Anxiety sensitivity as a mediator of the association between asthma and smoking

Objective: Despite its negative effects, smoking is more common among individuals with asthma compared to those without. Anxiety sensitivity (fear of arousal-related sensations) is associated with both smoking and asthma; however, no research, to date, has examined the interplay between these three factors. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to evaluate the mediating role of anxiety sensitivity in the association between asthma diagnosis and smoking status. Methods: The current study was a secondary analysis of data from three existing datasets of non-smokers and smokers with and without asthma (n?=?433; 56.3% female, M_age?=?34.01 years, SD?=?13.9). Participants provided information on their asthma diagnosis status and smoking status and completed self-report measures. Results: As hypothesized, after controlling for gender, race and age, there was a significant indirect effect of asthma diagnosis on smoking status through anxiety sensitivity (95% CI?=?0.07–0.48). Conclusions: These results indicate that the association between asthma diagnosis and smoking status appears to be driven, in part, by anxiety sensitivity and suggest that anxiety sensitivity may serve as an important target for prevention and intervention efforts for smokers with asthma.     

呼吸专科护士慢性呼吸疾病管理现状调查

目的调查呼吸专科护士慢性呼吸疾病管理现状,为提高慢性呼吸疾病的管理水平提供参考。方法依据《中国成人慢性呼吸疾病患者护理管理指南》设计调查问卷,对重庆、四川、贵州、陕西、河北、湖北、海南7省市的205名呼吸专科护士进行问卷调查。结果呼吸专科护士慢性呼吸疾病管理总分为(140.72±23.90)分。慢性呼吸疾病管理得分最低的3个条目有评估工具应用、个性化管理计划的实施、慢阻肺随访的次数及指导哮喘患者使用峰流速仪;呼吸专科护士所在单位慢性呼吸疾病管理平台建设均低于50%。结论呼吸专科护士慢性呼吸疾病管理处于中等偏下水平,评估是慢性呼吸疾病管理的薄弱点。需加强呼吸专科护士专业能力培养,规范慢性呼吸疾病全程管理,强化医院平台建设等,提高慢性呼吸疾病的管理水平。     

A Snapshot of the Guidelines on Vesicoureteral Reflux in Children

The main goal in the management of patients with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is the preservation of kidney function by minimizing the risk of pyelonephritis. By defining and analyzing the risk factors for each patient depending on age, sex, grade of reflux, lower urinary tract dysfunction, anatomic abnormalities, and kidney status, it is possible to identify those patients with a potential risk of upper urinary tract infection and resulting renal scarring. This paper gives a brief overview of the European Association of Urology guidelines for the management and treatment of VUR in children. These guidelines are based on the best currently available knowledge and evidence.     

Long-term health and socioeconomic outcome of obstructive sleep apnea in children and adolescents

BackgroundThere is limited information about the long-term outcome of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) diagnosed in children and adolescents for educational and social factors. Here, we estimate the long-term socioeconomic outcome and health care costs of OSA.MethodsThe historical case-control cohort study included Danish individuals with OSA diagnosed in childhood or adolescence between 1994 and 2015. Health care costs and socioeconomic data were obtained from nationwide administrative and health registers. A total of 5419 were diagnosed during this period; of these we traced 1004 patients who we compared with 4085 controls (mean index age, 10.2 years; Standard Deviation (SD), 5.6 years) until the age of 20 years. Controls were matched for age, gender, and residency.ResultsComparing the OSA patient and control groups at age 20 years we found: 1) lower parental educational level; 2) significantly lower educational level also after adjustment for parental educational level; 3) lower school grade-point averages; 4) lower employment rate and lower income, which was not fully compensated when transfer payments were considered; and 5) patients' initial health care costs were higher due to higher morbidity. Patients showed higher mortality rates than controls (Hazard Ratio (HR) = 7.63, 95% CI = 4.87–11.95, P < 0.001).ConclusionsOSA in children and adolescent is associated with a significant influence on morbidity, mortality, educational level, grading, social outcome, and welfare consequences.     

OSAHS患儿扁桃体和腺样体术后免疫功能的变化

目的 阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停低通气综合征(OSAHS)是耳鼻咽喉科的一种常见病，儿童发病率呈上升趋势，调查显示儿童OSAHS发生率为4%~5%，2~6岁是发病的高峰期。OSAHS不仅严重影响儿童的睡眠质量，还会引起儿童生长发育迟缓、智力缺陷等一系列不良反应，OSAHS患儿的主要病因是扁桃体和/或腺样体肥大，因此最有效的治疗方法是扁桃体切除术和腺样体切除术。而扁桃体和腺样体是儿童淋巴组织系统的重要组成部分，在机体的防御和保护功能中发挥着重要作用。手术治疗OSAHS是否影响儿童的免疫功能目前存在争议。一些学者认为扁桃体切除和腺样体切除后儿童的免疫力降低，而另一些学者认为OSAHS儿童的免疫力在手术后保持不变，甚至比手术前有所提高。本文就儿童OSAHS手术前后免疫指标的变化作一综述。     

Pathways in the association between sugar sweetened beverages and child asthma traits in the 2nd year of life: Findings from the BRISA cohort

Studies on the exposure of children to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) at an early age may contribute to better understand the common causes and the temporal order of the relationships between obesity and asthma in early childhood. The objective of this study was to estimate the association between SSB and child asthma traits in the 2nd year of life, modeling direct and indirect pathways mediated by the highest BMI-z of the child and allergic inflammation. Data from the BRISA cohort, São Luís-MA, Brazil (n = 1140), were obtained from the baseline and from the follow-up performed at the 2nd year of life. The main explanatory variable was the calories from added sugars in SSBs as a percentage of the total daily energy intake. The outcome child asthma traits was a latent variable deduced from four indicators: medical diagnosis of asthma, wheezing, emergency visit due to intense wheezing, and medical diagnosis of rhinitis. A high percentage of daily calories from sugars added to SSBs was directly associated with higher values of child asthma traits (standardized coefficient (SC = 0.073; P = .030)). High levels of eosinophils were also directly associated with child asthma traits (SC = 0.118; P = .049). No mediation pathways were observed via greater BMI-z or eosinophil counts. Therefore, early exposure of children to SSB may contribute to increased risk of childhood asthma, preceding the link between sugar consumption and overweight/obesity, not yet evident in children in the first 2 years of life.     

The role of cardiopulmonary exercise testing in evaluating children with exercise induced dyspnoea

Exercise induced dyspnoea (EID) is a common manifestation in children and adolescents. Although EID is commonly attributed to exercise induced bronchoconstriction, several conditions other than asthma can cause EID in otherwise healthy children and adolescents. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) offers a non-invasive comprehensive assessment of the cardiovascular, ventilatory and metabolic responses to exercise and is a powerful diagnostic and prognostic tool. CPET is a reproducible, non-invasive form of testing that allows for comparison against age- and gender-specific norms. CPET can assess the child’s exercise capacity, determine the limiting factors associated with this, and be used to prescribe individualised interventions. EID can occur due to asthma, exercise induced laryngeal obstruction, breathing pattern disorders, chest wall restriction and cardiovascular pathology among other causes. Differentiating between these varied causes is important if effective therapy is to be initiated and quality of life improved in subjects with EID.