Importance Emerging research suggests that the global prevalence of child and adolescent mental illness has increased considerably during COVID-19. However, substantial variability in prevalence rates have been reported across the literature. Objective To ascertain more precise estimates of the global prevalence of child and adolescent clinically elevated depression and anxiety symptoms during COVID-19; to compare these rates with prepandemic estimates; and to examine whether demographic (eg, age, sex), geographical (ie, global region), or methodological (eg, pandemic data collection time point, informant of mental illness, study quality) factors explained variation in prevalence rates across studies. Data Sources Four databases were searched (PsycInfo, Embase, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) from January 1, 2020, to February 16, 2021, and unpublished studies were searched inPsycArXivon March 8, 2021, for studies reporting on child/adolescent depression and anxiety symptoms. The search strategy combined search terms from 3 themes: (1) mental illness (including depression and anxiety), (2) COVID-19, and (3) children and adolescents (age ≤18 years). ForPsycArXiv, the key termsCOVID-19,mental health, andchild/adolescentwere used. Study Selection Studies were included if they were published in English, had quantitative data, and reported prevalence of clinically elevated depression or anxiety in youth (age ≤18 years). Data Extraction and Synthesis A total of 3094 nonduplicate titles/abstracts were retrieved, and 136 full-text articles were reviewed. Data were analyzed from March 8 to 22, 2021. Main Outcomes and Measures Prevalence rates of clinically elevated depression and anxiety symptoms in youth. Results Random-effect meta-analyses were conducted. Twenty-nine studies including 80 879 participants met full inclusion criteria. Pooled prevalence estimates of clinically elevated depression and anxiety symptoms were 25.2% (95% CI, 21.2%-29.7%) and 20.5% (95% CI, 17.2%-24.4%), respectively. Moderator analyses revealed that the prevalence of clinically elevated depression and anxiety symptoms were higher in studies collected later in the pandemic and in girls. Depression symptoms were higher in older children. Conclusions and Relevance Pooled estimates obtained in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic suggest that 1 in 4 youth globally are experiencing clinically elevated depression symptoms, while 1 in 5 youth are experiencing clinically elevated anxiety symptoms. These pooled estimates, which increased over time, are double of prepandemic estimates. An influx of mental health care utilization is expected, and allocation of resources to address child and adolescent mental health concerns are essential.

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Global Prevalence of Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Children and Adolescents During COVID-19: A Meta-analysis.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous ∼23 nt RNAs that play important gene-regulatory roles in animals and plants by pairing to the mRNAs of protein-coding genes to direct their posttranscriptional repression. This review outlines the current understanding of miRNA target recognition in animals and discusses the widespread impact of miRNAs on both the expression and evolution of protein-coding genes.

MicroRNAs: Target Recognition and Regulatory Functions

If equal employment opportunities were a reality, one would expect all salaries to be more or less randomly distributed between the genders. The data does not show random distribution. Of the awards studied in depth, 11 of the 18 showed a statistically significant different salary between women and men. Two awards had a marginal probability of significance, and five had a probability of significance of less than five per cent. The data shows clearly the need for EEO initiatives for women within the health service and identifies the areas of greatest concern. The many questions raised through this general analysis of the data will guide further research and the development of an EEO management plan that is specific to the needs of the Palmerston North Area Health Board. Also highlighted is the need for similar statistics showing the composition of the workforce by ethnicity and disability. Only when this has been obtained and analysed can specifically targeted EEO programmes be developed to meet the workforce needs of the Board. Other Boards interested in receiving a statistical analysis of their workforce by gender should contact Patrick Mulcahy at the National Health Statistics Centre, Private Bag 2, Upper Willis Street, Wellington, phone (04) 844-167.

Women and men.

Due to lack of sufficient data on the psychological toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent mental health, this systematic analysis aims to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on adolescent mental health. This study follows the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews of 16 quantitative studies conducted in 2019–2021 with 40,076 participants. Globally, adolescents of varying backgrounds experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, and stress due to the pandemic. Secondly, adolescents also have a higher frequency of using alcohol and cannabis during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, social support, positive coping skills, home quarantining, and parent–child discussions seem to positively impact adolescent mental health during this period of crisis. Whether in the United States or abroad, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted adolescent mental health. Therefore, it is important to seek and to use all of the available resources and therapies to help adolescents mediate the adjustments caused by the pandemic.

Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health in Adolescents: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed an unprecedented threat to global mental health. Children and adolescents may be more susceptible to mental health impacts related to their vulnerable developmental stage, fear of infection, home confinement, suspension of regular school and extracurricular activities, physical distancing mandates, and larger scale threats such as global financial recessions and associated impacts. Our objective was to review existing evidence of the COVID-19 pandemic's global impact on the mental health of children and adolescents 3,000 chart reviews. A high prevalence of COVID-19-related fear was noted among children and adolescents, as well as more depressive and anxious symptoms compared with prepandemic estimates. Older adolescents, girls, and children and adolescents living with neurodiversities and/or chronic physical conditions were more likely to experience negative mental health outcomes. Many studies reported mental health deterioration among children and adolescents due to COVID-19 pandemic control measures. Physical exercise, access to entertainment, positive familial relationships, and social support were associated with better mental health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: This review highlights the urgent need for practitioners and policymakers to attend to and collaborate with children and adolescents, especially those in higher risk subgroups, to mitigate short- and long-term pandemic-associated mental health effects.

Review: Mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and youth - a systematic review.

Predictors and trajectories of fear of cancer recurrence in Chinese breast cancer patients.

Acute dietary salt intake may cause an elevation in blood pressure (BP). The study aimed to assess the acute effect of saline loading on BP in subjects with different levels of salt intake. This study is based on the baseline survey of systemic epidemiology of salt sensitivity study. The sodium excretion in the 24-hour urine was calculated for estimating the level of salt intake. Subjects were performed an acute oral saline loading test (1 L), and data of 2019 participants were included for analyses. Multivariate linear regression and stratified analyses were performed to identify associations between 24-hour urinary sodium (24hUNa) with BP changes. Due to saline loading, systolic BP (SBP), pulse pressure, and urinary sodium concentration were significantly increased, while diastolic BP, heart rate, and urinary potassium concentration were significantly decreased. The SBP increments were more significant in subjects with lower salt intake, normotensives, elders, males, smokers, and drinkers. There was a significant linear negative dose-response association between SBP increment with 24hUNa (β = -0.901, 95% CI: -1.253, -0.548), especially in lower salt intake individuals (β = -1.297, 95% CI: -2.338, -0.205) and hypertensive patients (β = -1.502, 95% CI: -2.037, -0.967). After excluding patients who received antidiabetic or antihypertensive medicines, the effects of negative associations weakened but remained significantly. In conclusion, acute salt loading leads to an increment in SBP, and the increased SBP was negatively related with 24hUNa. This study indicated avoiding acute salt loading was important for escaping acute BP changes, especially in lower salt intake populations.

Discrepant acute effect of saline loading on blood pressure, urinary sodium and potassium according to salt intake level: EpiSS study

Background: To identify novel metabolites associated with salt sensitivity of blood pressure (SSBP) in Chinese Han population. Methods: A case-control study was conducted with 25 salt sensitive (SS) and 26 salt resistant (SR) participants, which was selected from the Systems Epidemiology Study on Salt Sensitivity of Blood Pressure (EpiSS) study. The modified Sullivan’s acute oral saline load and diuresis shrinkage test (MSAOSL-DST) was conducted to identify SS. Untargeted, ultra-high performance liquid chromatograph-high resolution mass spectrometer (UPLC-HRMS) was conducted and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminate analysis (OPLS-DA) and multivariable logistic regression model were used to screen the metabolites related to SS, mixed linear regressions models were used to examined the association of SSBP with metabolites during saline load period and diuresis shrinkage period. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed. The area under the curve’s (AUC) sensitivity and specificity were calculated to identified metabolites biomarkers for SS. Results: There were 39 differentially expressed metabolites (DE-metabolites) between SS and SR. Thirty-five and four of DE-metabolites were inversely or positively associated with SS, respectively. Four biochemical pathways demonstrated significant enrichment for identified metabolites. In single-metabolite analyses, L-Glutamine displayed the best diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.78–0.97). In multi-metabolites analyses, L-Glutamine + Cholesterol ester 22:5n6 combination showed the best diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.91–1.00). Adjusted for traditional risk factors, L-Glutamine and Cholesterol ester 22:5n6 explained an additional 38.3% of SS susceptibility. Conclusions: This study provide potential evidence for clarifying the mechanism of SS and provide novel biological insights into salt sensitive hypertension.

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Association of Serum Metabolites and Salt Sensitivity of Blood Pressure in Chinese Population: The EpiSS Study

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Responses to the comment: Anxiety and depression among Chinese adolescents during the COVID-19: an overestimation of the problem

Combined effects of ambient air pollution and PM2.5 components on renal function and the potential mediation effects of metabolic risk factors in China.

Han Qi

Papers

Predictors and trajectories of fear of cancer recurrence in Chinese breast cancer patients.

Discrepant acute effect of saline loading on blood pressure, urinary sodium and potassium according to salt intake level: EpiSS study

Association of Serum Metabolites and Salt Sensitivity of Blood Pressure in Chinese Population: The EpiSS Study

Responses to the comment: Anxiety and depression among Chinese adolescents during the COVID-19: an overestimation of the problem

Combined effects of ambient air pollution and PM2.5 components on renal function and the potential mediation effects of metabolic risk factors in China.