Biology subjects

Minnis, H.

Publications and source records attributed to Minnis, H..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

The association of child maltreatment and systemic inflammation in adulthood: A systematic review

IntroductionChild maltreatment (CM) is associated with mental and physical health disorders in adulthood. Some studies have identified elevated markers of systemic inflammation in adult survivors of CM, and inflammation may mediate the association between CM with later health problems. However, there are methodological inconsistencies in studies of the association between CM and systemic inflammation and findings are conflicting. We performed a systemic review to examine the association of CM with systemic inflammation in adults. MethodsA systematic review was performed following PRISMA . Medline, Embase, Scopus and PsychInfo were searched for studies of the association of CM with blood markers of inflammation in adults. Quality was assessed using the Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool. We had intended to perform a meta-analysis but this was not possible due to variation in study design and reporting. ResultsForty-six articles met criteria for inclusion in the review. The most widely reported biomarkers were C-Reactive Protein (CRP) (n=29), interleukin-6 (n=25) and Tumour Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-a). Four studies were prospective (all relating to CRP) and the remainder were retrospective. 85% of studies were based in Western settings. In the prospective studies, CM was associated with elevated CRP in adulthood. Results of retrospective studies were conflicting. Methodological issues relating to the construct of CM, methods of analysis, and accounting for confounding or mediating variables (particularly Body Mass Index) may contribute to the uncertainty in the field. ConclusionsThere is some robust evidence from prospective studies that CM is associated with elevated CRP in adulthood. We have identified significant methodological issues in the literature and have proposed measures that future researchers could employ to improve consistency across studies. Further prospective, longitudinal, research using robust and comparable measures of CM with careful consideration of confounding and mediating variables are required to bring clarity to this field.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2020

The School Attachment Monitor - a novel computational tool for assessment of attachment in middle childhood.

BackgroundAttachment research has been limited by the lack of quick and easy measures. We report development and validation of the School Attachment Monitor (SAM), a novel measure for largescale assessment of attachment in children aged 5-9, in the general population. SAM offers automatic presentation, on computer, of story-stems based on the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST), without the need for trained administrators. SAM is delivered by novel software which interacts with child participants, starting with warm-up activities to familiarise them with the task. Childrens story completion is video recorded and augmented by smart dolls that the child can hold and manipulate, with movement sensors for data collection. The design of SAM was informed by children of users age range to establish their task understanding and incorporate their innovative ideas for improving SAM software. Methods130 5-9 year old children were recruited from mainstream primary schools. In Phase 1, sixty-one children completed both SAM and MCAST. Inter-rater reliability and rating concordance was compared between SAM and MCAST. In Phase 2, a further 44 children completed SAM complete and, including those children completing SAM in Phase 1 (total n=105), a machine learning algorithm was developed using a "majority vote" procedure where, for each child, 500 non-overlapping video frames contribute to the decision. ResultsUsing manual rating, SAM-MCAST concordance was excellent (89% secure versus insecure; 97% organised versus disorganised; 86% four-way). Comparison of human ratings of SAM versus the machine learning algorithm showed over 80% concordance. ConclusionsWe have developed a new tool for measuring attachment at the population level, which has good reliability compared to a gold-standard attachment measure and has the potential for automatic rating - opening the door to measurement of attachment in large populations.

developmental biology↗