Active breaks: a strategy to counteract sedentary behaviors for Health Promoting Schools. A discussion on their implementation in Italy

Abstract

School Active Breaks are short bouts of physical activity (5-15 minutes) conducted by appropriately trained teachers and delivered during or between curricular lessons. They are a good strategy to counteract sedentary behaviors, and a growing body of evidence shows that they can represent also a tool to promote and improve health, school wellbeing and academic achievements. On 19 February 2022, the Working Group on Movement Sciences for Health of the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health organized an Awareness Day on the effectiveness, usefulness and feasibility of School Active Breaks, opened to teachers, educators, school leaders, pediatricians, personnel from Departments of Prevention and Public Health and Health Policy-makers. During the event, the testimonies about the experiences already carried out in Italy showed that School Active Breaks are an effective intervention that each school can easily include in its educational offer and apply in any context.

Herpes Virus Infections During Treatment With Etanercept in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Incidence rates for varicella and herpes zoster were similar in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis receiving etanercept/methotrexate (n = 85, 184.9 patient-years [PY]) or methotrexate alone (n = 71, 199.4 PY); no complicated varicella or herpes zoster cases were reported; herpes labialis incidence was higher in patients receiving etanercept/methotrexate versus methotrexate alone (0.38 vs. 0.24 PY).

Preliminary evidence that etanercept may reduce radiographic progression in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the rate of radiographic progression, as measured with the carpo-metacarpal ratio (Poznanski score), during etanercept (ETN) therapy in children with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).

METHODS

Patients included in the Italian ETN registry who had a standard radiograph of both hands and wrists in the posteroanterior view made at start of treatment and after 1 year were included in the study. The clinical response was assessed by means of the ACR Pediatric definition of improvement. Radiographic progression was determined by calculating the change in the Poznanski score between the baseline and the 1-year radiographs.

RESULTS

A total of 40 patients were studied. The frequency of ACR pediatric 30, 50, and 70 response at 1 year was 77%, 72%, and 50%, respectively. The median change in the Poznanski score between baseline and 1 year was + 0.3 units, meaning that, on average, patients experienced improvement in radiographic progression.

CONCLUSION

Our pilot study provides evidence that ETN is potentially capable of reducing the progression of radiographic joint damage in JIA. This finding deserves confirmation in a controlled trial.

Methotrexate improves the health-related quality of life of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

OBJECTIVES

To examine the change in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and its determinants in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) treated with methotrexate (MTX).

METHODS

Patients were extracted from the PRINTO clinical trial which aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of MTX administered in standard, intermediate or higher doses (10, 15 and 30 mg/m(2)/week respectively). Children with polyarticular-course JIA, who were less than 18 years and had a complete HRQOL assessment were included.

RESULTS

A total of 521 children were included. At baseline, patients with JIA showed poorer HRQOL (p<0.01) than healthy children. In 207/412 (50%) and 63 (15%) children, HRQOL values were 2 standard deviations below the mean of healthy controls in the physical and psychosocial summary scale, respectively. After 6 months of treatment with standard dose MTX, there was a statistically significant improvement in all HRQOL health concepts, particularly the physical ones. Similar improvements were observed in those who did not respond to a standard dose of MTX and were subsequently randomised to a higher dose. The presence of marked disability at baseline was associated with a fivefold increased risk of retaining poor physical health after 6 months of active treatment with standard dose MTX. Other less important determinants of retaining poor physical well-being were the baseline level of systemic inflammation, pain intensity and an antinuclear-antibody-negative status.

CONCLUSIONS

MTX treatment produces a significant improvement across a wide range of HRQOL components, particularly in the physical domains, in patients with JIA.

Evidence of clonotypic pattern of T-cell repertoire in synovial fluid of children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at the onset of the disease

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) are characterized by chronic inflammation, synovial cell proliferation and progressive joint damage. It has been speculated that T cells play an important role in the pathogenesis of RA and JRA in the early stage of the disease. Previous studies have demonstrated discrepant results regarding the significance of T-cell clonality in RA or JRA lesions. It can be postulated that the heterogeneity of these data may be linked to the stage of the disease, as the relative importance of selective immunological events is different during the time from onset to established disease. To avoid this problem, we conducted the present study in nine children affected by JRA at the onset of the disease and before treatment. We analysed the T-cell receptor beta chain variable (TCRBV) of CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes in peripheral blood (PBL) and synovial fluid (SFL), by a panel of monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs). Furthermore, to assess the clonotypic pattern of T-cell repertoire, the CDR3 length distribution was evaluated by spectratyping analysis. Our results showed no significant expansion of distinct TCRBV subset in either synovial or peripheral compartments. Conversely, when we studied the CDR3 length distribution, an oligoclonal pattern was found in the SFL of six patients, suggesting the presence of a clonotypic restriction of T cells in SFL, which is not detectable in PBL. These findings are consistent with an antigen driven T-cell expansion sequestered at the inflammatory site.

The Italian version of the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ) and the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ)

We report herein the results of the cross-cultural adaptation and validation into the Italian language of the parent's version of two health related quality of life instruments. The Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ) is a disease specific health instrument that measures functional ability in daily living activities in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). The Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ) is a generic health instrument designed to capture the physical and psychosocial well-being of children independently from the underlying disease. The Italian CHAQ was already published in the literature and was therefore revalidated while the Italian CHQ was fully cross culturally adapted with 3 forward and 3 backward translations, and than validated. A total of 1,192 subjects were enrolled: 404 patients with JIA (16% systemic onset, 31% polyarticular onset, 21% extended oligoarticular subtype, and 32% persistent oligoarticular subtype) and 788 healthy children. The CHAQ clinically discriminated between healthy subjects and JIA patients, with the systemic, polyarticular and extended oligoarticular subtypes having a higher degree of disability, pain, and a lower overall well-being when compared to their healthy peers. Also the CHQ clinically discriminated between healthy subjects and JIA patients, with the systemic onset, polyarticular onset and extended oligoarticular subtypes having a lower physical and psychosocial well-being when compared to their healthy peers. In conclusion the Italian version of the CHAQ-CHQ are reliable, and valid tools for the functional, physical and psychosocial assessment of children with JIA.

Responsiveness of outcome measures in juvenile chronic arthritis. Italian Pediatric Rheumatology Study Group

OBJECTIVE

To examine the responsiveness of the disease activity measures more commonly used in juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) clinical trials.

METHODS

Data were obtained from an open-label, non-controlled, multicentre trial designed to investigate the efficacy of methotrexate (MTX) in children with JCA. Outcome measures, including physician and parent global assessments, functional ability measures, articular variables, and laboratory indicators of systemic inflammation, were assessed at baseline and after 6 months of MTX treatment in 132 patients. Responsiveness of endpoint variables was evaluated by assessing the effect size (ES) and the standardized response median (SRM).

RESULTS

Physician and parent global assessments were the more responsive instruments, showing ES and SRM above 1.0. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, functional status measures and articular variables showed intermediate responsiveness. Morning stiffness, haemoglobin and platelet count were the least responsive instruments.

CONCLUSION

The results of our analysis indicate that subjective estimations of the disease activity, either by the physician or parents, are the most responsive instruments in the assessment of the therapeutic response in children with JCA. The responsiveness of outcome measures in JCA should be further investigated in prospective controlled studies.

Erythema nodosum: a presenting sign of early onset sarcoidosis

"Early onset sarcoidosis" is a chronic granulomatous disease occurring in children younger than 5 years of age, and characterized by a classic symptom triad consisting of skin, eye and joint lesions, with on rare occasion pulmonary involvement. The disorder often goes unrecognized because of its rarity and, since polyarthritis and uveitis are the predominant symptoms, most of these children are misdiagnosed as having juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA). A child with erythema nodosum at 7 months of age, later diagnosed as JCA and definitively recognized as "early onset sarcoidosis" is reported. This case shows that, whenever possible, a biopsy showing the typical picture of sarcoid granulomas is crucial to distinguish these clinical conditions.