Dietary pattern longitudinality during 8 years in children: results from the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ELSPAC–CZ)

OBJECTIVE: Dietary pattern analysis constitutes a suitable method for identifying complex food preferences as well as a useful tool for comparing dietary behaviour across individual populations. In addition to a lack of information on Central European dietary patterns, dietary data featuring a longitudinal aspect are likewise largely unavailable for the region. Our study thus strives to address this gap by analysing children's dietary patterns, their stability and possible changes at 7, 11 and 15 years in the Czech part of the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ELSPAC-CZ). DESIGN: We analysed dietary data based on the self-reported semi-quantitative FFQ obtained in 1998, 2002 and 2006. Dietary patterns were derived using factor analysis for each period, followed by the determination of dietary pattern stability across the individual periods. SETTING: The analysis of dietary patterns was based on longitudinal children's dietary data from the geographical region that was undergoing massive socio-economic changes at the time of birth of the study subjects. PARTICIPANTS: All participants were children. At 7 years the analysis included 3220 children, at 11 years the analysis included 2509 children and at 15 years the analysis included 1589 children. RESULTS: Two stable children's dietary patterns labelled as 'prudent' and 'junk food' were identified across all three time points (7, 11 and 15 years). CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies stable longitudinal trends in the dietary behaviour of children enrolled in the ELSPAC-CZ study

Association between Stress Urinary Incontinence and Depressive Symptoms after Birth: the Czech ELSPAC Study

The study objectives were to (1) identify risk factors related to stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and postnatal depression (PD) after birth, and (2) investigate both possible directions of association between SUI and PD in population-based sample of Czech mothers. 3,701 nulliparous and multiparous women completed the self-reported questionnaires at 6 weeks and 6 months after birth and were included into the analyses of this prospective cohort study. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regressions examined relationship between SUI a PD accounting for range of other risk factors. During the frst 6 months after birth, 650 mothers (17.6%) developed SUI and 641 (17.3%) displayed signs of PD. The mode of delivery, parity and higher BMI were associated with SUI. The rate of PD symptoms was higher in mothers with positive history of prenatal depression, and in divorced or widowed mothers. Both conditions were associated with worse self-reported health, back pain and stop-smoker status. Initially, SUI at 6 weeks was slightly, but signifcantly associated with onset of PD at 6 months (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.02–2.23) while PD at 6 weeks was not signifcantly related to new cases of SUI at 6 months (OR 1.48, 95% CI 0.91–2.39). After full adjustment these OR reduced to 1.41 and 1.38 (both non-signifcant), respectively. SUI and PD are common conditions in women postpartum that share some risk factors. Our study suggests that both directions of their relationship are possible although a larger study is needed to confrm our fndings

Parental heights and maternal education as predictors of length/height of children at birth, age 3 and 19 years, independently on diet: the ELSPAC study

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Little is currently known about the relationship between the parental diet during pregnancy and the growth of the child from early childhood until early adulthood. This study was designed to examine whether the dietary patterns of the parents during a pregnancy and of the respective child at 3 years are associated with the length/height-for-age z-score of child at birth, 3 years of age and at 19 years of age. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Dietary patterns of pregnant women and their partners, and offspring at 3 years that were enroled in the 1990-1991 period in the Czech part of the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood. Multivariable linear regression models were used to estimate the relationship between the dietary patterns of parents (835 child-mother-father trios) during pregnancy and the length/height-for-age z-score of their offspring at birth, 3 years and 19 years. RESULTS: The maternal health-conscious food pattern was found to predict lower child height at 3 years, but not at birth nor at 19 years of age. An increase in the health-conscious pattern score of the maternal diet was associated with significantly lower height-for-age z-score at 3 years; however, the observed effect lost its significance after the adjustment for diet of the child at 3 years. CONCLUSIONS: After full adjustment, the only significant predictors of the height-for-age z-score of the child at 3 years were the heights of both parents and maternal education. More research into the association of maternal diet in pregnancy and height of child is necessary.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition advance online publication, 8 February 2017; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2016.244

Sleeping habits of adolescents in relation to their physical activity and exercise output: results from the ELSPAC study

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the effects of physical activity and fitness on sleep timing parameters in adolescence. METHODS: We investigated the development of sleep timing between age 8 and 15 and its association with physical fitness at age 15 in 787 adolescents (408 males, 379 females). Physical fitness was measured using the physical work capacity (PWC) protocol. Information on sport activity was collected at ages 11 and 15. Finally, the contribution of other covariates (sex, body mass index (BMI), parental education and occupational skill level) to the association between sleep parameters and physical fitness was evaluated. The correlation of BMI and physical fitness was assessed separately. RESULTS: Mild correlation of sleep duration at ages 8 and 15 was observed (r=0.08-0.16). Higher sport activity participation and physical fitness were found to be mildly associated with delayed bedtime and reduced sleep duration; the association with bedtime was significant after adjustment for all covariates. Sport activity at age 11 was not associated with sleep timing at age 15. Interestingly, higher BMI was linked to delayed bedtime and higher physical fitness. CONCLUSION: Our findings do not support existing hypotheses suggesting the association of low physical activity and fitness with shorter sleep duration and high BMI in a generally non-obese adolescent population without severe sleep restriction

The impact of solvent characteristics on performance and process stability of printed carbon resistive materials

Carbon conductive pastes deposited by screen printing are used in many commercial applications including sensors, PCB, batteries, and PV, and as such represent an important value-added coating. An experimental investigation was carried out into the role of the solvent on the drying characteristics, conductivity, and process consistency in screen printed carbon pastes. Four materials with solvent boiling points between 166 and 219°C were deposited at film thickness between 6 and 16 μm, and the sheet resistance and film thickness were measured after successive passes through an industrial dryer operating with an air temperature of 155°C. Sheet resistances of 14 Ω/sq. were obtained with the thicker films while thinner films produced a sheet resistance of 46 Ω/sq. Thinner films achieved a stable resistivity within a 2.5-min residence time, while the thicker films required a residence time in excess of 12.5 min to achieve a stable resistivity. As well as prolonging drying times, the higher boiling point increased the resistivity of the cured film. It is postulated that the lower resistance of the faster drying materials is a result of film stressing increasing inter particle contact. Process models indicate that multiple thin layers are a more efficient means of manufacture for the process parameters examined

Electrochemical determination of hydroquinone using hydrophobic ionic liquid-type carbon paste electrodes

Three types of carbon paste electrodes (CPEs) with different liquid binders were fabricated, and their electrochemical behavior was characterized via a potassium hexacyanoferrate(II) probe. 1-Octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ionic liquid (IL) as a hydrophobic conductive pasting binder showed better electrochemical performance compared with the commonly employed binder. The IL-contained CPEs demonstrated excellent electroactivity for oxidation of hydroquinone. A diffusion control mechanism was confirmed and the diffusion coefficient (D) of 5.05 × 10-4 cm2 s-1 was obtained. The hydrophobic IL-CPE is promising for the determination of hydroquinone in terms of high sensitivity, easy operation, and good durability