Search

Background: Brief Resolved Unexplained Events (BRUEs), formerly known as Apparent Life-Threatening Events (ALTEs), are concerning episodes of short duration (typically <1 min) characterized by a change in breathing, consciousness, muscle tone, and/or skin color. In some cases, SARS-CoV-2 infection has been associated with episodes of BRUEs in previously healthy children. This study aimed to compare the demographic, respiratory, perinatal, and infectious characteristics in children affected by BRUEs before the COVID-19 pandemic and after the spread of SARS-CoV-2., Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study covering January 2018 to March 2020 (pre-COVID-19) and April 2023 (during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic). Collected variables included clinical information during pregnancy and neonatal details of children with BRUEs., Results: The number of children in the pre-COVID-19 period was 186 (41%); after the emergence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 this number was 268 (59%). The risk of infection at birth for children developing BRUEs was higher during the pandemic. Children were less likely to have ongoing symptomatic infection during BRUEs during the pandemic (coefficient B = 0.783; p = 0.009). Respiratory symptoms during BRUEs were more frequent during the pandemic (coefficient B = 0.654; p = 0.052). Fever during BRUEs was less likely during the pandemic (coefficient B = -0.465, p = 0.046)., Conclusions: These findings could have significant clinical implications for managing children with BRUEs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Parental stress in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) is well known, as is the stress induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. This combination might increase stress to the extent of affecting the availability of maternal expressed milk and the success of establishing breastfeeding. This is particularly relevant in very preterm infants., Methods: We conducted a single-centre retrospective analysis in two cohorts of very low birth weight infants born in a hospital in Italy. Babies born before the pandemic (September 2017 - December 2019) (n = 101) and during the pandemic (March 2020 - December 2021) (n = 67) were included in the analysis. We compared the rate of babies fed with maternal milk (both expressed and / or donated) at the achievement of full enteral feeding and the rate of those exclusively breastfed at discharge in the two groups. Then, we analysed the impact of donated human milk availability on infant formula use. We also compared mother's need for psychological support during NICU stay and the duration of psychological follow-up after discharge., Results: In our NICU the availability of expressed maternal milk significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic (86.1% before the pandemic vs 44.8% during the pandemic, p < 0.001) at the time of full enteral feeding achievement. Thanks to the availability of donated human milk, the rate of formula-fed babies remained almost unchanged (13.9% vs 14.9%). At discharge, the rate of breastfeeding was similar (73.3% vs 72.7%). The maternal need for psychological support was significantly higher during the pandemic (33% vs 64%, p < 0.001), as well as the duration of follow-up > 6 months (1% vs 15%, p < 0.001). No differences in the main clinical outcomes were found., Conclusion: Pandemic-induced stress had a significant impact on the availability of expressed maternal milk in NICU. However, the presence of human donated milk was fundamental in preventing increased use of infant formula during NICU stays. This underlines how strategies to implement the widespread establishment of donor milk banks on a national level are warranted. Further research is desirable to optimise the use of donated human milk banks during emergency situations., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objective: The present study assesses stigma, attitudes, and strategies of college students in intervening with peers demonstrating disordered eating behaviors., Method: Four hundred and eighty nine college students (384 women) completed questionnaires that assessed eating disorder symptoms and bystander attitudes adapted for disordered eating. Participants read one of three vignettes of a 20-year-old hypothetical peer displaying symptoms of disordered eating aligned with bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder; participants then described whether the vignette subject had a problem, what the problem was, and strategies for intervention. Relationships among eating disorder history, bystander attitudes, demographics, and intention to intervene in disordered eating were assessed using descriptive and regressive analyses; peer intervention strategies were organized and evaluated for frequencies of responses., Results: Demographics (female-identification) and familiarity with disordered eating were associated with likelihood to intervene in disordered eating. Most students recognized that the peer had a problem, but fewer than half believed the problem was disordered eating; nearly a quarter (22%) of the students stated that they would be uncomfortable talking to a peer about disordered eating. The majority of students cited vague or nonproblem-related intervention strategies (62%), followed by emotion-focused strategies (22.5%), or body and behavior-focused strategies (15%)., Discussion: College students, particularly women and those with previous exposure to eating disorders, are likely to intervene peers disordered eating. However, students tend to use vague or body-focused intervention strategies. Bystander intervention training that provides rationale and rehearsal for supportive communication strategies is needed to address students' lack of intervention skills, particularly among men., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

We investigated whether a novel self-structural variable, self-role integration , incrementally predicts life satisfaction and prosocial behavior beyond dispositional trait predictors that are known from prior research to be linked to these outcomes. At Time 1, 223 participants (171 female) completed measures of life satisfaction, optimism, the Big Five personality traits, reward and punishment sensitivity (BIS/BAS), psychological distress, and prosocial behavior. They then completed an idiographic measure in which they selected from a list of trait terms to describe their actual self and a series of role-specific identities. At Time 2 (60 days later, N = 134), they again reported prosocial behavior. Self-role integration was computed from the linkages between actual self and role-identities derived from a Hierarchical Classes (HICLAS) analysis of each participant's self-descriptive data. Self-role integration concurrently and prospectively predictive of prosocial behavior beyond significant trait-level predictors, and was marginally significantly correlated with life satisfaction beyond a set of trait-level predictors. Results demonstrate that a self-structural variable can add predictive utility to life satisfaction and prosocial behavior beyond dispositional traits.