childhood Archives - Dr Amin Azhari - دکتر امین اظهری

Childhood Lead Exposure May Adversely Affect Adult Personalities

Lead exposure in childhood may lead to less mature and less healthy personalities in adulthood, according to a new study led by psychology researchers at The University of Texas at Austin.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, sampled more than 1.5 million people in 269 U.S. counties and 37 European nations. Researchers found that those who grew up in areas with higher levels of atmospheric lead had less adaptive personalities in adulthood — lower levels of conscientiousness and agreeableness and higher levels of neuroticism.

In the study, researchers linked historical atmospheric lead data from the Environmental Protection Agency to online personality questionnaire responses from people who grew up in the sampled locations. Results showed that adults who were raised in U.S. counties with higher levels of atmospheric lead were less agreeable and conscientious and, among adults in their 20s and 30s, more neurotic than those who had less lead exposure during childhood.

Release date: 12 July 2021
Source: University of Texas at Austin

Childhood trauma can make people like morphine more

People who have experienced childhood trauma get a more pleasurable “high” from morphine, Addiction Biology suggests.

University of Exeter scientists compared the effects of morphine on 52 healthy people – 27 with a history of childhood abuse and neglect, and 25 who reported no such experiences in childhood.

Those with childhood trauma liked morphine (an opioid drug) more, felt more euphoric and had a stronger desire for another dose.

Those with no childhood trauma were more likely to dislike the effects and feel dizzy or nauseous.

Release date: 22 Jun 2021
Source: University of Exeter

Childhood air pollution exposure linked to poor mental health at age 18

A multidecade study of young adults living in the United Kingdom has found higher rates of mental illness symptoms among those exposed to higher levels of traffic-related air pollutants, particularly nitrogen oxides, during childhood and adolescence.

Previous studies have identified a link between air pollution and the risk of specific mental disorders, including depression and anxiety, but this study looked at changes in mental health that span all forms of disorder and psychological distress associated with exposure to traffic-related air pollutants.

The findings, which will appear April 28 in JAMA Network Open, reveal that the greater an individual’s exposure to nitrogen oxides across childhood and adolescence, the more likely they are to show any signs of mental illness at the transition to adulthood, at age 18, when most symptoms of mental illness have emerged or begin to emerge.

Release date: 28 April 2021
Source: Duke University

Sugar not so nice for your child’s brain development

Children are the highest consumers of added sugar, even as high-sugar diets have been linked to health effects like obesity and heart disease and even impaired memory function.

However, less is known about how high sugar consumption during childhood affects the development of the brain, specifically a region known to be critically important for learning and memory called the hippocampus.

Release date: 31 March 2021

New research led by a University of Georgia faculty member in collaboration with a University of Southern California research group has shown in a rodent model that daily consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages during adolescence impairs performance on a learning and memory task during adulthood. The group further showed that changes in the bacteria in the gut may be the key to the sugar-induced memory impairment.

Release date: 31 March 2021
Source: University of Georgia

Public Health

Study finds childhood diet has lifelong impact

Contain too much fat and sugar in childhood diet can alter your microbiome for life, even if you later learn to eat healthier, a new study in mice suggests.

The study by UC Riverside researchers is one of the first to show a significant decrease in the total number and diversity of gut bacteria in mature mice fed an unhealthy diet as juveniles.

“We studied mice, but the effect we observed is equivalent to kids and childhood having a Western diet, high in fat and sugar and their gut microbiome still being affected up to six years after puberty,” explained UCR evolutionary physiologist Theodore Garland.

A paper describing the study has recently been published in The Journal of Experimental Biology.

The microbiome refers to all the bacteria as well as fungi, parasites, and viruses that live on and inside a human or animal. Most of these microorganisms are found in the intestines, and most of them are helpful, stimulating the immune system, breaking down food and helping synthesize key vitamins.

In a healthy body, there is a balance of pathogenic and beneficial organisms. However, if the balance is disturbed, either through the use of antibiotics, illness, or unhealthy diet, the body could become susceptible to disease.

Analysis also showed that the gut bacteria are sensitive to the amount of exercise the mice got. Muribaculum bacteria increased in mice fed a standard diet who had access to a running wheel and decreased in mice on a high-fat diet whether they had exercise or not.

Release date: 03 February 2021
Source: University of California – Riverside

Exposure to cadmium in the womb linked to childhood asthma and allergies

Babies born with higher levels of cadmium in their umbilical cord blood may be more likely to develop childhood asthma and allergies, according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress.

Cadmium is known to be hazardous to human health and its use is restricted in the European Union, but it has been widely used, for example in batteries, pigments and as a coating for other metals. It is also present in tobacco and can enter the body via smoking or passive smoking.

Researchers say their findings lend support for tight controls over the use and disposal of cadmium.

Release date: 3 September 2020

Source: European Lung Foundation

Musculoskeletal diseases, Sport Medicine

Exercise: From Birth to Death

Participating in organized sports during childhood and adolescence is associated with greater whole body and leg bone mineral content at 20 years of age, a new study led by Curtin University researchers finds.

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