OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between children's motor coordination and their physical growth to provide clues for clarifying the causal relationship between them and to effectively enhance the children's physical growth.

METHODTen kindergartens were selected randomly from district of Hongkou, Putuo and Pudong in Shanghai, and 1099 children were included in the analysis. The children's motor coordination was assessed using Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ). The relationship between the children's motor coordination and their physical growth were analyzed by Structural Equation Model (SEM). The above relationship by different gender, age and BMI (overweight or not) were analyzed with multi-group SEM.

RESULTSOf 1099 subjects, 561 were boys (51%), and 538 were girls (49%). Of the total subjects, 354 (32.2%) were children aged 3-years old, 441 (40.1%) were children aged 4-years, 276 (25.2%) were children aged 5-years, and 28 were children (2.5%) aged 6-years old. The result of SEM showed that the children's gross motor, fine motor and general motor ability was correlated positively with children's physical growth (P < 0.001), their standardized estimation of structural coefficient were 0.40, 0.36, 0.37 respectively. The result of multi-group SEM showed that there was no significant difference in the SEM between different gender and ages. The fine motor ability was positively correlated with child physical growth (P < 0.001). There was no inter-group difference in the structural model (each P > 0.05). However, there was difference in the structural model between overweight and normal group, of them, only the structural coefficient of gross motor and physical growth were different between the two groups (t = 1.697, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThere is a relationship between children's motor coordination and physical growth. The degree of association between the gross moter and physical growth in overweight children were different from the normal children. Further study on the factors influencing the children's physical growth is needed.

Child Development ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Motor Skills ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective To assess the validity and reliability of Family Environment Scale on Motor Development for Urban Pre-school Chiidren(FESMDUPC) so as to provide valid and reliable tools for measuring the influencing factors from home environment on motor development of the children.Methods One thousand eight hundreds and twenty fore preschool children from 15 kindergartens in Suzhou city were included in this study which related to reliability and validity of FESMDUPC.Data on test-retest reliability,internal consistent reliability,content validity and construct validity were assessed using the Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC),Cronbach α coefficient,Item-level content validity index (I-CVI) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA).When the Observation for Measurement of the Environment Revisited was used as criteria,the criteria-related validity of MABC was assessed,using the Spearman correlation analysis.Results This study showed that the ICC of all items was above or close to 0.9.The total Cronbach α eoeffcient was 0.875 and the Cronbach α coefficient was 0.868-0.873 when each item was deleted.Formal validity and reliability study showed that I-CVI of the 23 items was 0.79-1.00.The average I-CVI was 0.92.Results from the CFA model showed that x2=1077.5,df=224 and x2/df-=4.810.Fit of Goodness on the other indices of the model were as follows:GFI (0.949),AGF (0.937),NFI (0.889),CFI (0.896),with each of them above or close to 0.9.The RMSEA was 0.046 which showed that the model's Fit of Goodness could be accepted.The factor loadings were all above 0.3 with statistical significance.However,according to this model,the strengths of relationship between Outside Space,Inside Space and Toy were high,so the high-step CFA of FESMDUPC was further analyzed.The model' s Fit of Goodness was good.The factor loadings were all above 0.3 with statistical significance.Results showed that the Spearman Coefficient of the total score of FESMDUPC and HOME scale was 0.476 (each P＜0.001 ).Among them only the learning staff and movement variety were comparatively and highly correlated with Toy,Parental Rearing Patterns.Spearman coefficients were all above 0.3 (each P＜0.001 ).Conclusion The above results showed that the reliability of test-retest,the internal consistent reliability,the content validity and the construct validity of FESMDUPC were fair and had met the basic psychometric demands.FESMDUPC could be used as a quantitative tool to assess the motor development among children.

BACKGROUNDThe effects of triterpenic acid from Prunella vulgaris L. (TAP) on diabetes and its mechanism are uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of TAP on antihyperglycemic, antioxidant, and pancreas-protective in streptozotozin (STZ)-diabetic rats.

METHODSThe diabetic model was produced by injection of 60 mg/kg STZ. Blood was drawn from the tail vein of rats after 72 hours. Rats with blood glucose ≥ 16.7 mmol/L were considered diabetic. Diabetic rats were randomly divided into four groups: (1) Diabetes rat (STZ), (2) Diabetic rats treated with 50 mg/kg of triterpenic acid from Prunella vulgaris L (STZ + TAP50), (3) Diabetic rats treated with 100 mg/kg TAP (STZ + TAP100), and (4) Diabetic rats treated with 200 mg/kg TAP (STZ + TAP200). Normal rats (n = 10) acted as the control group (NC). TAP was administered by the intragastric route once each day for six weeks. Body weight and the concentration of blood glucose (BG) were measured after three and six weeks. Fructosamine (FMN), malondialdehyde (MDA), and nitric oxide (NO), and the activities of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in serum were determined after six weeks using commercially available kits following the manufacturer's instructions. Pathologic changes in pancreatic β-cells were also investigated by microscopic examination after hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The level of SOD mRNA in pancreatic β-cells was measured by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

RESULTSThe levels of BG, FMN, NO, and MDA and the activities of NOS in serum in the four diabetes groups were significantly increased compared with the control group (P < 0.01). The activity of SOD in serum and the body weight was significantly decreased compared with the control group (P < 0.01). After administration of TAP to diabetic rats for six weeks, the body weight and the levels of BG, FMN, MDA, NO and the activity of NOS in serum decreased significantly compared with the STZ group in a dose-dependent manner. The activity of SOD in serum and body weight increased significantly compared with the STZ group in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, diabetic rats showed a significant decrease in SOD mRNA expression in pancreatic β cells. However, these changes were reversed by TAP. Histopathological examination also showed the protective effect of TAP on pancreatic β cells.

CONCLUSIONSTriterpenic acid from Prunella vulgaris L. has an anti-diabetic effect, by controlling blood glucose and antioxidants, and has a protective effect on the pancreas.

Animals ; Blood Glucose ; analysis ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; drug effects ; pathology ; Male ; Prunella ; chemistry ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Streptozocin ; Superoxide Dismutase ; genetics ; Triterpenes ; therapeutic use

OBJECTIVEChildren aged 3 - 6 years in the urban areas of China were surveyed for the first time to find out the state of child neglect (CN) as well as the major relevant risk factors so as to provide evidence for developing intervention measures.

METHODS1163 children (of whom 49.6% were males and 4.5% were minority nationality) were randomly sampled under multistage stratification, from 25 cities which representing 15 provinces of China. Based on the Child Neglect Norms used by China, prevalence of CN was identified and SPSS-Windows 11.0 was employed for statistical analysis. Scores, frequency/degrees, age, sex and 5 types (physical, emotional, educational, medical and safety) of CN on every group of the regions, were calculated. Multifactorial analysis was conducted through Binary Logistic Regression and multiple linear regression to determine the relevant risk factors.

RESULTS(1) The average degree of CN for the 3 - 6 year-olds was 42.2, with its prevalence as 28.0%. Degrees of CN for the groups of 3, 4, 5, 6-year-olds were 41.7, 42.2, 42.1 and 43.1 (F = 0.988, P > 0.05), with frequencies of 25.0%, 25.3%, 27.9% and 35.4% (chi(2) = 4.798, P > 0.05), respectively. Degrees for CN in males and females were 42.7 and 41.8 (F = 2.502, P > 0.05) with the frequencies as 32.6% and 23.7% (chi(2) = 6.585, P < 0.05), respectively. Degrees of CN for the five types were 39.4-43.4 with the frequencies as 5.1%-12.9%, respectively. No significant difference was found in the frequency of the types (with an exception on 'physical neglect') between males and females (P > 0.05). The highest frequency (42.9%) of CN was seen in the single-parent families and the lowest in large family with three generations (25.5%). (2) According to monofactorial chi(2) test, the possible risk factors of CN would include: educational background, occupation and decrease of income of the parents during last year, etc. (3) Binary Logistic regression analysis showed that the influential factors to the occurrence of CN would include: father's educational background, sex of the child and mother's occupation, etc. (4) Multiple linear regression showed that the influential factors to the degree of CN were: family structure, number of supporting family members, relationship between parents and children, etc.

CONCLUSIONThe degree and frequency of CN among children aged 3 to 6 in the urban areas of China were high but similar among the four age groups. Male children had a higher frequency of neglect than females, but with similar degree. Children in single-parent families had the highest frequency. The major influential factors of CN would include: educational background, occupation, family structure, family income of the parents which were similar to the results reported from foreign literature.

Child ; Child Abuse ; statistics & numerical data ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Parenting ; Parents ; psychology ; Social Class ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Urban Population

OBJECTIVETo investigate the influence of family environment on developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in preschool children.

METHODSStratified random cluster sampling was used to select 1 727 children (4-6 years old). The Movement Assessment Battery for Children was used to screen out the children with DCD. The Family Environment Scale on Motor Development for Preschool Urban Children and a self-designed questionnaire were used to assess family environment.

RESULTSA total of 117 children were confirmed with DCD. There were significant differences in mother's education level and family structure between the DCD and normal control groups. There were also significant differences in the scores of "Let children manage their daily items" and "Arrange all affairs" between the DCD and normal control groups. The multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that when children's age and gender were controlled, mother's education level, family structure, "Let children manage their daily items", and "Arrange all affairs" were main factors influencing the development of DCD in children (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSFamily environment may affect the development of DCD in preschool children. Therefore, parents should not arrange all affairs for children and should provide more opportunities for children to manage their daily life, in order to promote the development of early motor coordination and prevent the development of DCD.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Developmental Disabilities ; etiology ; Environment ; Family ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male

OBJECTIVETo explore the status of child neglect among rural areas children aged 0 - 6 years in China.

METHODSA total of 7411 rural children aged 0 - 6 years old who were composed of two age groups (3315 children aged 0 - 2 years old and 4096 children aged 3 - 6 years old) were multistage stratified randomly sampled from 84 villages which were representative of 10 provinces of China, in accordance with sex and age in November 2010. To identify the child neglect based on the Neglect Norms for Children Aged 0 to 2 and 3 to 6 Years Old in Rural Areas of China, SPSS 13.0 was employed for analyzing neglect frequency and degree for every group of different age, sex and neglect type (including physical, emotional, educational, medical, safety and social neglects). χ(2) test and analysis of variance were also used.

RESULTSThe degree of child neglect for the children aged 0 - 2 years old was 45.01 ± 7.56, the neglect frequency was 54.9% (1819/3315); the degree of child neglect for the children aged 3 - 6 years old was 44.42 ± 7.57, the neglect frequency was 53.8% (2203/4096). The neglect frequency of children aged 0, 1, 2 years old were 58.5% (654/1117), 52.2% (597/1144), 53.9% (568/1054) (P < 0.05). For children aged 3 - 6 years old, the degrees of emotional and safety neglect for males (44.60 ± 7.86, 36.82 ± 9.03) were higher than females (44.03 ± 7.72, 36.25 ± 9.05) (P < 0.05); and the frequencies of emotional and social neglect for males (16.8% (349/2072), 28.3% (586/2072)) were also higher than females (14.1% (286/2024), 24.8% (503/2024)) (P < 0.05). All children of two age groups suffered neglect mainly on one of the six neglect types (incidences were 20.6% (683/3315) and 22.7% (931/4096)). For 0-2 age groups, the higher neglect frequencies happened in the single-parent family and the remarried family (62.5% (15/24) and 63.2% (12/19)), but for children aged 3 - 6 years old groups, it happened in the single-parent family (60.0%, 27/45).

CONCLUSIONDegree and frequency of child neglect among children aged 0 to 6 years old in the rural areas of China are high, and we should find out risk factors and provide efficient prevention measures.

Child Abuse ; prevention & control ; statistics & numerical data ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Rural Population ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective To develop the National Norms of Negligence (NNN) for rural children aged 0 to 35 months.Methods According to multi-stage stratified cluster sampling principle,10 provinces or municipalities (Jilin,Shaanxi,Shanxi,Beijing,Anhui,Jiangsu,Hunan,Hubei,Yunnan,Chongqing) in China were selected.A national research group was formed collaboratively.A questionnaire was designed by ourselves.According to several statistical analysis methods,such as item,factor and reliability analysis etc.we determined the norm.The evaluation criteria of the scale were determined by percentile method.Finally,the reliability and validity of the norm were evaluated.Results In total,2310 children were surveyed,in which the effective sample were 2227,with an effective rate as 96.4％.The scale consisted of 6 neglected dimensions and 65 items in total.The total Cronbach's α coefficient of the scale was 0.903,with the split-half reliability coefficient as 0.829,the parallel reliability as 0.720 and the re-test reliability as 0.678,respectively.The total neglect cut-off score of this scale was 139.Conclusion The scale seemed to have perfect stability and reliability and all the statistical indicators met the psychometric demands.

OBJECTIVETo develop the national neglect norms for urban primary school students in China.

METHODSAccording to multi-stage stratified cluster sampling principle, 24 cities of 13 provinces (municipalities) in China were selected during December 1 to 31, 2008. A total of 1491 students in grade 1 - 3 and 2236 students in grade 4 - 6 were selected. Questionnaire was designed by authors and the final norms were determined through several statistical analysis methods, such as item analysis method, factor analysis method, reliability analysis method. The reliability analysis and validity analysis were used to test the stability and reliability of the norms. The evaluation criteria of the scale was determined by the percentile method, then the initial development of the norm was completed.

RESULTSThe two questionnaires of grade 1 - 3 and grade 4 - 6 students consisted of 55 and 57 items, respectively, whose item loadings were ranged from 0.301 to 0.687 and 0.321 to 0.730, which met the statistical requirements. For grade 1 - 3 students, the scale's total Cronbach α coefficients was 0.914, the total split-half reliability coefficients was 0.896, the Cronbach α coefficients of four level was above 0.737 except medical and social neglect, split-half reliability was ranged from 0.461 to 0.757; for grade 4-6 students, the scale's total Cronbach α coefficients was 0.916, split-half reliability was 0.883, except social neglect, the Cronbach α coefficients of other level was ranged 0.457 to 0.856, split-half reliability was ranged from 0.500 to 0.798. The total neglect cut-off score of the two scales grade 1-3 and 4-6 were 125 and 155, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe structure of two norms was reasonable. The scales have good stability and reliability.

Child ; Child Abuse ; prevention & control ; statistics & numerical data ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Reproducibility of Results ; Schools ; Students ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVETo develop the national neglect norms for rural children aged 3 to 6 years, which are suitable for Chinese situations.

METHODSAccording to the multi-stage stratified cluster sampling principle, 84 towns of 10 provinces or municipalities were selected in China. Children aged 3 to 6 years were surveyed in November 2010, the sample of analysis were 3240 (of whom males were 49.6% (1608/3240) and the Han nationality were 93.3% (3023/3240)). Questionnaire was designed by authors and deleted items that did not meet the requirements through several statistical analysis methods, such as item analysis method, factor analysis method, reliability analysis method. The reliability analysis and validity analysis were used to test the stability and reliability of the norm. The evaluation criteria of the scale was determined by the percentile method, then the initial development of the norm completed.

RESULTSAfter deleting inappropriate items by statistical processing, finally, the scale consisted of 57 items, and included 6 neglected dimensions (physical neglect, emotional neglect, educational neglect, safe neglect, medical neglect and social neglect). Its item loadings ranged from 0.359 to 0.789, which met the statistical requirements. The scale's total Cronbach α coefficients 0.904, the total split-half reliability coefficients were 0.820, the 6 neglect dimensions' Cronbach α coefficients ranged from 0.620 to 0.815, the 6 neglect dimensions' split-half reliability coefficients ranged from -0.034 to 0.789, the scale's parallel reliability were 0.785 and it's re-test reliability were 0.613. After construct validity, external validity and content validity testing, the result showed that this scale could effectively reflect the real neglected status of children investigated. The total neglect cut-off score of this scale were 121.

CONCLUSIONThe scale has good stability and reliability. And it adapts Chinese conditions and it's convenient to operate.

Child Abuse ; diagnosis ; prevention & control ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Psychological Tests ; Reproducibility of Results ; Rural Population ; Sampling Studies ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; standards

Objective To assess the application of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2),to provide valid tools for developmental coordination disorder (DCD)screening.Methods A total number of 1823 preschool children from 15 kindergartens in Suzhou city were included in this study regarding the reliability and validity on MABC-2.Data on test-retest reliability internal consistent reliability,content validity and construct validity were assessed,using methodologies as Intra-class Correlation Coefficient(ICC),Cronbach α coefficient,Item-level Content Validity Index (I-CVI) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA).When the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) was considered as the criteria,the criteria-related validity of MABC was assessed,using the area under the ROC curve.Results Results from the study showed that the ICCs of most items were above 0.9 except for 'Drawing and Walking Heels Raised' and ‘Jumping on Mats'.The total Cronbach α coefficient was 0.502,with the total Cronbach α coefficient as 0.549 when the two items of ‘Drawing and Walking Heels Raised' were deleted.I-CVIs of the eight items were 1.0,1.0,0.96,1.0,1.0,1.0,0.96,0.96,respectively.The average I-CVI was 0.985.Results from the final CFA model showed that the factor loading of the items was above 0.4 except for the ‘Jumping on Mats',while the ‘Modification Index' was below 3.84.The areas under ROC curve of the total score on revised-MABC-2 (when the items of ‘Drawing and Walking Heels Raised' was deleted) were significantly different from the DCDQ (x2=110.145,P＜0.001).Conclusion In addition to the internal consistent reliability,the validity and reliability of MABC-2 were fair which could be applied well in China.However,some items of MABC-2 should be revised.MABC-2 could be used to screen the children with motor coordination dysfunction at the health care clinics for children,as well as applied in the large-scale epidemiologic studies.