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Objectives To describe screen time levels and determine their association with socioemotional and behavioural difficulties among preschool-aged First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children.Method Data were taken from the Aboriginal Children's Survey, a nationally representative survey of 2–5-year-old Indigenous children in Canada. Socioemotional and behavioural difficulties were defined using parent/guardian reports on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted separately for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit participants, and statistically adjusted for child age, child sex, and parent/guardian education. Statistical significance was set at P< 0.002 to adjust for multiple comparisons.Results Of these 2–5-year-old children (mean[M] = 3.57 years) 3,085 were First Nations (53.5%), 2,430 Métis (39.2%), and 990 Inuit (7.3%). Screen time exposure was high among First Nations (M = 2 h and 58 min/day, standard deviation [SD] = 1.89), Métis (M = 2 h and 50 min [SD = 1.83]), and Inuit children (M = 3 h and 25 min [SD = 2.20]), with 79.7% exceeding recommended guidelines (>1 h/day). After adjusting for confounders, screen time was associated with more socioemotional and behavioural difficulties among First Nations (total difficulties β = 0.15 [95% CI, 0.12 to 0.19]) and Métis (β = 0.16 [95% CI, 0.12 to 0.20]) but not Inuit children (β = 0.12 [95% CI, 0.01 to 0.23]).Conclusions Screen time exposure is high among Indigenous children in Canada, and is associated with more socioemotional and behavioural difficulties among First Nations and Métis children. Contributing factors could include enduring colonialism that resulted in family dissolution, lack of positive parental role models, and disproportionate socioeconomic disadvantage. Predictors of poor well-being should continue to be identified to develop targets for intervention to optimize the health and development of Indigenous children.

AbstractThis study examined the link between two biological markers of stress vulnerability at 22–26 years of age and telomere length at 30–35 among extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1000 g) survivors and normal birth weight (NBW; >2500 g) control participants. Sixteen ELBW and 22 NBW participants provided baseline afternoon salivary cortisol samples and resting frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha asymmetry data at 22–26 years. Buccal cells were assayed for telomere length at 30–35 years. Analyses controlled for sex, postnatal steroid exposure, childhood socioeconomic status, time of cortisol sample collection, and body mass index at 22–26 years. Salivary cortisol and frontal asymmetry at age 22–26 independently predicted telomere length at age 30–35, such that relatively higher cortisol and greater relative right frontal asymmetry at rest predicted telomere shortening among NBW controls, but not among ELBW survivors. However, similar associations were not noted in ELBW survivors, suggesting that ELBW survivors may have different mechanisms of stress coping as a result of their early-life exposures. These findings offer preliminary evidence in support of the role of stress in the genesis of cellular senescence at least among those born at NBW, but that these links may differ in those born preterm.

Objectives To examine the effectiveness of group cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for postpartum depression (PPD) delivered by public health nurses with little to no previous psychiatric training at improving depression, worry, social support and the mother-infant relationship.Methods Mothers (n = 141) living in Ontario, Canada with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale Scores ≥10 and an infant <12 months of age were randomized to receive nine weekly 2-h sessions of in-person group CBT for PPD delivered by two public health nurses plus treatment as usual (TAU; experimental group) or TAU alone (control group). Primary outcomes were change in EPDS score and current major depressive disorder (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview) assessed immediately post-treatment (T2). Secondary outcomes included maternal worry, social support, and quality of the mother-infant relationship. All outcomes were assessed again six months post-treatment (T3).Results Participants in the experimental group had statistically significantly greater reductions in PPD symptoms immediately post-treatment (T2) (B = -5.35, p < 0.01), were more likely to manifest a clinically significant improvement in EPDS scores (≥4 points; OR = 3.44, 95%CI: 1.49–7.94), and no longer have symptoms consistent with current MDD (OR = 5.31, 95% CI: 1.78–15.83). Six months post-treatment (T3), experimental group participants had higher odds of clinically significant PPD improvement (OR = 5.10, 95%CI: 1.89–13.78), while 25% of the experimental group and 70% of remaining control group participants reported current MDD (p< 0.01). Statistically significant improvements in worry and the mother-infant relationship were also observed, decreases maintained at six months post-treatment.Conclusions Public health nurses with little to no previous psychiatric training can be trained to deliver effective group CBT for PPD to improve depression, worry, and the mother-infant relationship. Task shifting PPD treatment with group CBT to public health nurses could improve treatment uptake and lead to better outcomes for mothers, families, and the healthcare system. (Trial Registration NCT03039530)