Infant growth trajectories and lipid levels in adolescence

Developmental Origins of Health and Disease theory posits that elements of early life affect susceptibility to chronic disease during adulthood. Postnatal growth is one such element of early life that has been hypothesized as influencing chronic disease such as Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD), which is responsible for one out of every three deaths in the United States. Researchers in the field of developmental origins hypothesize that postnatal growth is an environmental factor that permanently programs lipid metabolism, a known and well-established risk factor for ASCVD. We investigated the association between early postnatal anthropometric change and adverse lipid levels in adolescence in a contemporary Chilean birth cohort. Primary aims included: a) characterize predictors of infant growth, b) investigate the association between early infant growth trajectories and lipid levels, and c) evaluate the capacity of postnatal growth trajectories to modify the association between functional genetic variants and lipid levels in adolescence. Results from this research demonstrated distinct patterns of growth in which faster anthropometric growth groups were associated with a more favorable lipid profile. In the first manuscript, lower socioeconomic position was associated with a lower length velocity SITAR parameter (-0.22, 95\% CI=-0.31,-0.13). In the second manuscript, the length velocity SITAR parameter was positively associated with HDL-C levels in adolescence (11.5, SE=4.0) indicating higher HDL-C levels with faster length growth. Second, latent growth mixture models supported the strongest associations between higher LDL-C and slower WFL growth although no associations were statistically significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons. Lastly, the third manuscript provided little evidence supporting a concept that growth is an effect modifier when assessing genetic associations with lipids. Taken together, these results identify faster growth in early infancy as a protective factor. Mechanisms by which this occurs remain an open question, and postnatal growth remains a possible environmental cue for lipid metabolism programming. In turn, this information can support the search for optimal postnatal growth and with it, the potential for modification of chronic disease risk factor development later in life.Doctor of Philosoph

Developmental Trajectories of Postpartum Weight 3 Years After Birth: Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study

This study explored the developmental trajectories of postpartum weight from 0.5 to 3 years after childbirth, and aimed to determine the associations between postpartum weight trajectories and prepregnancy body mass index and adequacy of gestational weight gain (GWG). Data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort study were used, following 49,528 mothers 0.5, 1.5, and 3 years after childbirth. Analyses were performed using latent growth mixture modeling. Three groups of developmental trajectories of postpartum weight were found, with most women (85.9 %) having a low level of weight retention initially and slight gain over 3 years, whereas 5.6 % of women started at a high postpartum weight retention (on average 7.56 kg) at 0.5 years but followed by a marked weight loss over time (2.63 kg per year on average), and the third trajectory represented women (8.5 %) who had high weight retention high initially (on average 4.67 kg at 0.5 years) and increasing weight over time (1.43 kg per year on average). Prepregnancy overweight and obesity and excessive GWG significantly predicted a high postpartum weight trend. Women had substantial variability in postpartum weight development—both initially after birth and in their weight trajectories over time. Early preventive interventions may be designed to assist women with prepregnancy overweight and obesity and excessive GWG, which helps to reduce the increasing trend for postpartum weight

Childhood anxiety trajectories and adolescent disordered eating: Findings from the NICHD study of early child care and youth development: Childhood Anxiety Trajectories

The goal of the present paper was to examine whether childhood anxiety trajectories predict eating psychopathology. We predicted that girls with trajectories of increasing anxiety across childhood would have significantly greater risk of disordered eating in adolescence in comparison to girls with stable or decreasing trajectories of anxiety over childhood

Maternal eating disorders and infant temperament: Findings from the norwegian mother and child cohort study

We hypothesized that women with eating disorders would be more likely to rate their infants’ temperament higher on negative emotionality than women without eating disorders

A double-blind, randomized pilot trial of chromium picolinate for binge eating disorder: Results of the Binge Eating and Chromium (BEACh) Study

Chromium treatment has been shown to improve mood, appetite, and glucose regulation in various psychiatric and medical patient populations. The authors propose that chromium may be useful in the treatment of binge eating disorder (BED)

Ethnic and racial differences in body size perception and satisfaction

Body dissatisfaction in women in the United States is common. We explored how women from various racial and ethnic groups used figural stimuli by exploring differences in current and preferred silhouette, and their discrepancy. We surveyed 4,023 women ages 25-45 in an on-line investigation. Participants were identified using a national quota-sampling procedure. Asian women chose a smaller silhouette to represent their current body size, which did not remain significant after adjusting for self-reported BMI. After controlling for BMI, African American women selected a smaller silhouette than White women to represent their current size. Both African American and women reporting “Other” race preferred larger silhouettes than White women even after controlling for BMI. The discrepancy score revealed lower body dissatisfaction among African American than White women. Understanding factors that promote body satisfaction differentially across racial and ethnic groups could become a tool in appropriately tailored interventions designed to prevent eating disorders

Sleep Disturbances and Binge Eating Disorder Symptoms during and after Pregnancy

We compared sleep problems during pregnancy and sleep dissatisfaction 18 months after pregnancy in pregnant women with binge eating disorder (BED) symptoms and pregnant women without an eating disorder

Unplanned Pregnancy in Women With Anorexia Nervosa

To compare the frequency with which unplanned pregnancies occur in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) relative to women without eating disorders in the large Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study

Attitudes toward weight gain during pregnancy: Results from the Norwegian mother and child cohort study (MoBa)

To explore attitudes toward weight gain during pregnancy in women with and without eating disorders and across eating disorder subtypes, and to examine associations among weight-gain attitudes and actual gestational weight gain, infant birth weight, and infant size-for-gestational-age

Patterns of maternal feeding and child eating associated with eating disorders in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa)

The impact of eating disorders on maternal feeding practices and children's eating behaviors is not well understood. In the prospective Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa),we compared self-reported feeding behavior in mothers with anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED), and no eating disorders (No ED) as well as child eating behaviors and psychological symptoms. The sample was comprised of 13 006 women and their children from a prospective population-based study of 100,000 births throughout Norway. Eating disorder status was measured 6 months prior to pregnancy and during pregnancy. Maternal feeding, child eating, and psychological variables were reported by mothers when their child was 36 months old. Mothers with BN and BED were more likely to report restrictive feeding styles and infant eating problems than mothers without eating disorders. Regarding pressured feeding style, no significant differences emerged across groups. Differences in self-reported feeding styles and children’s eating behavior exist between mothers with and without eating disorders. Longitudinal follow-up will assist with determining the implications of feeding style on later growth trajectories and development