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Recent anecdotal and scientific reports have provided evidence of a link between COVID-19 and chemosensory impairments, such as anosmia. However, these reports have downplayed or failed to distinguish potential effects on taste, ignored chemesthesis, and generally lacked quantitative measurements. Here, we report the development, implementation, and initial results of a multilingual, international questionnaire to assess self-reported quantity and quality of perception in 3 distinct chemosensory modalities (smell, taste, and chemesthesis) before and during COVID-19. In the first 11 days after questionnaire launch, 4039 participants (2913 women, 1118 men, and 8 others, aged 19-79) reported a COVID-19 diagnosis either via laboratory tests or clinical assessment. Importantly, smell, taste, and chemesthetic function were each significantly reduced compared to their status before the disease. Difference scores (maximum possible change ±100) revealed a mean reduction of smell (-79.7 ± 28.7, mean ± standard deviation), taste (-69.0 ± 32.6), and chemesthetic (-37.3 ± 36.2) function during COVID-19. Qualitative changes in olfactory ability (parosmia and phantosmia) were relatively rare and correlated with smell loss. Importantly, perceived nasal obstruction did not account for smell loss. Furthermore, chemosensory impairments were similar between participants in the laboratory test and clinical assessment groups. These results show that COVID-19-associated chemosensory impairment is not limited to smell but also affects taste and chemesthesis. The multimodal impact of COVID-19 and the lack of perceived nasal obstruction suggest that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus strain 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may disrupt sensory-neural mechanisms.

PurposeTo explore 10-year longitudinal predictors (personal, psychological, behavioral, and socioenvironmental) of exiting obesity from adolescence to young adulthood.MethodsData were collected from a population-based cohort of adolescents (n = 2,287) attending middle/high schools in Minneapolis-St. Paul in 1998-1999 (mean age = 14.9) and again in 2008-2009 (mean age = 25.3) participating in Project Eating and Activity Among Teens and Young Adults. Self-reported height and weight were used to calculate weight status change between adolescence and young adulthood, among participants with obesity at baseline (n = 175). Questionnaires assessed personal, psychological, behavioral, and socioenvironmental factors hypothesized to play a role in obesity. Modified Poisson regressions estimated adjusted relative risks (RRs) for exiting obesity as a function of each baseline and 10-year change in predictor, controlling for relevant covariates.ResultsThirty-two percent of adolescents exited obesity in young adulthood. Reductions in fast food intake (RR = .73, 95% confidence interval [CI] = .61-.87) and screen time (RR = .98, 95% CI = .96-.99), and increases in fruit/vegetable intake (RR = 1.06, 95% CI 1.01-1.12), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (RR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.00-1.12), home fruit/vegetable availability (RR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.19-2.09), family meals (RR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.03-1.22), and serving vegetables at dinner (RR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.10-1.92) were associated with exiting obesity. Not dieting as an adolescent and improvements in body satisfaction, depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and weight teasing were also associated with exiting obesity.ConclusionsPromoting healthy eating and activity, and improving the healthfulness of home food environments may be promising intervention targets for promoting healthier weights in adolescents and young adults with obesity. Addressing dieting behavior and the psychosocial health of adolescents with obesity may also be needed throughout the transition to young adulthood.

Recruitment of 'top-down' frontal attentional mechanisms is held to support detection of changes in task-relevant stimuli. Fluctuations in intrinsic frontal activity have been shown to impact task performance more generally. Meanwhile, the amygdala has been implicated in 'bottom-up' attentional capture by threat. Here, 22 adult human participants took part in a functional magnetic resonance change detection study aimed at investigating the correlates of successful (vs failed) detection of changes in facial identity vs expression. For identity changes, we expected prefrontal recruitment to differentiate 'hit' from 'miss' trials, in line with previous reports. Meanwhile, we postulated that a different mechanism would support detection of emotionally salient changes. Specifically, elevated amygdala activation was predicted to be associated with successful detection of threat-related changes in expression, over-riding the influence of fluctuations in top-down attention. Our findings revealed that fusiform activity tracked change detection across conditions. Ventrolateral prefrontal cortical activity was uniquely linked to detection of changes in identity not expression, and amygdala activity to detection of changes from neutral to fearful expressions. These results are consistent with distinct mechanisms supporting detection of changes in face identity vs expression, the former potentially reflecting top-down attention, the latter bottom-up attentional capture by stimulus emotional salience.

BackgroundForced Vital Capacity (FVC) is an important predictor of all-cause mortality in the absence of chronic respiratory conditions. Epidemiological evidence highlights the role of early life factors on adult FVC, pointing to environmental exposures and genes affecting lung development as risk factors for low FVC later in life. Although highly heritable, a small number of genes have been found associated with FVC, and we aimed at identifying further genetic variants by focusing on lung development genes.MethodsPer-allele effects of 24,728 SNPs in 403 genes involved in lung development were tested in 7,749 adults from three studies (NFBC1966, ECRHS, EGEA). The most significant SNP for the top 25 genes was followed-up in 46,103 adults (CHARGE and SpiroMeta consortia) and 5,062 children (ALSPAC). Associations were considered replicated if the replication p-value survived Bonferroni correction (p

PurposeDieting is a well-established risk factor for binge eating, yet the majority of dieters do not develop binge eating problems. The purpose of the current study was to examine psychosocial factors involved in the relation between dieting and binge eating over a 10-year follow-up period.MethodsA population-based sample (n = 1,827) completed surveys assessing eating habits, psychological functioning, and weight status at 5-year intervals spanning early/middle adolescence (time 1), late adolescence/early young adulthood (time 2), and early/middle young adulthood (time 3). Dieting, along with depression symptoms, self-esteem, and teasing experiences at time 1 and time 2, was used to predict new onset binge eating at time 2 and time 3, respectively. Interactions between dieting status and varying degrees of these psychosocial factors in relation to binge eating onset were also tested.ResultsDieters were two to three times more likely than nondieters to develop binge eating problems over 5-year follow-ups. At most time points, depression symptoms and self-esteem predicted binge eating onset beyond the effects of dieting alone. Detrimental levels of these factors among dieters (relative to nondieters) increased the likelihood of binge eating onset only during the later follow-up period.ConclusionsDepression and self-esteem appear to be particularly salient factors involved in the relation between dieting and binge eating onset among adolescents and young adults. Early identification of these factors should be a priority to prevent the development of binge eating problems among already at-risk individuals.

Perceiving one's weight as "overweight" is associated with disordered eating in adolescence. Yet, it is unknown whether weight perceptions change during adolescence, or whether these weight perception transitions predict disordered eating. This study aims to: (1) characterize weight perception transitions from early to late adolescence among a population-based sample and (2) examine whether weight perception transitions in adolescence predict concurrent and future disordered eating into young adulthood. Eating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults (N = 1,414) survey data were used to examine correlates of weight perception transitions from early (M age = 14.9 ± 1.6 years) to late adolescence (M age = 19.4 ± 1.6 years). Adjusted generalized estimating equations were used to determine whether weight perception transitions in adolescence predicted concurrent and future disordered eating in emerging adulthood (M age = 25.2 ± 1.6 years) and young adulthood (M age = 31.0 ± 1.6 years). Weight perceptions were stable from early to late adolescence for 77.2% of adolescents, whereas 15.5% transitioned to perceiving their weight as "overweight" and 7.3% stopped perceiving "overweight" in late adolescence. Perceived "overweight", especially in late adolescence, was associated with higher concurrent and long-term disordered eating up to 10 years later. For example, the predicted prevalence of binge eating in young adulthood among individuals who perceived their weight as "overweight" throughout adolescence was 20.1% compared to 6.6% for those who never perceived their weight as "overweight" in adolescence. Adolescent weight perception was relatively stable in this population-based sample. However, weight perception transitions that involved perceiving "overweight", particularly in late adolescence, were associated with long-term higher risk of disordered eating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose To identify personal and socioenvironmental factors associated with the persistence of dieting or disordered eating from adolescence to young adulthood and factors associated with the initiation of dieting or disordered eating during young adulthood. Methods Participants (n = 4,746) completed EAT-I surveys as adolescents; EAT-III surveys were completed 10 years later by 1,902 of the original participants (1,082 females and 820 males). Results Study results indicate that there are personal factors, including weight concerns, weight importance, depressive symptoms and body satisfaction, present during adolescence that are predictive of an individual's engagement in dieting or disordered eating behaviors 10 years later. For example, among both males and females, weight importance was found to be predictive of continued dieting and disordered eating from adolescence through young adulthood. For example, 26.1% of males with low levels of weight concern at baseline reported engaging in persistent disordered eating as compared with 60.4% of males with high levels of weight concern at baseline (prevalence difference: 34.3; 95% confidence interval: 10.5–58.1; p < .01). Parental weight concerns, peer dieting, and weight teasing at baseline were not found to be predictive of dieting or disordered eating at 10-year follow-up. Conclusions Personal factors identified during adolescence were found to be predictive of both persistent dieting and disordered eating from adolescence into young adulthood, as well as initiation of these behaviors during young adulthood. In particular, weight concerns and weight importance were found to be predictive in most models providing support for inclusion of these factors in adolescent health screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The current study examines how body satisfaction of pregnant women compares to that of nonpregnant women. The sample included 68 pregnant and 927 nonpregnant young women who participated in a population-based longitudinal study examining eating and weight concerns in young adults. Body satisfaction was assessed using a 10-item modified version of the Body Shape Satisfaction Scale. The longitudinal design allowed for the assessment of body satisfaction among women both prior to and during their pregnancy. Mean body satisfaction was higher in pregnant women (32.6, 95% CI: 30.7–34.5) than nonpregnant women (29.6, 95% CI: 29.1–30.1) with moderate effect size 0.32, after adjusting for body satisfaction and body mass index prior to pregnancy, indicating that pregnant women experienced a significant increase in body satisfaction from the time prior to their pregnancy (p =.003) despite weight gain. These findings have important implications for clinicians delivering weight-related messages to women during pregnancy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]