Maternal milk consumption, fetal growth, and the risks of neonatal complications: The Generation R Study

Background: Maternal cow-milk consumption may increase birth weight. Previous studies did not assess the association of maternal milk consumption with trimester-specific fetal growth. Objective: The objective was to assess associations of first-trimester maternal milk consumption with fetal growth characteristics in different trimesters and the risk of neonatal complications. Design: In total, 3405 mothers participating in a prospective cohort study completed a 293-item semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire to obtain information about dairy consumption during the first trimester of pregnancy. Fetal head circumference, femur length, and weight were estimated in the second and third trimesters by ultrasonography. Results: Maternal milk consumption of >3 glasses/d was associated with greater fetal weight gain in the third trimester of pregnancy, which led to an 88-g (95% CI: 39, 135 g) higher birth weight than that with milk consumption of 0 to 1 glass/d. In addition, head circumference tended to be 2.3 cm (95% CI: -0.0, 4.6 cm) larger when mothers consumed >3 glasses/d. Maternal milk consumption was not associated with length growth. Maternal protein intake (P for trend = 0.01), but not fat or carbohydrate intake, from dairy products was associated with higher birth weight. This association appeared to be limited to milk (P for trend < 0.01), whereas protein intake from nondairy food or cheese was not associated with birth weight. Conclusions: Maternal milk consumption is associated with greater fetal weight gain. The association seems to be due to milk protein, or milk components closely associated with protein, rather than to the fat or carbohydrate fraction of milk

Life-Course Genome-wide Association Study Meta-analysis of Total Body BMD and Assessment of Age-Specific Effects.

Bone mineral density (BMD) assessed by DXA is used to evaluate bone health. In children, total body (TB) measurements are commonly used; in older individuals, BMD at the lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN) is used to diagnose osteoporosis. To date, genetic variants in more than 60 loci have been identified as associated with BMD. To investigate the genetic determinants of TB-BMD variation along the life course and test for age-specific effects, we performed a meta-analysis of 30 genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of TB-BMD including 66,628 individuals overall and divided across five age strata, each spanning 15 years. We identified variants associated with TB-BMD at 80 loci, of which 36 have not been previously identified; overall, they explain approximately 10% of the TB-BMD variance when combining all age groups and influence the risk of fracture. Pathway and enrichment analysis of the association signals showed clustering within gene sets implicated in the regulation of cell growth and SMAD proteins, overexpressed in the musculoskeletal system, and enriched in enhancer and promoter regions. These findings reveal TB-BMD as a relevant trait for genetic studies of osteoporosis, enabling the identification of variants and pathways influencing different bone compartments. Only variants in ESR1 and close proximity to RANKL showed a clear effect dependency on age. This most likely indicates that the majority of genetic variants identified influence BMD early in life and that their effect can be captured throughout the life course