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Biomedical subjects

S D Lindgren

Publications and source records attributed to S D Lindgren.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Effects of diets high in sucrose or aspartame on the behavior and cognitive performance of children.

BACKGROUND: Both dietary sucrose and the sweetener aspartame have been reported to produce hyperactivity and other behavioral problems in children. METHODS: We conducted a double-blind controlled trial with two groups of children: 25 normal preschool children (3 to 5 years of age), and 23 school-age children (6 to 10 years) described by their parents as sensitive to sugar. The children and their families followed a different diet for each of three consecutive three-week periods. One diet was high in sucrose with no artificial sweeteners, another was low in sucrose and contained aspartame as a sweetener, and the third was low in sucrose and contained saccharin (placebo) as a sweetener. All the diets were essentially free of additives, artificial food coloring, and preservatives. The children's behavior and cognitive performance were evaluated weekly. RESULTS: The preschool children ingested a mean (+/- SD) of 5600 +/- 2100 mg of sucrose per kilogram of body weight per day while on the sucrose diet, 38 +/- 13 mg of aspartame per kilogram per day while on the aspartame diet, and 12 +/- 4.5 mg of saccharin per kilogram per day while on the saccharin diet. The school-age children considered to be sensitive to sugar ingested 4500 +/- 1200 mg of sucrose per kilogram, 32 +/- 8.9 mg of aspartame per kilogram, and 9.9 +/- 3.9 mg of saccharin per kilogram, respectively. For the children described as sugar-sensitive, there were no significant differences among the three diets in any of 39 behavioral and cognitive variables. For the preschool children, only 4 of the 31 measures differed significantly among the three diets, and there was no consistent pattern in the differences that were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Even when intake exceeds typical dietary levels, neither dietary sucrose nor aspartame affects children's behavior or cognitive function.

Affect↗
PubMed1992

The validity of continuing developmental follow-up of high-risk infants to age 5 years.

We conducted a study to determine whether performance on developmental tests at age 5 years could predict academic achievement at age 8 years. As part of a longitudinal developmental surveillance project, 179 children at risk due to perinatal complications who had passed developmental screening through age 2 1/2 years and 50 comparison children underwent an extensive prekindergarten psychoeducational test battery at age 5 years and took the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills at age 8 years, if they had reached the third grade. The mean Iowa Tests of Basic Skills score was significantly lower for those children who were "flagged" on the prekindergarten psychoeducational test battery (t = 5.39). Preacademic, rather than developmental, items appeared to be the best predictors. However, the prekindergarten psychoeducational test battery correctly predicted low achievement or grade retention in only 58% of cases. Its sensitivity was 0.45 and its specificity was 0.85. No significant difference was noted between group Iowa Tests of Basic Skills mean scores for the high-risk or comparison group. When low achievement and failure to reach the third grade were combined, prevalence of "failure" was higher for the high-risk group (31% vs 24%). The only perinatal variable predictive of low achievement was neonatal seizures. In summary, because the ability to predict future academic achievement at age 5 years is limited, routine developmental testing for symptom-free preschool children is not warranted. High-risk infant follow-up programs should focus on the first several years of life.

Child↗
PubMed1992

Long-term neuropsychological outcome of high risk infants with intracranial hemorrhage.

Evaluated long-term neuropsychological outcome of 20 high risk infants with intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) during the neonatal period who appeared free of significant impairment through 30 months of age. This group was compared with a matched sample of 20 high risk infants without intracranial hemorrhage and a group of 70 children with no history of perinatal or chronic health problems. A comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation at age 5 revealed that the two high risk groups tended to perform at a lower level than the control group across most measures. However, the ICH group performed at a significantly lower level than the control group on measures of perceptual-motor skills and intermodal memory abilities while the high risk group without ICH did not. The implications of differences in level and pattern of performance are discussed along with the implications of the current findings for long-term functioning of high risk infants with ICH.

Cerebral Hemorrhage↗
PubMed1988

Reading disability in children with clefts.

The prevalence of reading disability was examined in 172 elementary school children with cleft lip and palate (CLP) or cleft palate only (CPO). Approximately 35 percent of the sample displayed a moderate degree of reading disability, and 17 percent of the group exhibited severe reading disability. Reading disability was more prevalent at younger ages, presumably because of peripheral speech deficits. For older children, those with CLP displayed an incidence of reading disability similar to the general population (9 percent), whereas children with CPO exhibited a much higher rate of reading disability (33 percent). There were no sex differences in the prevalence of reading disability in this sample. The study supports earlier suggestions that children with CPO may be more likely to experience general language disorders leading to long-term reading disabilities. Children with CLP appear to manifest reading problems that tend to resolve with increased age.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Long-term surveillance of high-risk children.

We followed a group of high-risk children, both those who passed early developmental screenings and those who did not. Three hundred sixty-two children who had previously passed screenings were evaluated at 5 years of age. Significant differences were found between this group and a comparison group in mean scores on verbal, perceptuomotor, and preacademic tests. Children who had previously failed screenings at or before 30 months of age were followed up through telephone interviews with referral agencies and records review. Ninety percent proved to have significant problems, and 67% were in special education programs at 5 years of age. This study demonstrates the need for long-term follow-up of high-risk children at least to the age of school entry.

Child↗
PubMed1987

Relative efficacy of maintenance therapy with theophylline, inhaled albuterol, and the combination for chronic asthma.

The relative benefit of maintenance therapy with theophylline, inhaled albuterol, and the combination was examined in 18 adolescents and adults with chronic asthma during a 3-month, randomized, double-blind, crossover trial. Theophylline and combination regimens were associated with significantly fewer days with symptoms (52% and 55%) than albuterol (72%). The greater frequency of symptoms during the albuterol regimen was increasingly apparent more than 4 hours after albuterol doses and was greatest between 4 and 8 A.M. Albuterol transiently inhibited histamine-induced bronchospasm to a much greater degree than did theophylline, and combining the drugs produced at least an additive effect. The effect of albuterol was completely absent by 4 hours, however, whereas that of theophylline persisted. Thus, in spite of greater acute effects on the airways, the transient duration of effect from inhaled albuterol appears to limit its usefulness as maintenance therapy, especially for patients with nocturnal symptoms.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

"Mental imbalance" and the prediction of recurrent delinquent behavior.

Cognitive and personality patterns of 84 court-referred adolescents were examined to identify predictors of recurrent delinquent behavior. Continued behavioral problems at follow-up were more likely in adolescents with discrepancies between Verbal and Performance IQ or large differences between "neurotic" and "psychotic" scale elevations on the MMPI. Positive outcomes were most likely for adolescents who could be described as "mildly neurotic." Combining the discrepancy scores from the intelligence and personality tests with other background variables in a Bayesian conditional probability model resulted in accurate predictions of later behavior for 81% of the sample. These findings suggest that imbalances in cognitive and personality development may limit a delinquent adolescent's ability to interact appropriately with the environment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1986

Extrapulmonary effects of maintenance therapy with theophylline and inhaled albuterol in patients with chronic asthma.

The extrapulmonary effects of slow-release theophylline and an inhaled beta 2-agonist (albuterol) were examined separately and in combination among 18 adults and adolescents with asthma during a 3-month randomized, double-blind, crossover trial. Although neither global impressions nor daily diaries revealed differences in adverse effects, a structured questionnaire completed at the end of each regimen suggested a small but statistically significant increase in nausea and depressive and caffeine-like symptoms during the theophylline-containing regimens. Theophylline was also associated with improved verbal learning but decreased motor steadiness. Metabolic effects associated with theophylline included lower serum bicarbonate, greater urinary calcium excretion, and higher serum calcium, uric acid, and creatinine. Albuterol was associated with lower neutrophil counts and lower serum theophylline concentrations. There were no drug-induced effects on cardiac rhythm.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed1985

Cross-national comparisons of developmental dyslexia in Italy and the United States.

This study was designed to examine whether the phonetic regularity of a language can significantly influence the prevalence and pattern of developmental dyslexia. Demographically matched samples of fifth-grade children in Italy (N = 448) and the United States (N = 1,278) were evaluated to identify children with specific reading disabilities. Reading disabled children with average intelligence were compared to normal controls on a series of neuropsychological tests to evaluate specific cognitive deficits associated with reading disorders in each country. The findings suggested that (a) dyslexia is more prevalent in the United States than in Italy, (b) reading disabilities are strongly associated with disorders of verbal processing in both countries, although some American dyslexics also show visual-motor deficits, and (c) there is a greater dissociation between reading comprehension and decoding in Italian than in English.

Child↗
PubMed1980

Patterns of intellectual ability in children with verbal deficits.

Patterns of intellectual ability were examined in 81 children with verbal deficits identified by a Low Verbal/High Performance WISC profile. The results of verbal and nonverbal tests of intellectual functioning were factor-analyzed, and three groups of children were defined based on patterns of factor scores. Group 1 consisted of children with a Specific Language Disability (SLD) but good Abstract Reasoning ability, while Group 2 included SLD children with good Sequencing-Memory skills. Group 3 children displayed a General Language Disability (GLD) with deficits in both abstract reasoning and sequencing memory. The intellectual patterns were related to cognitive interpretations and found to have educational implications, with Group 1 children reading adequately, Group 2 children showing somewhat poorer reading skills, and Group 3 children reading very poorly. These findings emphasize the importance of identifying subgroups of children with verbal deficits and demonstrate the feasibility of extracting relatively specific cognitive information from global measures of intelligence. The results question the appropriateness of applying traditional assumptions regarding cognitive organization derived from studies of normal children to atypical groups of children.

Child↗
PubMed1978

Finger localization and the prediction of reading disability.

Tests of finger localization, letter naming, design copying, and receptive vocabulary were given to 100 kindergarten children. When the children had reached the end of first grade, their achievement in reading and arithmetic was related to these test performances. Poor readers had scores lower than good readers on all kindergarten measures, with their finger localization and letter naming performances being particularly poor. Finger localization scores correlated significantly with both reading and arithmetic achievement. These findings are interpreted as suggesting that the significance of finger localization as a predictor of reading and arithmetic achievement results from the ability of finger localization performance to reflect not simply one specific skill, but rather a number of important cognitive abilities.

Aphasia↗