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Background and objectives: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends iron deficiency (ID) screening in at-risk infants, based on eight criteria. We aimed to perform the first assessment of the predictive ability of AAP criteria and to develop prediction tools for ID in 2-years-old infants.

Methods: In a national-level cross-sectional study conducted in primary care pediatricians’ practices throughout France, 2-years-old infants were consecutively included (2016-2017). Five clinical prediction tools were built to predict ID (serum ferritin <12 μg/L) using only AAP criteria customized to the European context, then adding other potential predictors. Classical approaches were used to derive, simplify and internally validate the tools, including logistic regression backward stepwise selection in 5,000 bootstrap samples.

Results: Among 568 infants, 38 had ID (6.7%). ID was significantly associated with only two of the customized AAP criteria: both parents born outside the European Union (OR 4.1; 95%CI 1.6-10.7) and weaning to cow’s milk without supplemental iron (OR 80.2; 95%CI 9.1-706.0). A third one was also retained in the bootstrap approach: low weight at one year old. The corresponding logistic model had an AUCROC of 0.62 (95% CI 0.58-0.67). A simple clinical decision rule (≥one criterion among the previous three plus an iron-rich formula consumption duration <12 months) offered an AUCROC of 0.72 (0.65-0.79) with sensitivity and specificity of 63% (47-80%) and 80% (70-89%), respectively.

Conclusion: All prediction tools achieved clinically acceptable performance. A simple clinical decision rule was built to offer potential ease of use.

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Background and aims: In the area of rare diseases, insufficient organised collaborative infrastructure nationally and internationally forces healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients to an incomplete picture of the diseases and associated risks. In this light and in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic, the RARE-e-CONNECT project puts forward an ideally placed tool to support rare disease care, saving resources through tele-consultation.
This presentation showcases the ways RARE-e-CONNECT promotes the development of national and international partnerships for the dissemination of specialised knowledge in 25 groups of rare or low prevalence diseases in the European Union. The presentation also discusses use scenarios by frontline HCPs and potential benefit.

Methods: Needs-based analysis in a Cyprus Paediatric State Hospital led the design and development of a secure and viable environment for clinical exchange, multidisciplinary case management and e-Learning on the national and international level. In an interdisciplinary “connect and develop” mindset, the creators of the platform drew on the intellectual strengths of Medicine 2.0 and Computer-Assisted Collaborative Learning to instructionally design this telecollaboration and e-Learning environment, and yield substantial research results determining what it brings for patients and HCPs in rare diseases.
Results: 40 Healthcare Professionals of various specialties currently participate in the platform.

Conclusions: Technology can be a unique and ideal ally to equalising, stepping up and facilitating access to information, to sourcing knowledge, ideas, and experience, and to enhancing quality (medical) education. However, the success of web-based collaborative environments is multifactorial, socio-culturally bound, and calls for contextualised integration and multi-agent engagement.

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Background: Ample body of research points to a relationship between eating habits, physiological and mental health. It was recently reported that poor dietary characterized by high consumption of fast-food and energy drinks are abundant among Arab adolescents in Israel. Thus, the main aim of the current study was to examine possible associations between nutritional habits, psychological status, lifestyle, wellbeing, and blood biomarkers of Israeli-Arab adolescents.

Methods: In collaboration with the Saint Vincent De Paul hospital, we collected data from 115 adolescents aged 12-17 years using self-reported questionnaires on eating habits and energy drinks consumption, mental health, and anxiety. Anthropometrics measurements (weight, height and waist circumference) and blood samples (Triglycerides and ALT) were also collected.

Results: It was found that weight, gender, and energy drinks consumption all have a mediating effect on the subject’s psychological status. Energy drinks consumers had a lower wellbeing index (P < 0.05) and a higher anxiety index (P < 0.05) comparing to non-consumers. These associations were significantly stronger for girls than boys. In overweight boys, higher anxiety index was found in energy drinks consumers compared to non-consumers (P < 0.05). A positive correlation between body mass index (BMI) and serum Triglyceride levels was found in adolescents which consume energy drinks (Pearson r = 0.56, P < 0.001).

Conclusion: Our study shows a complex association between nutrition and mental health mediated by multiple factors. These associations serve as a basis for the employment of an individual-tailored nutritional intervention.