The association between maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration during gestation and early childhood cardio-metabolic outcomes: is there interaction with pre-pregnancy BMI?

Both maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) status and pre-pregnancy BMI (pBMI) may influence offspring cardio-metabolic outcomes. Lower 25OHD concentrations have been observed in women with both low and high pBMIs, but the combined influence of pBMI and 25OHD on offspring cardio-metabolic outcomes is unknown. Therefore, this study investigated the role of pBMI in the association between maternal 25OHD concentration and cardio-metabolic outcomes in 5-6 year old children. Data were obtained from the ABCD cohort study and 1882 mother-child pairs were included. The offspring outcomes investigated were systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, BMI, body fat percentage (%BF), waist-to-height ratio, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, C-peptide, and insulin resistance (HOMA2-IR). 62% of the C-peptide samples were below the detection limit and were thus imputed using survival analysis. Models were corrected for maternal and offspring covariates and tested for interaction with pBMI. Interaction with pBMI was observed in the associations with insulin resistance markers: in offspring of overweight mothers (≥25.0 kg/m2), a 10 nmol/L increase in maternal 25OHD was associated with a 0.007(99%CI:-0.01,-0.001) nmol/L decrease in C-peptide and a 0.02(99%CI:-0.03,-0.004) decrease in HOMA2-IR. When only non-imputed data were analyzed, there was a trend for interaction in the relationship but the results lost significance. Interaction with pBMI was not observed for the other outcomes. A 10 nmol/L increase in maternal 25OHD was significantly associated with a 0.13%(99%CI:-0.3,-0.003) decrease in %BF after correction for maternal and child covariates. Thus, intrauterine exposure to both low 25OHD and maternal overweight may be associated with increased insulin resistance in offspring, while exposure to low 25OHD in utero may be associated with increased offspring %BF with no interactive effects from pBMI. Due to the limitations of this study, these results are not conclusive, however the observations of this study pose important research questions for future studies to investigate

Early maternal thyroid function during gestation is associated with fetal growth, particularly in male newborns

Intrauterine growth patterns are influenced by maternal thyroid function during gestation and by fetal sex. It is unknown, however, whether the relationships between maternal thyrotropin (TSH) and free thyroxine (fT4) levels in early pregnancy and fetal growth outcomes are modified by fetal sex. Data were obtained from a community-based cohort study of pregnant women living in Amsterdam (Amsterdam Born Children and Their Development study). TSH and fT4 levels were determined during the first prenatal screening at median 13 weeks (interquartile range, 12 to 14). Women with live-born singletons and no overt thyroid dysfunction were included (N = 3988). Associations between these maternal hormones and birth weight, small for gestational age (SGA), and large for gestational age (LGA) were analyzed separately for each sex. After adjustments, 1 pmol/L increase in maternal fT4 levels was associated with a reduction in birth weight of 33.7 g (P 2.5 mU/L, 7.3%) was associated with increased odds for LGA in male newborns (OR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.22 to 3.11). Maternal fT4 in early pregnancy was observed to be inversely associated with birth weight, with a stronger relationship in males. Male infants also had increased odds for LGA in mothers with subclinical hypothyroidism. Sexual dimorphism appears to be present in the relationship between maternal thyroid metabolism and fetal intrauterine growth, with stronger associations in male infant

Do neighborhood characteristics in Amsterdam influence adiposity at preschool age?

Neighborhood characteristics may contribute to adiposity in young children, but results in the current literature are inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate whether objective (socioeconomic status (SES)) and subjective (perceived safety, satisfaction with green spaces and perceived physical disorder) neighborhood characteristics directly influence child adiposity (as measured by BMI, percent body fat (%BF) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)). Data on child BMI, %BF and WHtR were obtained from the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development cohort at 5-6 years of age. Three thousand four hundred and sixty nine (3469) children were included in the analyses. Mixed models, using random intercepts for postal code area to account for neighborhood clustering effects, were used to analyze the relationships of interest. Associations were observed for both perceived safety and neighborhood SES with %BF after adjustment for maternal education and ethnicity. All relationships were eliminated with the inclusion of individual covariates and parental BMI into the models. In general, child adiposity at age 5-6 years was not independently associated with neighborhood characteristics, although a small relationship between child %BF and both neighborhood SES and perceived safety cannot be ruled out. At this young age, familial and individual factors probably play a more important role in influencing child adiposity than neighborhood characteristic

Brain MRI data sharing guide

We present a guide on sharing Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data of the brain, with a focus on The Netherlands. The guide is meant as a help for researchers to know what they can share and where, and where they can find information or support. More information about the project can be found in the Github repository. An interactive version of this guide is available at https://www.dorienhuijser.com/MRIsharingguide/

Is first trimester vitamin D status in nulliparous women associated with pregnancy related hypertensive disorders?

this study aimed to explore if maternal vitamin D status in early pregnancy was associated with pre-eclampsia and pregnancy-induced hypertension. Relationships between vitamin D status and blood pressure at the start of pregnancy as well as the occurrence of a mid-pregnancy drop in blood pressure were also explored. This secondary analysis was completed to investigate a possible mechanism for the association between vitamin D status and pregnancy related hypertensive disorders. data were obtained from the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development study, a prospective community-based cohort study based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. a total of 2074 nulliparous women without pre-existing hypertension and with a known vitamin D status before 17 weeks gestation were included in the study. Vitamin D status was categorized into four groups: "normal" (≥50nmol/L), "insufficient" (30-49.9nmol/L) "deficient" (20-29.9nmol/L) or "severely deficient" ( <20nmol/L). logistic regression analysis was used to investigate if vitamin D status was related to the odds of experiencing pre-eclampsia or pregnancy-induced hypertension. Models were corrected for maternal age, ethnicity, pre-pregnancy BMI, smoking and socioeconomic status. χ(2) and ANOVA tests were used to investigate relationships between vitamin D status and the blood pressure parameters. when compared to women with a normal vitamin D status, women who were severely deficient had an increased risk for pre-eclampsia (OR 2.08; 95% CI, 1.05-4.13), but the association was rendered non-significant after correction (OR 1.88; 95% CI 0.79-4.48). There were no associations between vitamin D status and pregnancy-induced hypertension, starting blood pressure or the occurrence of a mid-pregnancy drop in blood pressure. no strong evidence was found for an association between first trimester vitamin D status and pregnancy related hypertensive disorders in nulliparous women. at this time, vitamin D supplementation is not warranted for the specific purpose of preventing pregnancy related hypertensive disorder

UV-Induced Transformation of Four Halobenzoquinones in Drinking Water

Halobenzoquinones (HBQs) are a group of emerging disinfection byproducts (DBPs) found in treated drinking water. Because the use of UV treatment for disinfection is becoming more widespread, it is important to understand how the HBQs may be removed or changed due to UV irradiation. Water samples containing four HBQs, 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (DCBQ), 2,3,6-trichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (TCBQ), 2,6-dichloro-3-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone (DCMBQ), and 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (DBBQ), were treated using a modified bench scale collimated beam device, mimicking UV treatment. Water samples before and after UV irradiation were analyzed for the parent compounds and products using a high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method. As much as 90% of HBQs (0.25 nmol L^–1) in both pure water and tap water were transformed to other products after UV₂₅₄ irradiation at 1000 mJ cm^–2. The major products of the four HBQs were identified as 3-hydroxyl-2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (OH-DCBQ) from DCBQ, 5-hydroxyl-2,6-dichloro-3-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone (OH-DCMBQ) from DCMBQ, 5-hydroxyl-2,3,6-trichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (OH-TCBQ) from TCBQ, and 3-hydroxyl-2,6-dibromo-1,4-benzoquinone (OH-DBBQ) from DBBQ. These four OH-HBQs were further modified to monohalogenated benzoquinones when the UV dose was higher than 200 mJ cm^–2. These results suggested possible pathways of UV-induced transformation of HBQs to other compounds. Under the UV dose commonly used in water treatment plants, it is likely that HBQs are partially converted to other halo-DBPs. The occurrence and toxicity of these mixed DBPs warrant further investigation to understand whether they pose a health risk

Halobenzoquinones in Swimming Pool Waters and Their Formation from Personal Care Products

Halobenzoquinones (HBQs) are a class of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) of health relevance. In this study, we aimed to uncover which HBQs are present in swimming pools. To achieve this goal, we developed a new method capable of determining eight HBQs while overcoming matrix effects to achieve reliable quantification. The method provided reproducible and quantitative recovery (67–102%) and detection limits of 0.03–1.2 ng/L for all eight HBQs. Using this new method, we investigated water samples from 10 swimming pools and found 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (2,6-DCBQ) in all the pools at concentrations of 19299 ng/L, which was as much as 100 times higher than its concentration in the input tap water (1–6 ng/L). We also identified 2,3,6-trichloro-(1,4)­benzoquinone (TriCBQ), 2,3-dibromo-5,6-dimethyl-(1,4)­benzoquinone (DMDBBQ), and 2,6-dibromo-(1,4)­benzoquinone (2,6-DBBQ) in some swimming pools at concentrations of <0.111.3, <0.050.7, and <0.053.9 ng/L, respectively, but not in the input tap water. We examined several factors to determine why HBQ concentrations in pools were much higher than in the input tap water. Higher dissolved organic carbon (DOC), higher doses of chlorine and higher temperatures enhanced the formation of HBQs in the pools. In addition, we conducted laboratory disinfection experiments and discovered that personal care products (PCPs) such as lotions and sunscreens can serve as precursors to form additional HBQs, such as TriCBQ, 2,6-dichloro-3-methyl-(1,4)­benzoquinone (DCMBQ), and 2,3,5,6-tetrabromo-(1,4)­benzoquinone (TetraB-1,4-BQ). These results explained why some HBQs existed in swimming pools but not in the input water. This study presents the first set of occurrence data, identification of new HBQ DBPs, and the factors for their enhanced formation in the swimming pools

Study population characteristics as a function of maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D status in early pregnancy.

<p>25OHD = 25-hydroxyvitamin D, pBMI = pre-pregnancy BMI</p><p>Mean values significantly different from reference:</p><p>*p<0.05,</p><p>**p<0.01,</p><p>***p<0.001</p><p>^†P-value for differences between vitamin D categories, as tested by X² for categorical variables, and ANOVA and independent sample t-tests for continuous variables</p><p>^‡Reference group</p><p>Study population characteristics as a function of maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D status in early pregnancy.</p

Linear regression models of the association between maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in early pregnancy and cardio-metabolic outcomes in 5–6 year old children (per 10 nmol/L increase of 25-hydroxyvitamin D) with testing for interaction with pre-pregnancy BMI.

<p>99%CI = 99% confidence interval, bpm = beats per minute, DBP = diastolic blood pressure, HOMA2-IR = homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, HDL-C = high density lipoprotein cholesterol, HR = heart rate, LDL-C = low density lipoprotein cholesterol, SBP = systolic blood pressure, TC = total cholesterol, TG = triglyceride, WHtR = waist-to-height ratio</p><p>¹adjusted for child age and gender (and child height for cardiovascular function outcomes);</p><p>²additionally adjusted for maternal education, ethnicity, maternal age, parity, smoking during gestation, duration of breastfeeding, use of vitamin D or A/D drops in infancy and child’s sedentary time</p><p>*Significant non-linear relationship presented in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0133313#pone.0133313.g004" target="_blank">Fig 4</a></p><p>^† Significant interaction. Associations presented in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0133313#pone.0133313.g003" target="_blank">Fig 3</a></p><p>Linear regression models of the association between maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in early pregnancy and cardio-metabolic outcomes in 5–6 year old children (per 10 nmol/L increase of 25-hydroxyvitamin D) with testing for interaction with pre-pregnancy BMI.</p

The association between maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration and insulin resistance markers in young children.

<p>The association between maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in early pregnancy and a) C-peptide and b) HOMA2-IR in 5–6 year old children with interaction with pre-pregnancy BMI presented. Adjusted for maternal age (32.4 years), maternal education (10 years), child age (5.6 years) and sedentary time (1.4 hours), and presented for Dutch ethnicity, nulliparous mothers, non-smokers, male children, no use of vitamin D or A/D drops in infancy and no history of breastfeeding.</p