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Shortened telomere length (TL) has been associated with lower cognitive performance, different neurological diseases in adults, and certain neurodevelopmental disorders in children. However, the evidence about the association between TL and neuropsychological developmental outcomes in children from the general population is scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the association between TL and neuropsychological function in children 4–5 years of age. We included 686 children from the INMA Project, a population-based birth cohort in Spain. Leucocyte TL was determined by quantitative PCR method, and neuropsychological outcomes were measured using the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MCSA). Multiple linear regression models were used to estimate associations adjusted for potential confounding variables. Main findings showed that a longer TL was associated with a higher mean working memory score (β = 4.55; 95% CI = 0.39, 8.71). In addition, longer TL was associated with a higher mean global quantitative score (β = 3.85; 95% CI = −0.19, 7.89), although the association was marginally significant. To our knowledge, this is the first study that shows a positive association between TL and better neuropsychological outcomes in children. Although further research is required to confirm these results, this study supports the hypothesis that TL is essential in protecting and maintaining a child's health, including cognitive functions such as working memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying cardiovascular-related measures that track from early childhood into later ages may help inform early prevention targets for cardiovascular disease. In this study, the tracking of triglycerides (TG), high-density cholesterol (HDL-c), atherogenic coefficient (AC), waist circumference to height ratio (WC/Height), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was examined in the INMA-Asturias cohort between 4 and 8 years of age. The analysis was conducted in 307 children who participated in the INMA-Asturias cohort (Spain) at 4 and at 8 years of age. Quantile regression models were used to evaluate tracking between measures at both ages, with each measure at 8 years as the dependent variable and the rank transformation of the same measure at 4 years as the independent variable. We found a positive association between HDL-c rank at 4 years and higher quantiles of the HDL-c distribution at 8 years, with an increase of 2.93 mg/dL (95% CI: 1.98, 3.87) per decile in the 0.9 quantile. A positive association was also found for WC/Height, with an increase of 0.008 (95% CI: 0.004, 0.012) per decile in the 0.9 quantile. We observed that tracking for AC increased in the higher quantiles of the distribution at 8 years, with an increase of 0.11 (95% CI: 0.09, 0.14) in the 0.6 quantile compared to an effect of 0.15 (95% CI: 0.09, 0.21) in the 0.9 quantile. Conclusions: Adult markers of dyslipidemia and central obesity tracked between ages 4 and 8 years. For AC, tracking increased in the higher quantiles of the distribution. What is Known: • Atherosclerosis begins in early life, so preventive efforts that start in childhood may delay progression to clinical disease. Determine what cardiovascular risk factors track into time since childhood bring the opportunity to identified those subjects at risk for later cardiovascular disease. • The study of risk factors in health populations and, particularly in children, copes with not clear and/or controversial thresholds definition. This makes it challenging to study tracking in pediatric ages. What is New: • Quantile regression is a useful tool for assessing the tracking of risk factors for which there are no clinically meaningful thresholds. The increasing trend observed in the tracking of dyslipidemia suggests the possible difficulty that children with abnormal values at 4 years of age might have in normalizing them in future years. • The findings of this article may help to determine which cardiovascular-related measures could be screened and followed-up in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential etiological role of early acetaminophen exposure on Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is inconclusive. We aimed to study this association in a collaborative study of six European population-based birth/child cohorts. A total of 73,881 mother–child pairs were included in the study. Prenatal and postnatal (up to 18 months) acetaminophen exposure was assessed through maternal questionnaires or interviews. ASC and ADHD symptoms were assessed at 4–12 years of age using validated instruments. Children were classified as having borderline/clinical symptoms using recommended cutoffs for each instrument. Hospital diagnoses were also available in one cohort. Analyses were adjusted for child and maternal characteristics along with indications for acetaminophen use. Adjusted cohort-specific effect estimates were combined using random-effects meta-analysis. The proportion of children having borderline/clinical symptoms ranged between 0.9 and 12.9% for ASC and between 1.2 and 12.2% for ADHD. Results indicated that children prenatally exposed to acetaminophen were 19% and 21% more likely to subsequently have borderline or clinical ASC (OR = 1.19, 95% CI 1.07–1.33) and ADHD symptoms (OR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.07–1.36) compared to non-exposed children. Boys and girls showed higher odds for ASC and ADHD symptoms after prenatal exposure, though these associations were slightly stronger among boys. Postnatal exposure to acetaminophen was not associated with ASC or ADHD symptoms. These results replicate previous work and support providing clear information to pregnant women and their partners about potential long-term risks of acetaminophen use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of adolescents with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is an important marker of disease burden. Our aims were to investigate HRQOL in a group of children and adolescents with ESRD and to compare them with the reference population norms. Ours was a cross-sectional study of 81 patients aged 10 years to 21 years with ESRD (68 with kidney transplants and 13 on dialysis) at five Spanish paediatric nephrology centres. HRQOL was investigated with the Spanish version of the child health and illness profile, adolescent edition (CHIP-AE). Clinical variables such as underlying diagnosis, number of rejection episodes, pre-emptive transplantation, anaemia and height were also analysed. No differences were found between patients with kidney transplants and their healthy peers in any domain or sub-domain of CHIP-AE. The group on dialysis scored lower than healthy controls and patients with transplants for satisfaction with health. Discomfort was higher in patients with transplants who had suffered one rejection episode. Physical discomfort was increased in anaemic patients with transplants. Short patients scored less in the satisfaction domain, with lower self-esteem and lower satisfaction with health. Adolescents with kidney transplants had better satisfaction with health than the group on dialysis, which matched the level of a healthy population. Further long-term prospective research is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]