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Abstract The oxytocin system has been thought to contribute to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Few studies, only involving adults, have investigated this hypothesis and have found inconsistent results regarding oxytocin system activity and OCD. We investigated whether salivary oxytocin concentrations differed between children and adolescents with and without OCD and qualified our comparative analysis by investigating the possible covariates age, pubertal stage, and sex. Participants included 113 children and adolescents (8–17 years) with OCD and 88 children and adolescents without any previous or current psychiatric disorder and their parents (254 parents included). Salivary oxytocin concentrations were measured in children and parents with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical analyses were performed using frequentist and Bayesian approaches. We found no evidence of a difference in mean salivary oxytocin concentrations between children and adolescents with and without OCD. Bayesian analysis indicated anecdotal to moderate support for the null hypothesis. We found an association between oxytocin and age and between oxytocin and pubertal stage, which by visual inspection of plots and post-hoc tests indicated nonlinear relationships. We found no association between oxytocin concentration and sex. Our findings do not suggest elevated oxytocin concentrations in pediatric OCD. Nonlinear changes in oxytocin across development show the importance of accounting for hormonal and behavioral changes during puberty.

BackgroundOtitis media with middle ear effusion (MEE) can be treated with ventilation tubes (VT) insertion, and it has been speculated that prolonged MEE in childhood can affect neurological development, which in turn may be important for later academic achievements.ObjectiveTo investigate the association between middle ear effusion (MEE), treatment with ventilation tubes (VT) and childhood neurological development.Study designWe examined 663 children from the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood 2010 (COPSAC2010) unselected mother-child cohort study. Children were followed by study pediatricians with regular visits from pregnancy until 3 years of age. MEE was diagnosed using tympanometry at age 1, 2 and 3 years. Information regarding VT from age 0-3 years was obtained from national registries. We assessed age at achievement of gross motor milestones from birth, language scores at 1 and 2 years, cognitive score at 2.5 years and general development score at age 3 years using standardized quantitative tests.ResultsChildren with MEE had a lower 1-year word production vs. children with no disease: (median 2, IQR [0-6] vs. 4, IQR [1-7]; p = 0.017), and a lower 1-year word comprehension (median 36; IQR [21-63] vs. 47, IQR [27-84]; p = 0.03). Children with VT had a lower 2-5-year cognitive score vs. children with no disease; estimate -2.34; 95% CI [-4.56;-0.12]; p = 0.039. No differences were found between children with vs. without middle ear disease regarding age at achievement of gross motor milestones, word production at 2 years or the general developmental score at 3 years.ConclusionOur study supports the previous findings of an association between MEE and concurrent early language development, but not later neurological endpoints up to the age of 3. As VT can be a treatment of those with symptoms of delayed development, we cannot conclude whether treatment with VT had positive or negative effects on neurodevelopment.

BackgroundArtificial intelligence tools have the potential to objectively identify youth in need of mental health care. Speech signals have shown promise as a source for predicting various psychiatric conditions and transdiagnostic symptoms. ObjectiveWe designed a study testing the association between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) diagnosis and symptom severity on vocal features in children and adolescents. Here, we present an analysis plan and statistical report for the study to document our a priori hypotheses and increase the robustness of the findings of our planned study. MethodsAudio recordings of clinical interviews of 47 children and adolescents with OCD and 17 children and adolescents without a psychiatric diagnosis will be analyzed. Youths were between 8 and 17 years old. We will test the effect of OCD diagnosis on computationally derived scores of vocal activation using ANOVA. To test the effect of OCD severity classifications on the same computationally derived vocal scores, we will perform a logistic regression. Finally, we will attempt to create an improved indicator of OCD severity by refining the model with more relevant labels. Models will be adjusted for age and gender. Model validation strategies are outlined. ResultsSimulated results are presented. The actual results using real data will be presented in future publications. ConclusionsA major strength of this study is that we will include age and gender in our models to increase classification accuracy. A major challenge is the suboptimal quality of the audio recordings, which are representative of in-the-wild data and a large body of recordings collected during other clinical trials. This preregistered analysis plan and statistical report will increase the validity of the interpretations of the upcoming results. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/39613

Many children are treated for recurrent acute otitis media and middle ear effusion with ventilation tubes (VT). The objectives are to describe the incidence of VT in Denmark during 1997-2011 from national register data, furthermore, to analyze the determinants for VT in the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood2010 (COPSAC2010) birth cohort.The incidence of VT in all children under 16 years from 1997-2011 were calculated in the Danish national registries. Determinants of VT were studied in the COPSAC2010 birth cohort of 700 children.Nationwide the prevalence of VT was 24% in children aged 0 to 3 three years, with a significant increase over the study period. For all children 0-15 years, the incidence of VT was 35/1,000. In the VT population, 57% was male and 43% females. In the COPSAC2010 birth cohort, the prevalence of VT during the first 3 years of life was 29%. Determinants of VT were: maternal history of middle ear disease; aHR 2.07, 95% CI [1.45-2.96] and siblings history of middle ear disease; aHR 3.02, [2.11-4.32]. Paternal history of middle ear disease, presence of older siblings in the home and diagnosis of persistent wheeze were significant in the univariate analysis but the association did not persist after adjustment.The incidence of VT is still increasing in the youngest age group in Denmark, demonstrating the highest incidence recorded in the world. Family history of middle ear disease and older siblings are the main determinants for VT.