Maternal obesity surgery : effects in women, spouses and offspring

Introduction: Bariatric surgery is an important treatment for the worldwide increasing epidemic of obesity. However, the effects of such surgery on offspring epigenetic profile and effects on objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behavior in women undergoing bariatric surgery and family members are essentially unknown. Aim: The aim of this thesis was to investigate possible effects of maternal weight loss after bariatric surgery and effects on differences in maternal gestational weight gain in repeated pregnancies of the same women on sibling body size in childhood, epigenetic profile and physical activity among siblings and spouses. Methods: Longitudinal studies with repeated objective measures in the same women, spouses and offspring before and after maternal bariatric surgery. Results: There were positive associations, in women undergoing bariatric surgery (n = 124), between differences in total and second trimester gestational weight gain and differences in offspring birth weight. Maternal bariatric surgery, with subsequent weight loss between pregnancies, is associated with overrepresentation of differences in methylated sites in genes involved in inflammation and type-2 diabetes signaling when comparing offspring born before (n = 31) and after (n = 31) maternal bariatric surgery. There were no significant differences in objectively measured physical activity or time spent sedentary from three months before to nine months after surgery in women undergoing Roux- en-Y Gastric Bypass (n = 56), despite substantial weight loss. Objectively measured physical activity and time spent sedentary three months before and nine months after the women’s Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass did not differ significantly in spouses (n = 33). However, during the same period, physical activity decreased significantly in children (n = 75), while time spent sedentary increased significantly. Conclusion: Interpregnancy differences in gestational weight gain, in women undergoing bariatric surgery, are associated with increased differences in offspring birth weights and differences in the epigenetic regulation of obesity-related genes in comparison of siblings born before and after maternal bariatric surgery. Furthermore, large weight loss after maternal Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass is not associated with significant change in physical activity or time spent sedentary in women or spouses, while children decrease physical activity and increase time spent sedentary from three months before to nine months after maternal Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass

Birth order and hospitalization for alcohol and narcotics use in Sweden

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Birth weight and grip strength in young Swedish males: a longitudinal matched sibling analysis and across all body mass index ranges

Low birth weight is associated with a lower grip strength later in life. However, associations between birth weight among infants born at-term and factors driving associations between birth weight and grip strength are largely unknown. A cohort of 144,369 young men born at-term, including 10,791 individuals who had at least one male sibling/s, were followed until conscription where they performed a grip strength test. We used linear and non-linear regression analyses in the full cohort, and fixed-effects regression analyses in the sibling cohort, to address confounding by factors that are shared between siblings. After adjustment, each unit increase in birth weight z-score was associated with increases of 17.7 (95% CI, 17.2-18.2) and 13.4 (10.1-16.6) newton grip strength, which converts to approximately 1.8 and 1.4 kilogram-force in the full and within-families cohorts, respectively. The associations did not vary with young adulthood BMI. Birth weight, within the at-term range, is robustly positively associated with grip strength in young adulthood among men across all BMI categories and associations appears to be mainly driven by factors that are not shared between siblings. These findings underline the importance of recognizing the influence of low birth weight, also within the at-termrange, on young adulthood muscle strength

Caesarean section and its relationship to offspring general cognitive ability:a registry-based cohort study of half a million young male adults

Background: A relationship between caesarean section and offspring cognitive ability has been described, but data are limited, and a large-scale study is needed. Objective: To determine the relationship between mode of delivery and general cognitive ability. Methods: A cohort of 579 244 singleton males, born between 1973 and 1987 who conscripted before 2006, were identified using the Swedish population-based registries. Their mode of delivery was obtained from the Swedish Medical Birth registry. The outcome measure was a normalised general cognitive test battery (mean 100, SD 15) performed at military conscription at around age 18. Findings: Males born by caesarean section performed poorer compared with those born vaginally (mean score 99.3 vs 100.1; adjusted mean difference -0.84; 95% CI -0.97 to -0.72; p<0.001). Both those born by elective (99.3 vs 100.2; -0.92; 95% CI -1.24 to -0.60; p<0.001) and non-elective caesarean section (99.2 vs 100.2; -1.03; 95% CI -1.34 to -0.72; p=0.001), performed poorer than those born vaginally. In sibling analyses, the association was attenuated to the null (100.9 vs 100.8; 0.07; 95% CI -0.31 to 0.45; p=0.712). Similarly, neither elective nor non-elective caesarean section were associated with general cognitive ability in sibling analyses. Conclusion: Birth by caesarean section is weakly associated with a lower general cognitive ability in young adult males. However, the magnitude of this association is not clinically relevant and seems to be largely explained by familial factors shared between siblings. Clinical implication: Clinicians and gravidas ought not to be concerned that the choice of mode of delivery will impact offspring cognitive ability

A sequence variant associating with educational attainment also affects childhood cognition

Only a few common variants in the sequence of the genome have been shown to impact cognitive traits. Here we demonstrate that polygenic scores of educational attainment predict specific aspects of childhood cognition, as measured with IQ. Recently, three sequence variants were shown to associate with educational attainment, a confluence phenotype of genetic and environmental factors contributing to academic success. We show that one of these variants associating with educational attainment, rs4851266-T, also associates with Verbal IQ in dyslexic children (P=4.3 x 10(-4), beta=0.16 s.d.). The effect of 0.16 s.d. corresponds to 1.4 IQ points for heterozygotes and 2.8 IQ points for homozygotes. We verified this association in independent samples consisting of adults (P=8.3 x 10(-5), beta=0.12 s.d., combined P=2.2 x 10(-7), beta=0.14 s.d.). Childhood cognition is unlikely to be affected by education attained later in life, and the variant explains a greater fraction of the variance in verbal IQ than in educational attainment (0.7% vs 0.12%,. P=1.0 x 10(-5))

A sequence variant associating with educational attainment also affects childhood cognition

Only a few common variants in the sequence of the genome have been shown to impact cognitive traits. Here we demonstrate that polygenic scores of educational attainment predict specific aspects of childhood cognition, as measured with IQ. Recently, three sequence variants were shown to associate with educational attainment, a confluence phenotype of genetic and environmental factors contributing to academic success. We show that one of these variants associating with educational attainment, rs4851266-T, also associates with Verbal IQ in dyslexic children (P=4.3 x 10(-4), beta=0.16 s.d.). The effect of 0.16 s.d. corresponds to 1.4 IQ points for heterozygotes and 2.8 IQ points for homozygotes. We verified this association in independent samples consisting of adults (P=8.3 x 10(-5), beta=0.12 s.d., combined P=2.2 x 10(-7), beta=0.14 s.d.). Childhood cognition is unlikely to be affected by education attained later in life, and the variant explains a greater fraction of the variance in verbal IQ than in educational attainment (0.7% vs 0.12%,. P=1.0 x 10(-5))

A sequence variant associating with educational attainment also affects childhood cognition.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadOnly a few common variants in the sequence of the genome have been shown to impact cognitive traits. Here we demonstrate that polygenic scores of educational attainment predict specific aspects of childhood cognition, as measured with IQ. Recently, three sequence variants were shown to associate with educational attainment, a confluence phenotype of genetic and environmental factors contributing to academic success. We show that one of these variants associating with educational attainment, rs4851266-T, also associates with Verbal IQ in dyslexic children (P = 4.3 × 10-4, β = 0.16 s.d.). The effect of 0.16 s.d. corresponds to 1.4 IQ points for heterozygotes and 2.8 IQ points for homozygotes. We verified this association in independent samples consisting of adults (P = 8.3 × 10-5, β = 0.12 s.d., combined P = 2.2 x 10-7, β = 0.14 s.d.). Childhood cognition is unlikely to be affected by education attained later in life, and the variant explains a greater fraction of the variance in verbal IQ than in educational attainment (0.7% vs 0.12%,. P = 1.0 × 10-5).German Research Foundation (DFG

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), through their complex cargo, can reflect the state of their cell of origin and change the functions and phenotypes of other cells. These features indicate strong biomarker and therapeutic potential and have generated broad interest, as evidenced by the steady year-on-year increase in the numbers of scientific publications about EVs. Important advances have been made in EV metrology and in understanding and applying EV biology. However, hurdles remain to realising the potential of EVs in domains ranging from basic biology to clinical applications due to challenges in EV nomenclature, separation from non-vesicular extracellular particles, characterisation and functional studies. To address the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) updates its 'Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles', which was first published in 2014 and then in 2018 as MISEV2014 and MISEV2018, respectively. The goal of the current document, MISEV2023, is to provide researchers with an updated snapshot of available approaches and their advantages and limitations for production, separation and characterisation of EVs from multiple sources, including cell culture, body fluids and solid tissues. In addition to presenting the latest state of the art in basic principles of EV research, this document also covers advanced techniques and approaches that are currently expanding the boundaries of the field. MISEV2023 also includes new sections on EV release and uptake and a brief discussion of in vivo approaches to study EVs. Compiling feedback from ISEV expert task forces and more than 1000 researchers, this document conveys the current state of EV research to facilitate robust scientific discoveries and move the field forward even more rapidly

Molecular benchmarks of a SARS-CoV-2 epidemic.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadA pressing concern in the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic and other viral outbreaks, is the extent to which the containment measures are halting the viral spread. A straightforward way to assess this is to tally the active cases and the recovered ones throughout the epidemic. Here, we show how epidemic control can be assessed with molecular information during a well characterized epidemic in Iceland. We demonstrate how the viral concentration decreased in those newly diagnosed as the epidemic transitioned from exponential growth phase to containment phase. The viral concentration in the cases identified in population screening decreased faster than in those symptomatic and considered at high risk and that were targeted by the healthcare system. The viral concentration persists in recovering individuals as we found that half of the cases are still positive after two weeks. We demonstrate that accumulation of mutations in SARS-CoV-2 genome can be exploited to track the rate of new viral generations throughout the different phases of the epidemic, where the accumulation of mutations decreases as the transmission rate decreases in the containment phase. Overall, the molecular signatures of SARS-CoV-2 infections contain valuable epidemiological information that can be used to assess the effectiveness of containment measures

Physical and cognitive impact following SARS-CoV-2 infection in a large population-based case-control study

© 2023. The Author(s).BACKGROUND: Persistent symptoms are common after SARS-CoV-2 infection but correlation with objective measures is unclear. METHODS: We invited all 3098 adults who tested SARS-CoV-2 positive in Iceland before October 2020 to the deCODE Health Study. We compared multiple symptoms and physical measures between 1706 Icelanders with confirmed prior infection (cases) who participated, and 619 contemporary and 13,779 historical controls. Cases participated in the study 5-18 months after infection. RESULTS: Here we report that 41 of 88 symptoms are associated with prior infection, most significantly disturbed smell and taste, memory disturbance, and dyspnea. Measured objectively, cases had poorer smell and taste results, less grip strength, and poorer memory recall. Differences in grip strength and memory recall were small. No other objective measure associated with prior infection including heart rate, blood pressure, postural orthostatic tachycardia, oxygen saturation, exercise tolerance, hearing, and traditional inflammatory, cardiac, liver, and kidney blood biomarkers. There was no evidence of more anxiety or depression among cases. We estimate the prevalence of long Covid to be 7% at a median of 8 months after infection. CONCLUSIONS: We confirm that diverse symptoms are common months after SARS-CoV-2 infection but find few differences between cases and controls in objective parameters measured. These discrepancies between symptoms and physical measures suggest a more complicated contribution to symptoms related to prior infection than is captured with conventional tests. Traditional clinical assessment is not expected to be particularly informative in relating symptoms to a past SARS-CoV-2 infection.Peer reviewe