519-025-00950-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-025-00950-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Acute kidney injury is associated with a prolonged hospital stay and high mortality for pediatric patients. The previous prediction models are based on a pre-defined time window which may affect its feasibility in clinical practice. This study aimed to develop and validate a real-time acute kidney injury risk prediction model for hospitalized pediatric patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Based on a retrospective cohort composed of eligible pediatric patients hospitalized in Beijing Children's Hospital and Chongqing Children's Hospital, a machine learning model to predict acute kidney injury occurrence was developed and validated. The prediction model was established using a stacking technique to combine three base learners including XGBoost, LightGBM, and CatBoost. Particle swarm optimization algorithm was used to tune hyperparameters. Next, we assessed the performance of the prediction model using the area under the receiver-operating curve and the area under the precision-recall curve.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 26,671 patients were included (20,967 in the derivation set, 5242 in the internal validation set, and 462 in the external validation set) contributing to 36,828 hospitalizations. The new proposed model had excellent performance for predicting any acute kidney injury within 24 hours. Both the internal [area under the receiver-operating curve (AUROC) was 0.851, area under the precision-recall curve (AUPR) was 0.322] and external validation set (AUROC was 0.869, AUPR was 0.270) approved the model's feasibility in predicting the risk of acute kidney injury.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The established risk predicting model can be used for real-time prevention of acute kidney injury in hospitalized pediatric patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":23883,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Pediatrics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144754585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yi-Jie Feng, Yi-Cheng Yu, Jing-Li Zhao, Lu Xu, Cong-Ying Zhao, Yi Hua, Guo-Xia Sheng, Ting-Ting Chen, Yi Zhang, Lin-Lin Wei, Feng Gao, Shan-Shan Mao
{"title":"Sustainable efficacy of nusinersen in children with later-onset spinal muscular atrophy: a 3-year observational study.","authors":"Yi-Jie Feng, Yi-Cheng Yu, Jing-Li Zhao, Lu Xu, Cong-Ying Zhao, Yi Hua, Guo-Xia Sheng, Ting-Ting Chen, Yi Zhang, Lin-Lin Wei, Feng Gao, Shan-Shan Mao","doi":"10.1007/s12519-025-00938-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-025-00938-y","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23883,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Pediatrics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144733569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shan Wang, A Na Liu, Xin-Yi Liang, Ling Jiang, Wei Wu, Guan-Ping Dong, Pei-Fang Jiang, Yan Ni, Jun-Fen Fu
{"title":"Potential diagnostic value of serum bile acid profiling in girls with central precocious puberty.","authors":"Shan Wang, A Na Liu, Xin-Yi Liang, Ling Jiang, Wei Wu, Guan-Ping Dong, Pei-Fang Jiang, Yan Ni, Jun-Fen Fu","doi":"10.1007/s12519-025-00937-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12519-025-00937-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The diagnosis of central precocious puberty (CPP) relies on a gonadotropin releasing hormone stimulation test to assess the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis; this is costly and painful. Bile acids (BAs) have emerged as pivotal signaling molecules in the reproductive system. This study aimed to identify circulating BA profile signatures and explored if they may serve as biomarkers for CPP diagnosis in girls.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We enrolled 431 girls, including 241 in the training cohort and 190 in the validation cohort. Participants were divided into four groups based on their body mass index Z-score and whether they were diagnosed with CPP. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry was performed to quantify 38 serum BAs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>There were 18 individual BAs that were statistically different between CPP and non-CPP counterparts. The majority of these BAs (14/18) correlated significantly with sex-related hormones (P < 0.05). In girls with normal weight (NW), a logistic regression model combining chenodeoxycholic acid, tauroα-muricholic acid, and 6-ketolithocholic acid achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.885. For girls who were overweight/obese (OB), hyocholic acid and taurohyocholic acid enhanced the diagnostic efficiency of basal luteinizing and follicle stimulating hormones to an AUC value 0.914. In validation cohort, 75.34% NW girls and 84.09% OB girls were accurately classified.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Serum BA profiles of CPP girls showed significant changes that were associated with serum sex-related hormone levels. BA profiles could be potential biomarkers in CPP diagnosis and screening. Video Abstract.</p>","PeriodicalId":23883,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Pediatrics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144699701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jing-Jing Zhou, Jun-Jie Shao, Shuai Yue, Hao-Jie Yan, Hai-Ming Wang, Min Jiang, Shu-Jin Shi, Shuai Xu, Jun-Jie Su, Fan Han, Xiao-Yang Hong, Ran Zhang
{"title":"Predictive role of neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio in acute fulminant myocarditis patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.","authors":"Jing-Jing Zhou, Jun-Jie Shao, Shuai Yue, Hao-Jie Yan, Hai-Ming Wang, Min Jiang, Shu-Jin Shi, Shuai Xu, Jun-Jie Su, Fan Han, Xiao-Yang Hong, Ran Zhang","doi":"10.1007/s12519-025-00940-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-025-00940-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation induces an inflammatory response upon initiation. The neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio is a promising biomarker for predicting mortality in patients with systemic inflammation. This study aimed to investigate the association between neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio and in-hospital mortality in pediatric patients with acute fulminant myocarditis undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and to develop a PEACE model for predicting mortality in these patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective study included pediatric patients diagnosed with acute fulminant myocarditis who underwent venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation between July 2015 and August 2022. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the independent association between the neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio and the risk of in-hospital mortality. In addition, we utilized least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression to select predictive factors, ultimately developing a nomogram to predict outcomes in pediatric patients receiving venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 125 patients eligible for analysis were included in this study, with an in-hospital mortality rate of 28.8%. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that the neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio was an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality in venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients. Restricted cubic splines revealed a positive association between the two (P<sub>nonlinearity</sub> = 0.84). Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression and backward stepwise logistic regression identified age, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, lactate levels, and the neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio as key predictive factors. Using these factors, a nomogram (PEACE model) was developed to predict in-hospital mortality in venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.83 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.74-0.92], with the inclusion of the neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio significantly enhancing the model's predictive accuracy.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio may serve as a potential predictor for venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in-hospital mortality in pediatric patients with acute fulminant myocarditis, suggesting that inflammatory responses are associated with patient prognosis. The PEACE model is superior in predicting the prognosis of pediatric patients supported by venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and can help in clinical decision making.</p>","PeriodicalId":23883,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Pediatrics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144650662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}