BMI not linked to behaviour disorders in children

A new study has found that adverse body mass index (BMI) is unlikely to have a big impact on children’s mood and/or behavioural disorders. Researchers of the University of Bristol, UK, reviewed 41,000 children and their parents in the study published in the online journal eLife (December). They assessed the relationship between children’s BMI — ratio of weight and height — and symptoms of depression, anxiety and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The analysis found minimal effect of a child’s high adverse BMI and anxiety symptoms. There was also conflicting evidence about whether a child’s BMI induced depressive or ADHD symptoms. Some earlier studies had indicated that obese children are more likely to be diagnosed with depression.

“Our results suggest that interventions designed to reduce child obesity are unlikely to make big improvements in child mental health. On the other hand, policies that target social and environmental factors linked to higher body weight, and target poor child mental health directly, may be more beneficial,” says lead author Amanda Hughes, senior research associate in epidemiology at Bristol University.

Digital devices increase emotional dysregulation in kids

Frequent use of devices such as smartphones and tablets to calm upset children aged three-five years is associated with increased emotional dysregulation, particularly in boys, says a study published in JAMA Pediatrics (December 22).

“Using mobile devices to calm a young child may seem like a harmless, temporary tool to reduce stress in households, but there may be adverse long term consequences if it’s a regular go-to soothing strategy. Especially in early childhood, devices may displace opportunities for development of independent and alternative self regulation options,” says lead author Jenny Radesky, a developmental behavioural pediatrician at the University of Michigan, USA.

Researchers studied 422 parents and an equal number of children, and analysed parent and child responses relating to usage of digital devices as a calming tool and symptoms of emotional reaction or dysregulation over a six-month period. Signs of increased dysregulation includes rapid shifts between melancholia and excitement, sudden mood changes and heightened impulsivity.

Depression drugs taken during pregnancy affect infant brains

Consumption of antidepressant drugs during pregnancy increases the risk of lifelong neurodevelopmental changes in infant brains, including symptoms linked to autism, reveals a recent study of the University of Virginia (UVA).
A team of UVA neuroscientists found that commonly used antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) interact powerfully with inflammations in the mother’s body from infections or other causes. In lab mice, this interaction had harmful impact on the placenta and the decidua — the direct connection between mother and child — and could adversely affect the developing brains of children.

“Our findings suggest that (SSRIs) can have deleterious consequences when mixed with infection, inflammation, etc. They might help to explain the rise in autism prevalence over the past 20 years, as this time coincides with the rollout of widespread SSRI usage in the developing world,” says senior researcher John Lukens of the UVA Department of Neuroscience and Center for Brain Immunology.

Perfectionists more susceptible to burnout
People who are perfectionists are more susceptible to burnout, says a recent study conducted by Prof. Gordon Parker, a clinical psychiatrist at the University of New South Wales. The study concluded that perfectionists are more likely to experience burnout because of their own “unrelenting standards”. “People with perfectionistic traits are usually excellent workers, as they’re very reliable and conscientious. However, they’re also prone to burnout as they set unrealistic and unrelenting standards for their own performance, which are ultimately impossible to live up to,” says Prof. Parker.

According to Prof. Parker, while most people consider burnout to be extreme tiredness, symptoms are more wide-ranging. “People struggling with burnout also suffer from cognitive dysfunction, sometimes known as ‘brain fog’ and disconnection from friends and family, as well as reduced performance in work and tasks around the home.”