Meta Analysis

Behavior change is a critical part of effectively addressing climate change. Environmental education stands out as a sustainable long-term strategy for mitigating its impacts. Despite the growing implementation of environmental education in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), comprehensive data on its successes or shortcomings remain relatively scarce compared to the wealth of evidence available from non-LMIC contexts. This study performed a robust variance estimation meta-analysis on 187 independent effect sizes, involving 34,283 participants. The results indicated a positive and significant effect of environmental education in LMICs (Hedges’ g = 1.11, 95% CI [0.87, 1.35]). Specifically, participation in environmental education programmers was associated with increased environmental knowledge (Hedges’ g = 1.35, 95% CI [1.02, 1.69]), environmental attitudes (Hedges’ g = 0.94, 95% CI [0.56, 1.32]), and environmental behaviors (Hedges’ g = 0.68, 95% CI [0.46, 0.90]). Moderator analyses revealed that outcomes differed by intervention length, measurement time, age, and national development level, while study design, education level, intervention type, and gender did not show significant differences in outcomes. This study underscores the importance of implementing environmental education in LMICs, providing valuable insights for future research and practical applications in these contexts.

Background An increasing number of parents are forced to part with their children due to the pressures of life or unpredictable circumstances. This forced separation often has a devastating effect on children’s minds, leading to a range of mental health problems. Methods We searched five databases (EBSCO, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure) from inception to November 17, 2023, and performed a systematic analysis using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) 3.0. Results We identified 28 eligible meta-analyses with 746,175 participants across 170 outcomes. Parent-child separated (PcS) children were at higher risk for emotional problems (d = 0.22 [95 % CI 0.17–0.28]), cognitive problems (d = 0.20 [95 % CI 0.10–0.29]), behavioral problems (d = 0.21 [95 % CI 0.15–0.27]) and psychosis (d = 0.22 [95 % CI 0.15–0.29]) than non-PcS children. Regarding influencing factors, both personal and social factors were moderately positively correlated with emotional and behavioral problems. Family factors had a moderate positive correlation between emotional problems (z = 0.20, [95CI% 0.12–0.28]), and a low positive correlation with behavioral problems (z = 0.13, [95CI% 0.04–0. 22]). After addressing the issue of overlapping data, there were no significant differences in emotional problems in children with PcS compared to non-PcS children. Limitations The majority of studies included in our umbrella review were from China, which may limit the generalizability of our findings. Conclusion PcS children suffer more mental health problems than non-PcS children. The community needs to act and intervene proactively to promote the improvement of the mental health of these children.

Accumulating evidence implicates immune dysregulation and chronic inflammation in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), often manifesting as abnormal alterations in peripheral blood immune cell levels. The mononuclear phagocyte system, including monocytes and microglia, has been increasingly recognized for its involvement in the pathogenesis of NDDs. However, due to inconsistent findings in the literature, whether monocytes can serve as a reliable biomarker for NDDs remains controversial. To address this issue, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining monocyte counts in NDD individuals. A comprehensive search was conducted across PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. Variables extracted for analysis encompassed the author’s name, year of study, sample size, patient’s age, type of disease, mean, standard deviation of monocytes and sex ratio. A total of 2503 articles were found by searching the three databases. After removed duplicates and screening titles, abstracts, and full texts, 17 articles met the inclusion criteria, and 20 independent studies were included in the meta-analysis. The results indicated significantly increased monocyte counts in 5 type NDDs compared to Typical Development (TD) groups (g = 0.36, 95%CI [0.23, 0.49]). Subgroup analyses revealed no significant differences in monocyte counts across different NDD types, gender, or age. These findings suggest that aberrant alterations in monocyte counts are common in NDD cases, indicating their potential as biomarkers for these conditions. Future research should further investigate the role of monocyte in understanding the mechanisms, early detection, and clinical diagnosis of NDDs.