OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in early childhood and teacher-reported academic and behavioral problems in kindergarten. METHODS:We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a national urban birth cohort. Subjects with primary caregiver-reported information on ACE exposures ascertained at 5 years and teacher-reported outcomes at the end of the child's kindergarten year were included. Outcomes included teacher ratings of academic skills, emergent literacy skills, and behavior. We included 8 ACE exposures on the basis of the original Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Kaiser study and created an ACE score by summing individual adversities. We examined the associations between teacher-reported academic and behavioral outcomes and ACE scores by using logistic regression. RESULTS:In the study sample, 1007 children were included. Fifty-five percent had experienced 1 ACE and 12% had experienced ≥ 3. Adjusting for potential confounders, experiencing ≥ 3 ACEs was associated with below-average language and literacy skills (adjusted odds ratio [AORs]: 1.8; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-2.9) and math skills (AOR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1-2.9), poor emergent literacy skills, attention problems (AOR: 3.5, 95% CI: 1.8-6.5), social problems (AOR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.4-5.0), and aggression (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.2-4.6). CONCLUSIONS:In this study of urban children, experiencing ACEs in early childhood was associated with below-average, teacher-reported academic and literacy skills and behavior problems in kindergarten. These findings underscore the importance of integrated approaches that promote optimal development among vulnerable children.

BackgroundBariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) in obese patients, with the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass being the technique preferred by many surgeons. Published data reporting the results of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) in patients with GERD are contradictory. In a previous observational study, we found that relative narrowing of the distal sleeve, hiatal hernia (HH), and dilation of the fundus predispose to GERD after LSG. In this study, we evaluated the effects of standardization of our LSG technique on the incidence of postoperative symptoms of GERD.MethodsThis was a concurrent cohort study. Patients who underwent bariatric surgery at our center were followed prospectively. LSG was performed in all patients in this series.ResultsA total of 234 patients underwent surgery. There were no cases of death, fistula, or conversion to open surgery. All 134 patients who completed 6–12 months of postoperative follow-up were evaluated. Excess weight loss at 1 year was 73.5 %. In the study group, 66 patients (49.2 %) were diagnosed with GERD preoperatively, and HH was detected in 34 patients (25.3 %) intraoperatively. HH was treated by reduction in three patients, anterior repair in 28, and posterior repair in three. Only two patients (1.5 %) had symptoms of GERD at 6–12 months postoperatively.ConclusionsOur results confirm that careful attention to surgical technique can result in significantly reduced occurrence of symptoms of GERD up to 12 months postoperatively, compared with previous reports of LSG in the literature.

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