BackgroundThe relationship between diabetes and academic performance have been of great interest to researchers during the year to date. Many studies have been conducted to discover this relationship during three recent decades. But, evaluation of the structural changes of brain in the context of diabetes is of paramount importance especially in children and adolescents.MethodsThis study is a systematic review conducted to investigate the structural changes in the central nervous system in children and adolescents living with diabetes. Among about 500 papers published in this area in Pubmed and SCOPUS, 13 articles in the field of assessing structural changes in the central nervous system in children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus were entered into the evaluation process.ResultsAs can be seen in these studies, a huge proportion of structures of the central nervous system have been affected by diabetes that include different areas of gray and white matters. In the majority of these studies, it has become clear that high glycemic changes, especially recurrent hyperglycemic attacks are very seriously associated with structural changes in the brain.ConclusionIt seems the findings of this review can positively aid other researchers to develop medical guidelines to prevent or resolve the brain changes in central nervous structure and consequently cognitive impairments in children and adolescents.
BackgroundRecently the special attention is given to psychological aspects of childhood obesity in overweight and obese children. The present pilot study aims to investigate the association of obesity and lipid profile with school performance among Iranian students.Methods69 middle school male students between the ages of 12 to 14 in 2009–2010 were studied. BMI was considered as the obesity index. The students’ Grade Point Average (GPA) along with their scores in math, geometry, calculus, English and absent rate were obtained as academic performance. Serum lipid profile was also assessed by a uniform method.ResultsThe GPA score, math and geometry scores were lower in overweight students in comparison with control group. The study of serum lipid profile indices showed no significant statistical association between serum lipid profile and school performance.ConclusionsOur results support previous findings pointing out the negative effects of obesity on students’ school performance.
BackgroundObesity is one of the most challenging problems of public health in the present century and can have some serious impacts on cognitive abilities in children and adolescents. This study has tried to investigate the relationship between obesity and executive functioning, particularly in planning- organizing and problem solving among a group of adolescents.MethodsSome 120 male high school students in the 15 to 18 year age range were included. BMI and executive functions were measured with validetes tools and tests in cases.ResultsThere is a significant difference between the executive functions such as planning-organizing and problem solving in obese, overweight and normal students.ConclusionsAccording to our results it seems the obese adolescents have poorer executive functions than normal weight peers. This is important for families and school staff to design and follow some therapeutic plans for weight reduction in adolescents in order to help them improve their skills in some functions such as planning-organizing and problem solving.
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