Executive function and probabilities of engaging in long-term sedentary and high calorie/low nutrition eating behaviors in early adolescence

Resting-State Functional Connectivity Differences in College Students with and without Food Insecurity

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate cross-sectional differences in functional connectivity across cognitive networks at rest among age and sex matched college students with very low food security [food insecurity (FI); n = 20] and with high food security (n = 20). The participants completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-2 (BRIEF-2) and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) questionnaires. Seven-minute resting-state fMRI scans were collected. Independent Component Analysis assessed group connectivity differences in three large-scale networks: the default-mode network (DMN), the frontoparietal network (FPN), and the salience network (SN). FI was associated with poorer Global BRIEF scores (adjusted β = 8.36; 95% CI: 2.32, 14.40) and five BRIEF subscales: Inhibit, Initiate, Working Memory, Plan, and Organize (p-values < 0.05). The students with FI had greater functional connectivity between the FPN and left middle temporal gyrus (cluster size p-FWE = 0.029), the SN and precuneus (cluster size p-FWE < 0.001), and the SN and right middle frontal gyrus (cluster size p-FWE = 0.016) compared to the students with high food security. Exploratory correlations revealed that greater connectivity between the SN and right middle frontal gyrus was associated with poorer BRIEF Inhibit scores (p = 0.038), and greater connectivity between the FPN and left middle temporal gyrus was associated with poorer BRIEF Organize scores (p = 0.024) for the students with FI. Greater functional connectivity between the FPN, DMN, and SN at rest may contribute to executive function difficulties for college students with FI.

Cognitive underpinnings of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy

RATIONALE

Vaccines save lives. Despite the undisputed value of vaccination, vaccine hesitancy continues to be a major global challenge, particularly throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic. Since vaccination decisions are counter-intuitive and cognitively demanding, we propose that vaccine hesitancy is associated with executive function-a group of high-level cognitive skills including attentional control, working memory, inhibition, self-regulation, cognitive flexibility, and strategic planning.

OBJECTIVE

We set out to test (i) whether vaccine hesitancy is driven by individual differences in executive function beyond established socio-demographic factors (e.g., education, political orientation, gender, ethnicity, age, religiosity) and depressed mood, and (ii) whether this relationship is exacerbated by situational stress.

METHODS

Two studies were conducted with U.S. residents. Using a cross-sectional design, Study 1 examined the associations between executive function, socio-demographic factors, COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, trust in health authorities, and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Using an experimental design, Study 2 focused solely on unvaccinated individuals and tested the interactive effect of executive function and stress on willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. We used ordinal logistic regressions to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Individual differences in executive function predicted participants' COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, trust in health authorities, and their willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19. Importantly, the unique contribution of executive function to vaccine hesitancy could not be explained by socio-demographic factors or depressed mood. Furthermore, Study 2 revealed that weaker executive function had detrimental effects on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and trust in health authorities mainly under heightened stress.

CONCLUSIONS

Individual differences in executive function and situational stress jointly impact COVID-19 vaccination decisions and need to be considered together when designing health communications aimed at reducing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Interventions that lower stress and promote trust have the potential to increase vaccine acceptance, especially for individuals with weaker executive function.

Association between obesity and neurocognitive function in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated only with chemotherapy

BACKGROUND

Neurocognitive impairment and obesity are common adverse sequelae in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL); however, the association has not been investigated.

METHODS

Neurocognitive function was evaluated once in survivors of ALL who were at least 8 years old and 5 years from their diagnosis. In a cross-sectional analysis, the associations with the body mass index (BMI) category and Z score were examined. A longitudinal analysis used the overweight/obesity area under the curve (AUC), which was determined via the trapezoidal rule by a sum of the integrals defined by the BMI Z score at each time point and the time intervals of the BMI measurement.

RESULTS

For 210 survivors, the median BMI Z score at diagnosis was 0.17, which increased to 0.54 at the end of induction and to 0.74 at the neurocognitive assessment. In the cross-sectional analysis, overweight/obese survivors scored significantly lower than others on the measures of executive function (cognitive flexibility, planning, verbal fluency, working memory, and spatial construction; all P < .05), attention (attention span and risk taking; all P < .05), and processing speed (visual motor coordination, visual speed, and motor speed; all P < .05). In the longitudinal analysis, when the treatment period was subdivided into 4 time periods (induction, consolidation, early maintenance, and late maintenance), a greater overweight/obesity AUC during induction therapy was associated with worse cognitive flexibility (P = .01) and slower motor speed (P = .02), which persisted throughout the treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Overweight/obesity was significantly associated with neurocognitive impairment during long-term follow-up, and this association started early in treatment for ALL. Novel early interventions to provide cognitive training and prevent weight gain are required for patients at risk.

Economic hardship and child intake of foods high in saturated fats and added sugars: the mediating role of parenting stress among high-risk families

OBJECTIVE

Economic hardship (EH) may link to poorer child diet, however whether this association is due to resource limitations or effects on family functioning is unknown. This study examines whether parenting stress mediates the association between EH and child consumption of foods high in saturated fats and added sugars (SFAS).

DESIGN

Data were collected from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study. EH was assessed using eight items collected when children were between 1-9 years old. Mothers reported parenting stress and frequency of child consumption of high SFAS foods when children were 9 years old. Latent growth curve modelling (LGCM) and structural equation modelling tested direct associations between the starting level/rate of change in EH and high SFAS food consumption, and parenting stress as a mediator of the association.

SETTING

Twenty US cities.

PARTICIPANTS

Mothers/children (n 3846) followed birth through age 9 years, oversampled 'high-risk', unmarried mothers.

RESULTS

LGCM indicated a curvilinear trend in EH from ages 1-9, with steeper increases from ages 3-9 years. EH did not directly predict the frequency of high SFAS foods. Average EH at 3 and 5 years and change in EH from ages 1-9 predicted higher parenting stress, which in turn predicted more frequent consumption of high SFAS foods.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest it may be important to consider parenting stress in early prevention efforts given potential lasting effects of early life EH on child consumption of high SFAS foods. Future research should explore how supports and resources may buffer effects of EH-related stress on parents and children.

Psychosocial factors and multiple health risk behaviors among early adolescents: a latent profile analysis

Early adolescence is a pivotal developmental period when multiple health risk behaviors, such as obesity and substance use, are often established. Several psychosocial factors, often considered traits, have been independently associated with these increases, including executive function (EF), mindfulness disposition (MD), perceived stress, distress tolerance (DT), and anhedonia. However, these factors have not been evaluated for their conjoint relationships to determine whether different patterns may signal greater or lesser risk for obesity and substance use, and whether the same patterns relate to obesity and substance use in the same ways (same magnitude of risk). To evaluate these patterns, a latent profile analysis was conducted, resulting in a three-profile model. Profile 1 (8% of sample) was characterized by the lowest levels of EF, MD, DT and highest levels of stress and anhedonia, profile 2 (44%) intermediate levels, and profile 3 (48%) the highest levels of EF, MD, DT and lowest levels of stress and anhedonia. Youth classified to profile 1 reported significantly greater levels of both obesogenic and substance use behaviors relative to other profiles. Findings suggest that adolescents engaging in obesogenic and substance use behaviors may share common profiles of psychosocial risk.