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Background: COVID-19 pandemic stressors affected youth's mental health. This longitudinal study aims to explore these effects while considering predictive factors such as age and sex., Methods: An initial sample of 1502 caregivers answered a longitudinal survey evaluating their youths' (4-17 years of age) emotional/behavioral symptoms using the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) screening tool. First assessment in May-July 2020 included the prior year's retrospective (T R ) and since-lockdown-start (T 0 ) PSC, followed by monthly evaluations until February 2021., Results: A positive screening PSC (PSC+) was reported in 13.09% of cases at T R and 35.01% at T 0, but the likelihood of PSC+ quickly decreased over time. At T 0 , a more pronounced impact was found on children (39.7%) compared to adolescents (25.4%); male children exhibited higher risk for a PSC+ at T 0 and longitudinally than females. Adolescents presented a weaker effect of time-improvement. PSC+ at T R , experienced stressors, and caregiver's stress/depressive symptoms positively predicted PSC+ at T 0 and longitudinally; adolescents' unproductive coping style predicted PSC+ at T 0. CONCLUSION: The study shows a caregiver-reported increase in emotional/behavioral symptoms in youths during the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting predominantly younger children in the early stages and showing gradual improvement over time, albeit possibly slower in adolescents., Impact: The results show the anticipated surge in emotional and behavioral symptoms during the COVID-19 lockdown in youth reported by caregivers, followed by subsequent amelioration. Of greater significance, the study reveals a heightened impact on young children initially, yet it suggests a slower improvement trajectory in adolescents. The study also identifies risk factors linked to emotional and behavioral symptoms within each age group. Alongside the longitudinal approach, the authors underscore the remarkable inclusion of a significant representation of young children, an unusual feature in such surveys., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to the International Pediatric Research Foundation, Inc.)

Bipolar disorder (BD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) share numerous clinical features, which can make the differential diagnosis challenging. Studies conducted in adults suggest that patients with BD and ADHD have different sleep patterns. However, in pediatric populations, data on these potential differences are scant. The present preliminary study was conducted to identify potential differences in sleep alterations among youths diagnosed with BD or ADHD compared to healthy controls (HC). A total of 26 patients diagnosed with BD (n = 13) or ADHD (n = 13) were compared to 26 sex- and age-matched HC ([HC BD ], n = 13, and [HC ADHD ], n = 13). All participants underwent polysomnography. The mean duration of stage N2 sleep was shorter in the BD group than in controls (HC BD ). The BD group also had higher (non-significant) REM density (REMd) scores than controls while mean REMd scores were lower in the ADHD group versus controls. Compared to the ADHD group, the BD group presented a shorter N2 stage, a longer first REM sleep duration (R1), and greater REMd. According to our findings, these three variables-N2 stage, REMd, and R1-appear to differentiate patients with BD from those with ADHD and from HC., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Decreased need for sleep has been proposed as a core symptom of mania and it has been associated with the pathogenesis of Bipolar Disorder. The emergence of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) as a new diagnostic has been controversial and much has been speculated about its relationship with the bipolar spectrum. REM sleep fragmentation could be a biomarker of affective disorders and it would help us to differentiate them from other disorders., Method: Polysomnographic cross-sectional study of children with DMDD, bipolar disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). All participants underwent a psychiatric semi-structured interview to obtain the diagnosis, comorbidities and primary sleep disorders. DMDD’s sample was performed following DSM5 criteria., Goals: Perform polysomnography in a sample of bipolar, DMDD and ADHD children and compare their profiles to provide more evidence about the differences or similarities between bipolar disorder and DMDD., Results: Bipolar group had the highest REM density values while ADHD had the lowest. REM density was not statiscally different between bipolar phenotypes. REM density was associated with antidepressant treatment, episodes of REM and their interaction. REM latency was associated with antipsychotic treatment and school performance. Bipolar patients had higher scores on the depression scale than DMDD and ADHD groups., Conclusions: No significant differences between the two compared affective disorders were found. However there were differences in REM density between bipolar and ADHD groups. REM sleep study could provide a new theoretical framework to better understand the pathogenesis of pediatric bipolar disorder.

Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) symptoms have largely emerged from investigations of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Recent research has demonstrated the relevance of SCT symptoms in the field of clinical child and adolescent psychiatry. The goal of this research was to study the symptoms of SCT in a clinical child and adolescent sample and to define its features and comorbid conditions. We reviewed 834 clinical records of patients referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and examined SCT symptoms and their relation with sociodemographic data, clinical diagnosis, comorbid conditions, Child Behavior Checklist dimensions, and intelligence quotient. Of the 515 patients (age range, 4 to 17 y, 62.5% male) for whom a fully completed Child Behavior Checklist for Children and Adolescents was available, 20.8% showed high levels of SCT symptoms. SCT symptoms were strongly associated with age, internalizing symptoms, learning disabilities, and ADHD inattentive subtype (ADHD-I). No significant correlations with intelligence quotient were found. We concluded that SCT symptoms are highly prevalent in a clinical sample, and that these symptoms might be related to the difficulties that some individuals have in responding to demands in their environments, such as academic or social demands, as they increase over time.