The global prevalence of childhood obesity highlights an urgent need to address its associated health complications. Cardiometabolic indicators, closely linked with obesity, can pose severe health risks, emphasizing the need for effective interventions. Among these, physical activity has shown many health benefits. However, a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between physical activity and cardiometabolic indicators in obese children remains somewhat unclear. This integrative review aims to fill this knowledge gap by critically examining relevant research over the past decade, thereby providing insights into evidence-based strategies to improve health outcomes in this vulnerable population. We conducted an integrative literature review of articles published between 2012 and 2022, retrieved from databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and EBSCO. Our focus was limited to Polish and English-language research with full text availability. We deployed keywords such as “physical activity”, “children”, “cardiometabolic indicators” and “BMI” linked using Boolean operators “and” and “or”. Methodological quality was independently assessed by two authors, and Rayyan software was utilized for review compilation. Out of the assessed articles, 55 met the inclusion criteria. The majority centered around programs and interventions targeting children, examining their impact on body composition, alterations in body fat content, waist circumference, body mass index, blood pressure, heart rate, lipoprotein, triglycerides, total cholesterol, glucose, and insulin levels. Interventions focusing on increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary behavior demonstrate positive effects on body composition, aerobic capacity, and select biochemical markers in children. This underscores the potential of physical activity as a valuable tool in managing obesity-related health risks among children.

Fetal brain development is an important determinant of neuropsychological performance in children. Any alterations in the intrauterine environment at different stages of pregnancy, such as maternal metabolic disorders, can lead to the development of chronic conditions in the offspring. Therefore, maternal diabetes, especially gestational diabetes mellitus, is an important factor in the development of pathological changes, such as miscarriage, fetal macrosomia, or neurodevelopmental disorders. During pregnancy, the hyperglycemic intrauterine environment adversely affects fetal brain development. A growing body of scientific research indicates that prenatal environmental factors, by affecting fetal brain development, can contribute to the appearance of autism spectrum disorders. According to the latest estimates from the International Diabetes Federation (2021), approximately 21.1 million live births worldwide (16.7%) have been affected by some form of hyperglycemia during pregnancy. The condition is more prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, where access to obstetric care is limited. The following factors have been identified as potential risk factors for gestational diabetes: advanced maternal age, overweight and obesity, family history of diabetes, and any form of diabetes. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent studies evaluating the effect of prenatal and maternal risk factors such as maternal pre-pregnancy diabetes, gestational diabetes, and obesity on the risk of developing autism spectrum disorder in offspring.

Aim. Review and analysis of available articles focused on factors affecting development of nursing students critical thinking. Material and methods. Integrative review of articles published between 2011 and 2021, available in the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and EBSCO. Searching was based on keywords “critical thinking”, “nursing”, “nursing care”, “nursing education” which were connected by Boolean logic operators “and” as well as “or”. Results. There are several factors significant to advancement of critical thinking. Prevalent teaching methods, which promote development of critical thinking, constitute active learning strategies, concept mapping, simulation, problem-based learning, case study and learning methods based on evidence. Moreover, cultural and individual factors like empathy, emotional intelligence and caring behaviour show a significant relationship with critical thinking. Conclusions. Critical thinking represents an important meta-competence for nurses. Critical thinking contributes to adequate gathering of the information about patient, selection of those and formulating accurate diagnoses, progression of problem-solving skills and making decisions, improves communication with the patient. Analysis of relevant literature made it possible to indicate factors affecting critical thinking.

Introduction. Prevention of complications of chronic diseases in children and adolescents is nowadays receiving increasing concern. Blood biochemistry analysis is one of the key and precise diagnostic tools in medicine, which is used to assess state of functioning of individual organs and systems in human body, as well as to identify possible metabolic disorders, diagnosis of health problem, risk assessment, screening or monitoring of treatment. Aim. The purpose of this research was to provide an integrative review of existing research examining the relationship between blood chemistry in children. Material and methods. The study included 40 articles published between 2013 and 2023. The research focused mainly on correlations between obesity and the levels of mineral elements, vitamins, hormones, cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose and insulin levels, as well as the condition of the cardiovascular and osteoarticular system. Summary. Increased efforts to prevent metabolic disorders and obesity in child population need further reinforcement. Key words: obesity, child, correlation of data, blood chemical analysis

Body Weight and Insulin Resistance Indicators Among Children - Article abstract #951434