Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is seen frequently in childhood and leads to marked impairment in functioning. There is no scale in Turkey with documented validity and reliability that assesses ADHD-specific functional impairment (FI). This study aimed at adapting the Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale-Parent Report (WFIRS-P), which assesses ADHD-related FI, for use in Turkey, and examining psychometric aspects of the scale. The study included 250 children diagnosed with ADHD and 250 healthy children and their parents. Internal consistency and test-retest methods were used to test the reliability of the scale. Validity was tested with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and convergent and discriminant validity analyses. Since all six questions of the WFIRS-P were scored 0, analyses were conducted for the original scale questionnaire consisting of 50 items and the questionnaire consisting of 44 items where the six questions scored 0 were not included. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.93 for the whole scale. The Spearman's correlation coefficient was 0.93 for test-retest reliability. The exploratory factor analysis run on the 44-item questionnaire showed that the scale items were best represented in a 7-factor structure, but some items were placed in different subdomains than those of the original scale. In the confirmatory factor analysis, the root mean square error of approximation was 0.061, and the comparative fit index was 0.95 for the whole model. Therefore, the Turkish WFIRS-P is valid and reliable in testing functional impairment in children with ADHD.

Aims Pandemics can cause substantial psychological distress; however, we do not know the impact of the COVID-19 related lockdown and mental health burden on the parents of school age children. We aimed to comparatively examine the COVID-19 related the stress and psychological burden of the parents with different occupational, locational, and mental health status related backgrounds. Methods A large-scale multicenter online survey was completed by the parents ( n = 3,278) of children aged 6 to 18 years, parents with different occupational (health care workers—HCW [18.2%] vs. others), geographical (İstanbul [38.2%] vs. others), and psychiatric (child with a mental disorder [37.8%]) backgrounds. Results Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that being a HCW parent (odds ratio 1.79, p < .001), a mother (odds ratio 1.67, p < .001), and a younger parent (odds ratio 0.98, p = .012); living with an adult with a chronic physical illness (odds ratio 1.38, p < .001), having an acquaintance diagnosed with COVID-19 (odds ratio 1.22, p = .043), positive psychiatric history (odds ratio 1.29, p < .001), and living with a child with moderate or high emotional distress (odds ratio 1.29, p < .001; vs. odds ratio 2.61, p < .001) were independently associated with significant parental distress. Conclusions Parents report significant psychological distress associated with COVID-19 pandemic and further research is needed to investigate its wider impact including on the whole family unit.

Çocuk psikiyatrisi biriminden en çok alınan tanı özgül öğrenme bozukluğu (ÖÖB) (%27) olarak saptanmış, onu hafif düzeyde bilişsel gelişmede gecikme (BGG) (%18.2) takip etmiştir. Ek tanı 271 olguda (%25.5) saptanmıştır. En sık fizik tedavi ve rehabilitasyon bölümünden ek tanıya rastlanmıştır. Toplam 526 kişinin geçmiş sağlık kurulu raporunda çocuk psikiyatri bölümünden tanısı olduğu görülmüştür. En sık karşılaşılan eski tanı hafif düzeyde BGG (%29.6)'dir. Geçmiş raporlarında otizm spektrum bozukluğu ve orta düzeyde BGG tanısı alan hastaların yeni yönetmeliğe göre aldıkları tanılara karşılık gelen özür oranlarının yükseldiği görülmüştür. Tanı alan hastalara önerilen özel gereksinim alanları sırasıyla çocuk ve genç psikiyatrisi alanı %41.1 (n=436), bilişsel gelişim alanı %40.5 (n=430), dil-konuşma-iletişim gelişimi alanı %25.4 (n=269) olarak belirlenmiştir. Üç alan da çocuk psikiyatri birimince değerlendirilmiştir. Klinik değerlendirme ardından çocuk psikiyatrisi bölümünden tanı almayan olguların oranı %7.78 (n=40) olarak bulunmuştur. Sonuç: Sağlık kuruluna özel gereksinimleri sebebiyle rapor almak için başvuran hastaların değerlendirmesinde tüm psikiyatrik bozukluklarda olduğu gibi bilişsel gelişim alanında da çocuk psikiyatristi tarafından yapılan değerlendirme kritik önem taşımaktadır. Çalışmamızın ÇÖZGER yönetmeliğinde yapılacak güncelleme ve düzeltme önerileri açısından önemli bir adım olacağını düşünüyoruz.

α-Synuclein (α-syn) and tau proteins are thought to be related with the synaptic loss and cell death underlying several important neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of our study was to investigate serum α-syn and tau levels in autism. Serum levels of α-syn and tau were measured, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) severity was assessed at admission using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) total score. The mean CARS score of the autism group on admission was 47.91 points (SD: 5.97). The results indicated that the mean serum α-syn and serum tau levels were significantly (p < 0.001) lower in children with ASD as compared with normal cases (33.01 ± 20.78 and 55.19 ± 15.34 ng/mL and 241.23 ± 290.5 and 509.78 ± 269.25 ng/mL, respectively). There was a significant positive correlation between serum α-syn levels and serum levels of tau identified by Pearson correlation analysis (r = 0.922, n = 28, p < 0.001). Synaptic abnormality in autism may result from microglial activity. Furthermore, α-syn and tau aggregation may lead to synaptic dysfunction, and this may contribute to either neuronal or synaptic dysfunction or neurodegeneration. Our preliminary study suggests that low levels of serum α-syn and tau may be implicated in the relationship between synaptic activity and autism.

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The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between circadian characteristics and behavioral problems in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (n=53), and to compare this group with healthy controls (n=38).Method: Fifty-three medication-free children with ADHD, aged 6-12 years, and 38 healthy children, age and sex matched, participated. Parents completed the Conners' Parent Rating Scale-Revised, the Children's Chronotype Questionnaire (CCTQ), and the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) to assess sleep variables.Results: ADHD children had more sleep-onset problems and parasomnias (in CSHQ) compared to healthy controls. However, circadian preferences did not differ between the groups in CCTQ scores. Another important finding was a mild correlation between parasomnia, bedtime on schooldays, and ADHD symptoms. Conclusion:Our study showed that children with ADHD showed more resistance to going to bed than did controls on school days. However, in contrast to our hypothesis, morningness/eveningness preference did not differ from controls in ADHD children.

People with severe mental illness are often at a disadvantage, in terms of access to general medical services, under ordinary circumstances. Additionally, they are further neglected during pandemics. They might also have difficulties complying with hygiene rules and general public instructions, which make them vulnerable to infections (Huremovi c, 2019; Xiang et al., 2020). During pandemics, people with severe mental illness are exposed to an increased risk of relapse or exacerbation of the disorder (Huremovi c, 2019). In Istanbul, most of the inpatient units were converted to clinics for the treatment of COVID-19 inpatients, and all physicians were assigned to treat them, regardless of their expertise. Patients who required hospitalization due to a mental illness related problem and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, were ignored during this process

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