Also in Science Snapshot: Study Finds What's Stealing Adolescents' Sleep
Welcome to Science Snapshot, a quick digest of the latest research happening across the CU Anschutz campus. Hear from researchers as they briefly explain one of their recent studies and how it could improve healthcare. In this installment, we highlight how vaccinated and unvaccinated children's bodies respond differently to a flu infection and what's costing adolescents their sleep.
Vaccinated or Unvaccinated: How Children's Immune Systems Respond to Flu
Researcher: Suchitra Rao, MD
Department: Pediatrics
What did you study?
We studied how children's immune systems respond to influenza infection and whether those responses differ between children who were vaccinated against the flu and those who were not. To do this, we analyzed blood samples from children hospitalized with influenza and compared their immune "signatures" - including which genes were turned on and which immune proteins were produced - with healthy children.
What were you looking for?
Although we know influenza can cause serious illness in children, we still do not fully understand why some children become sicker than others or how flu vaccination changes the body's response once infection occurs. We wanted to better understand the early immune responses involved in influenza infection and explore whether vaccination helps the immune system respond in a way that may reduce severe disease.
What did you find?
We found that children with influenza showed strong activation of immune pathways related to interferons and inflammation, which are part of the body's first line of defense against viruses. Importantly, vaccinated children who still became infected had a different immune response than unvaccinated children: They showed stronger B-cell and neutrophil activity, which are immune responses linked to faster recognition and control of infection. Vaccinated children in our study also tended to have less severe illness.
Why does it matter?
Our findings suggest that flu vaccination may help "train" the immune system to respond more effectively, even if it does not completely prevent infection. In other words, the vaccine may help children react faster and more efficiently to influenza, which could lower the risk of serious complications and hospitalization.
Study: Technology, Anxiety and Busy Schedules Are Zapping Adolescents' Sleep
Researcher: Stacey Simon, PhD
Department: Pediatrics-Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine
What did you study?
We studied sleep health in adolescents with or at risk for type 2 diabetes by interviewing teens and their parents and measuring sleep patterns with wearable sleep monitors. We wanted to better understand the day-to-day challenges that affect sleep in this high-risk group.
What problem are you trying to solve?
Poor sleep is increasingly recognized as an important contributor to obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, but we don't have information directly from the perspective of teens with these conditions about why they struggle with sleep. Our goal was to identify barriers and supports for healthy sleep that could inform future interventions for adolescents and families.
What did you find?
Most teens in our study were not getting enough sleep, averaging only about 6.5 hours per night compared to the recommended 8-10 hours per night. Adolescents and parents commonly identified technology use, anxiety and busy schedules as barriers to sleep, while calming bedtime routines and consistent schedules were seen as helpful. Families connected sleep with mood, energy and school performance, but rarely recognized its impact on cardiometabolic health and diabetes risk.
What is one key takeaway you would like people to know about this research?
Sleep is a modifiable health behavior that may play an important role in preventing and managing type 2 diabetes in adolescents. Supporting healthy sleep habits, while also helping families navigate challenges like technology use, anxiety and adolescent independence, could be an important opportunity to improve both mental and physical health in teens.
