Associations of physical activity and sedentary behavior during pregnancy with gestational diabetes mellitus among Asian women in Singapore

Background Few studies have investigated physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in relation to fasting (FG) and 2-h postprandial plasma glucose (2hPG) levels and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM); we investigated these associations among Asian pregnant women. Methods As part of the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes cohort study, PA and SB (sitting and television times) were assessed by interviewer-administered questionnaire. During 75 g oral glucose tolerance tests at 26–28 weeks’ gestation we measured FG, 2hPG levels and GDM (FG ≥ 7.0 mmol/L and/or 2hPG ≥ 7.8 mmol/L). Associations were analysed by multiple linear and logistic regression. Results Among the 1083 women studied, 18.6% had GDM. SB was not associated with FG, 2hPG and GDM. Higher categories of PA were associated with lower 2hPG and a lower likelihood of GDM (p-trend < 0.05), but not with FG levels. Compared to insufficiently active women, highly active women had lower 2hPG levels [β (95% CI): -0.32 (−0.59, −0.05), p = 0.020) and were less likely to have GDM [OR: 0.56 (0.32–0.98), p = 0.040]. Stratified analysis revealed no associations among under/normal-weight women, but significant associations among overweight/obese women; in those with BMI ≥23 kg/m2, sufficiently active and highly active women were less likely to have GDM [OR: 0.52, (0.29–0.93), p = 0.028, and OR: 0.34, (0.15–0.77), p = 0.010, respectively]. Conclusion Higher PA was associated with lower 2hPG levels and a lower prevalence of GDM, particularly in overweight/obese women. Further studies are warranted to confirm these findings, and to examine the effectiveness of PA promotion strategies for the prevention of gestational hyperglycemia

Early childhood growth trajectory and later cognitive ability:Evidence from a large prospective birth cohort of healthy term-born children

BACKGROUND: Most studies of associations between child growth and cognitive ability were based on size at one or two ages and a single measure of cognition. We aimed to characterize different aspects of early growth and their associations with cognitive outcomes in childhood through adolescence. METHODS: In a sample of 12 368 Belarusian children born at term, we examined associations of length/height and weight trajectories over the first 6.5 years of life with cognitive ability at 6.5 and 16 years and its change over time. We estimated growth trajectories using two random-effects models—the SuperImposition by Translation and Rotation to model overall patterns of growth and the Jenss-Bayley to distinguish growth in infancy from post infancy. Cognitive ability was measured using the Wechsler Abbreviated Scales of Intelligence at 6.5 years and the computerized NeuroTrax test at 16 years. RESULTS: Higher length/height between birth and 6.5 years was associated with higher cognitive scores at 6.5 and 16 years {2.7 points [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.1, 3.2] and 2.5 points [95% CI: 1.9, 3.0], respectively, per standard deviation [SD] increase}. A 1-SD delay in the childhood height-growth spurt was negatively associated with cognitive scores [–2.4 (95% CI: –3.0, –1.8) at age 6.5; –2.2 (95% CI: –2.7, –1.6) at 16 years]. Birth size and post-infancy growth velocity were positively associated with cognitive scores at both ages. Height trajectories were not associated with the change in cognitive score. Similar results were observed for weight trajectories. CONCLUSIONS: Among term infants, the overall size, timing of the childhood growth spurt, size at birth and post-infancy growth velocity were all associated with cognitive ability at early-school age and adolescence

Nutrition Transition and Biocultural Determinants of Obesity among Cameroonian Migrants in Urban Cameroon and France.

Native of rural West Cameroon, the Bamiléké population is traditionally predisposed to obesity. Bamiléké who migrated to urban areas additionally experience the nutrition transition. We investigated the biocultural determinants of obesity in Bamiléké who migrated to urban Cameroon (Yaoundé), or urban France (Paris). We conducted qualitative interviews (n = 36; 18 men) and a quantitative survey (n = 627; 266 men) of adults using two-stage sampling strategy, to determine the association of dietary intake, physical activity and body weight norms with obesity of Bamiléké populations in these three socio-ecological areas (rural Cameroon: n = 258; urban Cameroon: n = 319; urban France: n = 50). The Bamiléké valued overweight and traditional energy-dense diets in rural and urban Cameroon. Physical activity levels were lower, consumption of processed energy-dense food was frequent and obesity levels higher in new migrants living in urban Cameroon and France. Female sex, age, duration of residence in urban areas, lower physical activity and valorisation of overweight were independently associated with obesity status. This work argues in favour of local and global health policies that account for the origin and the migration trajectories to prevent obesity in migrants

Influence of the U(1)_A Anomaly on the QCD Phase Transition

The SU(3)_{r} \times SU(3)_{\ell} linear sigma model is used to study the chiral symmetry restoring phase transition of QCD at nonzero temperature. The line of second order phase transitions separating the first order and smooth crossover regions is located in the plane of the strange and nonstrange quark masses. It is found that if the U(1)_{A} symmetry is explicitly broken by the U(1)_{A} anomaly then there is a smooth crossover to the chirally symmetric phase for physical values of the quark masses. If the U(1)_{A} anomaly is absent, then there is a phase transition provided that the \sigma meson mass is at least 600 MeV. In both cases, the region of first order phase transitions in the quark mass plane is enlarged as the mass of the \sigma meson is increased.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Revtex, discussion extended and references added. To appear in PR

Dietary Inflammatory Index and Non-Communicable Disease Risk: A Narrative Review

There are over 1,000,000 publications on diet and health and over 480,000 references on inflammation in the National Library of Medicine database. In addition, there have now been over 30,000 peer-reviewed articles published on the relationship between diet, inflammation, and health outcomes. Based on this voluminous literature, it is now recognized that low-grade, chronic systemic inflammation is associated with most non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancers, respiratory and musculoskeletal disorders, as well as impaired neurodevelopment and adverse mental health outcomes. Dietary components modulate inflammatory status. In recent years, the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®), a literature-derived dietary index, was developed to characterize the inflammatory potential of habitual diet. Subsequently, a large and rapidly growing body of research investigating associations between dietary inflammatory potential, determined by the DII, and risk of a wide range of NCDs has emerged. In this narrative review, we examine the current state of the science regarding relationships between the DII and cancer, cardiometabolic, respiratory and musculoskeletal diseases, neurodevelopment, and adverse mental health outcomes. We synthesize the findings from recent studies, discuss potential underlying mechanisms, and look to the future regarding novel applications of the adult and children’s DII (C-DII) scores and new avenues of investigation in this field of nutritional research

24-hour movement behaviour profiles and their transition in children aged 5.5 and 8 years - findings from a prospective cohort study

Background: Time spent in movement behaviours, including physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour (SB) and sleep, across the 24-h day may have distinct health consequences. We aimed to describe 24-h movement behaviour (24 h-MB) profiles in children and how profile membership changed from age 5.5 to 8 years. Methods: Children in the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) cohort were asked to wear an accelerometer (ActiGraph-GT3X+) on their wrist for seven consecutive days at ages 5.5 and 8 years to measure 24 h-MB patterns. Time spent in night sleep, inactivity (proxy for SB), light PA, moderate PA (MPA), and vigorous PA (VPA) per day were calculated using the R-package GGIR 2.0. Using latent profile analyses (n = 442) we identified 24 h-MB profiles, which were given animal names to convey key characteristics. Latent transition analyses were used to describe the profile membership transition from ages 5.5 to 8 years. Associations with sex and ethnicity were examined. Results: We identified four profiles, "Rabbits" (very high-MPA/VPA, low-inactivity and average-night-sleep), "Chimpanzees" (high-MPA, low-inactivity and average-night-sleep), "Pandas" (low-PA, high-inactivity and high-night-sleep) and "Owls" (low-PA, high-inactivity and low-night-sleep), among children at both time points. At ages 5.5 and 8 years, the majority of children were classified into profiles of "Chimpanzees" (51 and 39%, respectively) and "Pandas" (24 and 37%). Half of the sample (49%), particularly "Rabbits", remained in the same profile at ages 5.5 and 8 years: among children who changed profile the predominant transitions occurred from "Chimpanzees" (27%) and "Owls" (56%) profiles to "Pandas". Sex, but not ethnicity, was associated with profile membership: compared to girls, boys were more likely to be in the "Rabbits" profile (adjusted OR [95% CI]: 3.6 [1.4, 9.7] and 4.5 [1.8, 10.9] at ages 5.5 and 8 years, respectively) and less likely to be in the "Pandas" profile (0.5 [0.3, 0.9] and 0.4 [0.2, 0.6]) at both ages. Conclusions: With increasing age about half the children stayed in the same of four 24 h-MB profiles, while the predominant transition for the remaining children was towards lower PA, higher inactivity and longer sleep duration. These findings can aid development and implementation of public health strategies to promote better health.Peer reviewe

Associations between early-life screen viewing and 24 hour movement behaviours : findings from a longitudinal birth cohort study

Background Screen viewing is a sedentary behaviour reported to interfere with sleep and physical activity. However, few longitudinal studies have assessed such associations in children of preschool age (0-6 years) and none have accounted for the compositional nature of these behaviours. We aimed to investigate the associations between total and device-specific screen viewing time at age 2-3 years and accelerometer-measured 24 h movement behaviours, including sleep, sedentary behaviour, light physical activity, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) at age 5.5 years. Methods The Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) study is an ongoing longitudinal birth cohort study in Singapore, which began in June 2009. We recruited pregnant women during their first ultrasound scan visit at two major public maternity units in Singapore. At clinic visits done at age 2-3 years, we collected parent-reported information about children's daily total and device-specific screen viewing time (television, handheld devices, and computers). At 5.5 years, children's movement behaviours for 7 consecutive days were measured using wrist-worn accelerometers. We assessed the associations between screen viewing time and movement behaviours (sedentary behaviour, light physical activity, MVPA, and sleep) using Dirichlet regression, which accounts for the compositional nature of such behaviours. This study is active but not recruiting and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01174875. Findings Between June 1, 2009, and Oct 12, 2010, 1247 pregnant women enrolled and 1171 singleton births were enrolled. 987 children had parent-reported screen data at either 2 or 3 years, of whom 840 attended the clinic visit at age 5.5 years, and 577 wore an accelerometer. 552 children had at least 3 days of accelerometer data and were included in the analysis. Total screen viewing time at age 2-3 years had a significant negative association with sleep (p=0.008), light physical activity (p= 3 h screen viewing time]), and less light physical activity (384.6 vs 356.2 mins per day), and MVPA (76.2 vs 63.4 mins per day) at age 5.5 years. No significant differences in time spent sleeping were observed between the groups (539.5 vs 540.4 mins per day). Similar trends were observed for television viewing and handheld device viewing. Interpretation Longer screen viewing time in children aged 2-3 years was associated with more time spent engaged in sedentary behaviour and shorter time engaged in light physical activity and MVPA in later childhood. Our findings indicate that screen viewing might displace physical activity during early childhood, and suggest that reducing screen viewing time in early childhood might promote healthier behaviours and associated outcomes later in life. Copyright (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Associations of Maternal Dietary Patterns during Pregnancy with Offspring Adiposity from Birth Until 54 Months of Age

10.3390/nu9010002Nutrients91article no. 2GUSTO (Growing up towards Healthy Outcomes

Unraveling the effects of maternal breastfeeding duration and exclusive breast milk on children’s cognitive abilities in early childhood

BackgroundThis study investigated the putative associations between mothers’ use of exclusive breast milk and the duration of breastfeeding with child cognitive development.MethodsThis study is based on 2,210 Canadian families with children assessed longitudinally from age 4 to 7 years on their memory-span and math skills. These cognitive abilities were measured with standardized tasks. Breastfeeding practices were collected via maternal reports. We applied propensity scores to control the social selection bias for breastfeeding.ResultsResults adjusted for propensity scores and sample weight revealed no significant differences between non-breastfed children with those being non-exclusively breastfed for 5 months or less, and with children being exclusively breastfed for 9.2 months on average, on their early math skills and memory-span. We found that children who were non-exclusively breastfed for 6.8 months on average had a slightly higher levels of memory-span at age 4 than children who were never breastfed, and this small but significant difference lasted up to age 7.ConclusionOur findings suggest no significant differences between children being exclusively breastfed and those fed with formula on their early math skills and memory-span. The encouragement of breastfeeding to promote child cognitive school readiness may, in some case (non-exclusive breastfeeding for more than 5 months), show a small but long-lasting advantage in early memory-span

Demographic, socioeconomic, and sociocultural factors associated with any breastfeeding in homeless mothers

In high‐income countries, breastfeeding has been shown to be positively associated with socioeconomic position. However, less is known about breastfeeding practices and their associated factors among extremely disadvantaged populations. We aimed to assess the associations of cultural origins and socioeconomic factors with any breastfeeding initiation and duration in homeless families. We analyzed data from 456 children aged 6 months to 5 years from the cross‐sectional ENFAMS survey, conducted in 2013 among a random sample of homeless families in shelters in the Greater Paris area. Data were collected by bilingual interviewers in 17 languages. Four nested multivariable robust Poisson regression models were run in a hierarchical framework to determine the factors associated with breastfeeding initiation and with any breastfeeding for 6 months or more. Most of the children (86.0%) had previously been or were currently being breastfed at the time of the survey; 58.9% were fed with breast milk ≥6 months. A higher maternal age and African origin were positively associated with breastfeeding ≥6 months, although the relation to the region of origin was moderated by education level. Migration to escape war, unrest or other violence and the child's birth in France were inversely associated with breastfeeding ≥6 months. Any breastfeeding by these homeless mothers seems influenced predominantly by their cultural origin and complicated by a difficult migration trajectory. The possible influence of poor material circumstances and cumulative hardship should encourage interventions targeted at homeless mothers that emphasize social/family support with a commitment to improving the family's living conditions