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Context: With the increasing use of electronic devices and social media, the duration of sleep has consistently reduced in adolescents. Sleep restriction eventually leads to cognitive performance declines. Poor sleep and working memory difficulties are both associated with learning difficulties leading to poor academic performance. Aims: We postulated that decreased sleep duration decreases the working memory of adolescents and eventually their academic performance. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional Study. Methods and Material: The study was conducted on 114 school students; 62 boys and 52 girls (age 13.8 ± 0.91 and 13.65 ± 0.88 years, respectively). Sleep was monitored by self-reported diary. Working memory was tested by the n-back task. The students were given 1-back and 2-back visual tasks in two blocks and accuracy of each of the tests was calculated. Statistical Analysis Used: Prism software was used and Mann-Whitney-U test and Spearman Correlation tests were employed. Results: Sleep duration range was 4.15-12 hours with a mean of 7.63 ± 1.35 hours. The sleep duration in males and females, respectively was 6.94 ± 0.94 hrs. and 8.5 ± 1.31 hrs.; significant (p = 0.0001). The total n-back score accuracy (1-back and 2-back) was 52.11 ± 17.32% in males and 52.24 ± 17.40% in females (p = 0.976). Spearman Correlation between sleep-duration and total n-back score was not found to be statistically significant (p = 0.611). However, the correlation of total n-back score with academic performance was statistically significant. Conclusions: The working memory was not statistically different in males and females, and was not significantly correlated with sleep duration, though it was significantly associated with the academic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), comprising ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, is characterized by widespread inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract with systemic manifestations. Inflammation is one of the driving forces for the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and its dreaded complications like myocardial infarction (MI). Yet, the association between IBD and myocardial infarction has not been thoroughly established. Myocardial infarction in IBD patients was predominantly seen in young women during the active disease process. At the same time, elevated levels of C-reactive protein and other pro-inflammatory markers were observed in both IBD and atherosclerosis. Increasing evidence suggests inflammation inhibits fibrinolysis, expresses procoagulants, and suppresses anticoagulants promoting thrombosis formation. Moreover, the alteration of gut microbiota impacts the pathogenesis of inflammation and predisposes one to ischemic heart disease. Accordingly, all IBD patients should be screened and counseled on lifestyle modifications for the traditional risk factors of atherosclerosis. Future researchers should consider conducting more clinical trials on anti-inflammatory medication targeting atherosclerosis and therapeutics, while targeting the gut microbiota to reverse the inflammatory atherosclerotic process., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2020, Kondubhatla et al.)