Nutritional status and development of working capacity of preschool Senegalese children

Anthropometric measurements and a sub-maximal effort step-test were recorded three times in one year for a sample of 88 Senegalese children aged between 3 and 6. These children all came from a rural area where nutritional situation is poor. The values significantly improved from one visit to the next, but, in comparison to European or North American standards, somatic growth is retarded, muscular mass is weaker, and cardio-respiratory adaptation to effort is less.

Taking as a malnutrition threshold a height-for-age and a height-for-weight less than -1 standard deviation from the N.C.H.S.#shW.H.0 reference, one concludes that wasted and small for age children register poorer aerobic performance than well nourished children.

These observations stress the importance of nutritional conditions in the somatic and functional development of African children. Study of these relationships is essential to a better understanding of the gravity and consequences of chronic undernutrition     

Motor skills in Australian children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

The motor skills of 38 children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were assessed. The majority of children had gross and fine motor skills within the normal range, with age appropriate coordination. Gross motor skills were a relative strength compared with fine motor skills. Parents' ratings of children's motor skills were generally lower than performance as indicated by standardised assessment. It is proposed that attention and concentration deficits account for the perception that children with ADHD have impaired motor skills as indicated by the lower ratings of parents in this domain, and for the fact that gross motor skills were stronger than fine motor skills, i.e. that fine motor skills require greater application to task and therefore may be more susceptible to concentration difficulties. Intervention should be aimed at assisting children to develop strategies to promote attention within the various environments where they are required to participate.     

The relationship between perceived physical competence and fundamental motor skills in preschool children

Background The purpose of this investigation had two folds. First, it aimed to discover the relationship between perceived physical competence and fundamental motor skills in preschoolers. Secondly, it examined the effect of sex on perceived physical competence and fundamental motor skills within the sample. Methods A total of 119 children (mean age 4.00, SD 0.55 years) participated in this study. The Test of Gross Motor Development – 2nd Edition was used to assess fundamental motor skills and the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance was used to assess perceived physical competence. Results The results show a moderate and significant correlation between perceived physical competence and fundamental motor skills. Sex differences were also found with boys demonstrating more proficient motor skills and reporting higher perceived physical competence compared with girls. Conclusions The findings provide relevant information to the child development literature and suggest that a positive relationship exist between preschoolers' self‐perceptions of the physical ability and fundamental motor skills.     

Assessing gross motor skills of Kosovar preschool children

In the light of the new developments in preschool education in Kosovo, this study attempts to carry out an assessment of the development of gross motor skills of preschool children attending institutional education. The emphasis is on creating a set of tests to measure the motor attainments of these children by conducting assessments of the achievements of 539 children aged 4 years ± 3 months to 6 years ± 3 months, of which 229 are girls and 310 are boys. As it had been expected, the results bespeak an increasing development of all gross motor skills, a development which is also age and growth related. In dexterity and strength, boys outperformed girls, while girls achieved more in areas of static balance and coordination. There were no statistically significant differences between boys and girls as far as dynamic balance is concerned. It has to be said that, generally, up to the age of five years, differences between genders and age groups are not significant, bearing in mind that dexterity and coordination develop after this age, while static balance skills become apparent at around four years of age.     

Anthropometric and motor characteristics of Senegalese with different nutritional histories

The effects of Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) on the motor performance of 4.5-6.5-year-old Senegalese children were studied. Body dimensions included weight, lengths, circumferences, and four skinfolds. Motor performance tests included a 3-min endurance run, 4 × 10 m shuttle-run, distance throw, standing long jump and grip strength. The sample consisted of 147 children: 52 children who were hospitalized for severe undernutrition (severe UN group) during infancy but who had been nutritionally rehabilitated; 63 children who were never severely malnourished but who were chronically exposed to mild-to-moderate undernutrition up to the time of study (chronic UN group); and 32 well nourished children (well nourished group) from well-off households. After adjusting for sex and age, the well nourished group performed better than the severe UN and chronic UN groups. Principal components analysis resulted in two factors which explained 65% of the variance in anthropometry and motor performance. One was related to body size and the second to body composition. The three nutritional groups differed significantly in principal component scores for the two factors; chronic UN and severe UN children also differed for the second factor. Body composition, especially low fat mass appeared to be an important feature for motor performance In chronically undernourished children.     

Motor developmental delays of institutionalised preschool-aged children

The aim of this study was the examination and the detection of differences in the motor developmental profiles between preschool-aged children living in conventional institution facilities and in natural family environment. The psychomotor development of 50 children, aged four to six years, was assessed using the two motor subscales (A, locomotor; and D, eye–hand coordination) of the Griffiths Test No II. It appears from the results that the family-reared children had better performance in both motor scales compared to children living in conventional institutions. The findings reinforce the need for the evaluation of motor performance in preschool-aged children raised in institutions, in order to change institution environments into more supportive ones for the most benefit of children's fine and gross motor development.     

慢性肾脏病患者蛋白质-能量营养不良研究进展

尽管临床治疗水平和透析技术不断提高,但慢性肾脏病(CKD)患者营养不良的发生率仍然逐年上升。近年来,透析前和透析阶段的CKD患者营养目标领域取得一些进展。在透析前阶段,充足的证据显示限制蛋白摄入的长期营养治疗方案可有效纠正蛋白尿、酸中毒等多种代谢异常。维持性透析阶段,现有的蛋白质能量摄入的目标逐渐受到质疑。新颁布的CKD患者蛋白质-能量消耗的诊断标准将有助于医生更轻易地识别早期的蛋白质能量消耗。     

Parenting styles and children's social skills as perceived by Jordanian mothers of preschool children

This study examined the perceived parenting styles in a sample of Jordanian mothers and their perceptions of the social skills exhibited by their preschool children. The sample consisted of 802 (N=802) mothers who responded to a three-part questionnaire: demographic information, parenting styles, and social skills. The results of this study indicated that the majority of mothers perceived their parenting style as authoritative (73.5%). This was followed by permissive, authoritarian, and uninvolved parenting styles. Results also indicated that mothers who perceived themselves as authoritative also perceived their children's social skills more positively. Evaluations of social skills by mothers revealed that children were perceived as highly skilled in responding to parental requests and inviting other children to join in their play activities. Cooperating and sharing behaviours received the lowest ratings as perceived by mothers. Results are discussed in association with the international literature and directions for future research are provided.     

动作技能干预对智力障碍儿童青少年基本动作技能影响的系统综述

目的 系统分析国内外动作技能干预对智力障碍儿童青少年基本动作技能影响的方法学特点和效果。方法 对CNKI、Wan Fang Data、EBSCO-SPORT、Web of Science、PubMed 5个数据库进行检索,检索日期从建库到2021年6月3日。对纳入文献的国家和地区、实验设计、样本、干预、测评和结果等信息进行提取,并使用PEDro对纳入文献进行方法学质量评价。结果 共纳入11篇文献,有效干预为100%;干预内容集中于平衡、力量和协调;游戏形式的低强度干预,单次干预时间40~60 min,每周2~3次,6~8周的干预较为适宜;测评工具以BOTMP使用数量最多,测评维度多集中于平衡技能。结论 动作技能干预可以有效提高智力障碍儿童青少年的基本动作技能。建议丰富干预内容,提高研究质量,加强我国样本的相关研究,并研制科学有效的智力障碍儿童青少年基本动作技能测评工具。     

精细运动发育落后幼儿视觉运动整合与视诱发电位关系探讨

目的 研究精细运动发育落后幼儿其视觉运动整合能力与视诱发电位潜伏期之间的相关性,为发育落后患儿的早期诊断和干预提供科学依据。方法 2015年1月-2016年12月选择71例经PDMS-Ⅱ测试精细运动发育落后并符合纳入标准的患儿,同时进行闪光视觉诱发电位检测,将闪光视诱发电位P100潜伏期(LP100)均值分别与视觉-运动整合能力(VMI)和精细运动发育商(FMQ)均值进行统计学检验及相关性分析。结果 精细运动发育落后幼儿视诱发电位潜伏期与视觉-运动整合及精细运动发育商存在相关关系(r=-0.859和-0.844,P<0.001),潜伏期越延迟,其视觉-运动整合标准分及精细运动发育商越低。结论 视知觉功能可影响精细运动发育落后幼儿视觉运动整合能力,视诱发电位可作为早期诊断、早期干预提供重要线索和电生理依据。     

Giardiasis as a predictor of childhood malnutrition in Orang Asli children in Malaysia

A cross-sectional study to examine the association of giardiasis with protein-energy malnutrition, vitamin A deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia was conducted among Orang Asli children in Selangor, Malaysia. A total of 281 children aged 2-15 years were studied. The data were collected using structured questionnaires, anthropometric measurements and laboratory analysis of blood and faecal samples. The results showed that 24.9% of the children were infected with Giardia duodenalis, while 56.5, 61.3 and 15.1% had significant underweight, stunting and wasting, respectively. Giardiasis was statistically identified as a strong predictor of significant wasting in this study population.     

学龄前脑性瘫痪儿童149例营养状况调查分析

目的 探讨学龄前脑性瘫痪儿童的营养不良状况及其与临床分型、分级之间的关系。方法 测量149例0～6岁脑性瘫痪住院患儿的身高、体重、血红蛋白值,计算其低体重、发育迟滞、消瘦及贫血率;并分析营养不良各项指标与脑瘫类型、临床分型、粗大运动功能分级(Gross Motor Function Classification System,GMFCS)之间的关系。与正常学龄前儿童的营养不良状况进行对比。结果 学龄前脑性瘫痪儿童低体重、发育迟滞、消瘦及贫血率分别为:31.54%、33.55%、41.28%、28.85%,其营养不良发生率均明显较正常儿童高。在不随意运动型脑瘫及痉挛型进行比较中,低体重及消瘦组差异存在统计学意义(P<0.05),发育迟缓与贫血在这两个组比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。105例痉挛型脑性瘫痪儿童,其低体重、发育迟缓、消瘦、贫血的发生率分别为:26.6%、31.43%、24.76%、28.57%。营养不良与脑性瘫痪的分级在低体重、发育迟缓及消瘦分组中差异都有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论 脑性瘫痪儿童的营养不良比正常学龄前儿童明显高。加强其营养不良的干预力度是非常有意义及势在必行的。     

Interrelationship among selected measures of motor skills

Background This study set out to explore the interrelationship among selected measures of motor skills. Methods Ninety‐one 4‐year‐old children from 10 nursery schools were tested using eight motor tasks from the Movement Assessment Battery for Children test. Results The most striking finding was that there were very low correlations between the motor tasks. Conclusions In relation to these findings, it is possible to argue that learning of particular motor skills is specific to that task. This is discussed in relation to the principle of task specificity of learning.     

Effectiveness of training on the community skills of children with intellectual disabilities

Background: Children with intellectual disabilities often have difficulties in daily tasks, requiring training to increase functional independence. This study measured the effectiveness of community skills training in a telephone task and a shopping task, and examined if community-based training was more effective than classroom-based training. Material and methods: A randomized control trial with 40 children aged 9–11years was completed. Intervention groups attended an eight-week training programme; the control group received no treatment. One intervention group practised skills in local shops. All participants were assessed before and after treatment in a shopping task and telephone task, using task analysis methodology. Results: Data showed a highly statistically significant difference between intervention and control groups in the shopping task (p=0.007); however, there was no significant difference between classroom and classroom supplemented by community-based learning in the shopping task. There was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups in the telephone task. Conclusion: Results suggested that skills training was effective in one of the skill areas with this client group. Further research is required to determine if community-based training is more effective than classroom-based learning.     

A study on fine motor skills of Iranian children with attention deficit/hyper activity disorder aged from 6 to 11 years

The aim of this study was to compare the fine motor skills of two groups of Iranian children. Of the 55 male Tehranian children aged 6 to 10 years, 29 children were typically developing and 26 were identified as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder. All children were assessed using the Raven Intelligence Test and nine fine motor tasks. There were no significant differences between the groups based on intelligence. In eight of the fine motor tasks, there was a significant difference between the groups. These tasks were cutting, placing dots in a grid pattern without direction, threading beads, drawing a line within 1 and 2 minutes, finger movements and Purdue pegboard. Boys who have been identified as ADHD have poorer fine motor skills compared to typically developing boys of the same age. Children aged 6 to 10 years who have been identified as ADHD will require more attention to their fine motor skill performance to enable greater participation in daily living tasks in Tehran such as writing, fine arts and dressing which require fast and quick hand motor skills. There are still limitations in this area; therefore, research in fine motor skills and ADHD children are recommended for future research.