Context Childhood adiposity, an important predictor of adult chronic disease, has been rising dramatically. Later eating rhythm, termed night eating, is increasing in adults but rarely studied in younger ages. Objective The objective of this study was to review the association between later eating rhythm and adiposity in children and adolescents. The aspects of later eating being considered included: energy intake (for evening main meal, evening snack, whole evening period, and around bedtime); timing (any food eaten at later timing); and meal frequency in the evening/night (evening main meal skipping, evening snack consumption). Data Sources Five databases (the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE (via OVID), and Web of Science) were searched for eligible articles published prior to and including August 2020. Data Extraction Data extraction and quality assessment were conducted by 2 reviewers independently. Data Analysis Forty-seven studies were included, all of which were observational. Meta-analysis showed positive associations between both higher energy intake around bedtime (odds ratio [OR] 1.19, 95% CI 1.06, 1.33) and evening main meal skipping (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.14, 1.48), and adiposity. There was evidence to suggest that consuming evening snacks reduced adiposity, but it was very weak (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.62, 1.05). No association was seen between eating later and adiposity (OR 1.04, 95% CI 0.68, 1.61). In the narrative analysis, approximately half of the studies suggested that there was no association between later eating rhythm and adiposity, either as a whole or within exposure subsets. Conclusion The magnitude of the relationship between later eating rhythm and adiposity is very small, and may vary depending on which aspects of later eating rhythm are under consideration; however, the evidence for this conclusion is of very low certainty. Further research with a more consistent definition of “later timing”, and longitudinal studies in different populations, may lead to different conclusions. Systematic Review Registration PROSPERO registration no. CRD42019134187.

BackgroundChildhood adiposity has increased dramatically in the last few decades and is an important predictor of adulthood chronic disease. Later eating rhythm, termed night eating (NE), is increasingly prevalent in adults; however, the prevalence of NE in children and relationship between NE and adiposity in children still remains uncertain. The aim of this work is to review the association between adiposity in children and adolescents and NE, in terms of calorie intake, timing and meal frequency in the evening/night.MethodsThe Cochrane library, CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE (via OVID) and Web of Science databases will be searched from inception to November 2019 for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies (cohort, cross-sectional and case-control studies) which investigate the association between later vs. earlier timing of food intake at night or relatively more vs. less energy intake in any eating occasions or time period after 4 pm on adiposity in children and adolescents (4–18 years). The outcomes will be body mass index (BMI)/BMI standard deviation score (BMI-SDS or BMI Z-score), waist circumference (WC), fat mass index (FMI)/percentage of body fat (%BF) or waist to hip ratio (WHR). No language restriction will be applied. Screening for eligibility from the title and abstracts and data extraction from the full texts will be carried out by two reviewers independently. References listed in the included studies will be hand-searched for any additional articles. The quality of included RCT studies will be assessed using Revised Cochrane Risk of Bias tool (RoB 2), and of observational studies using Newcastle Ottawa scale. A qualitative synthesis of the results will be presented, and meta-analysis will be conducted, where appropriate.DiscussionThe planned systematic review will investigate the association between later eating rhythm and adiposity in children and adolescents. Understanding the best meal size, timing of energy intake and meal frequency across the evening time for maintaining healthy weight in children is important in order to give parents the best advice to help prevent adulthood obesity and associated chronic diseases in their children.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42019134187.

Background. Percutaneous occlusion under fluoroscopy guidance has become the preferred method for the treatment of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). To avoid radiation exposure and contrast agent use, PDA occlusion under transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) guidance was conducted. Objectives. We assessed the hypothesis that the success rate of percutaneous PDA occlusion under TTE was noninferior to that under fluoroscopy guidance. Methods. In this single-center trial, 100 patients were randomly assigned in a 1 : 1 ratio to the TTE group (n = 50) or to the fluoroscopy group (n = 50). The primary endpoint was the success rate of occlusion, with the noninferiority margin set at 8% for the between-group difference in intention-to-treat analysis. Secondary endpoints were hospitalization duration, cost, procedure time, and rate of adverse events including occluder migration, hemolysis, peripheral vascular complications, and residual shunt at 1-month and 12-month follow-up. Results. Patient, defect, and device characteristics were similarly distributed between groups. The success rate of occlusion was 98% for the TTE group and 100% for the fluoroscopy group (absolute difference: −2%; 95% confidence interval: −5.9% to 1.9%). Cost and procedure duration were significantly lower in the TTE group, without adverse events in either group at a median of 12.0 months (range, 10.0–15.5 months) of follow-up. Conclusion. Percutaneous PDA occlusion can be performed via TTE guidance safely and effectively, and the success rate of the TTE-guided procedure was noninferior to that under fluoroscopy guidance, with reduced cost and procedure time. The trial is registered with http://www.chictr.org.cn (ChiCTR-ICR-15006334).