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Background: The aim of the study was to present metal health, psychosocial functioning and quality of life (QoL) of children and adolescents with a difference in sex development (DSD) from their first visit in the newly established multidisciplinary team in 2002–2004 in Norway. A secondary aim was to explore mental health, psychosocial functioning and QoL in the same cohort patient's as for today and finally explore any childhood predictors for these outcomes in adulthood. Methods: The first part of the study took place in 2002–2004 in a mixed cohort of children and adolescents born with a DSD in 1982–2002, compared to a healthy comparison group. This part involved semi-structured interviews and self-reported and proxy-reported questionnaires. The second part of the study is a longitudinal study of the same participants 15–20 years later (2018–2020). Results: The participants at baseline of the study consisted of 33 patients; 24 assigned females (congenital adrenal hyperplasia, androgen insensitivity syndrome, gonadal dysgenesis and ovotesticular DSD) and nine assigned males; all with a hypospadias diagnosis. Significant differences were found for behavioral and emotional problems between groups, 46, XX females with significant higher total scores on YSR (49.43 + 24.17, p =.047); 46, XY females (21.00 + 12.04, p =.032); and higher internalizing problems scores (YSR) in 46, XX females (16.57 + 9.74), compared with the 46, XY females (5.60 + 5.32, p =.047). A positive association between QoL of the participants in adulthood and PedsQL' social function (r =.657, p =.020) and psychosocial function in childhood (r =.596, p =.041) was found. Conclusions: In summary, this study demonstrated that adolescents assigned females with DSD might have more psychiatric problems and a poorer degree of psychosocial functioning compared to a healthy comparison group. As we do find an association with these problems in adolescence and later adult QoL, it is of great importance to respond to these behaviors in early life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is a part of an ongoing effort to address the lack of rigorous, scientific evidence to inform the prescription of adaptive seating interventions for children with neurological disorders. The aim is to investigate one aspect of the seat - the cushion, at the same time as developing a battery of tests which are objective, easy to implement and reliable with which adaptive seating interventions can be measured. Method: A total of 35 school-aged children with neurological disorders were assessed in a bespoke adaptive seating system to compare the use of a flat and a ramped, contoured cushion. The measures used were an accelerometer to measure stability, two actigraphs to measure activity, a pressure mapping system to measure weight distribution, goniometry to measure posture and activities to measure functional ability. Results: The results generally support the use of ramped, contoured cushions over flat cushions. The accelerometer and pressure mapping system show particular promise in future research. The actigraphs were unreliable, although other models may prove more suitable. The goniometry produced the best results, although it was the least reliable to implement and the seated functional activities need further work. Interpretation: The methodology showed in a number of ways that ramped contoured cushions were more effective than flat seat cushions for a heterogeneous population of children. Accelerometry and pressure mapping showed particular promise for advancing research and practice in the area of adaptive seating, with further work required in other areas. In particular, it is recommended that future efforts pursue the use of more reliable electronic measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anne Fausto-Sterling's suggestion that the prevalence of intersex might be as high as 1.7% has attracted wide attention in both the scholarly press and the popular media. Many reviewers are not aware that this figure includes conditions which most clinicians do not recognize as intersex, such as Klinefelter syndrome, Turner syndrome, and late-onset adrenal hyperplasia. If the term intersex is to retain any meaning, the term should be restricted to those conditions in which chromosomal sex is inconsistent with phenotypic sex, or in which the phenotype is not classifiable as either male or female. Applying this more precise definition, the true prevalence of intersex is seen to be about 0.018%, almost 100 times lower than Fausto-Sterling's estimate of 1.7%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]