Predicted vitamin D status during pregnancy in relation to offspring forearm fractures in childhood: a study from the Danish National Birth Cohort

In a prospective cohort study, the association between maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy and offspring forearm fractures during childhood and adolescence was analysed in 30 132 mother and child pairs recruited to the Danish National Birth Cohort between 1996 and 2002. Data on characteristics, dietary factors and lifestyle factors were collected on several occasions during pregnancy. We analysed the association between predicted vitamin D status, based on a subsample with 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) biomarker measurements (n 1497) from gestation week 25, and first-time forearm fractures among offspring between birth and end of follow-up. Diagnoses were extracted from the Danish National Patient Register. Multivariable Cox regression models using age as the underlying time scale indicated no overall association between predicted vitamin D status (based on smoking, season, dietary and supplementary vitamin D intake, tanning bed use and outdoor physical activity) in pregnancy and offspring forearm fractures. Likewise, measured 25(OH)D, tanning bed use and dietary vitamin D intake were not associated with offspring forearm fractures. In mid-pregnancy, 91 % of the women reported intake of vitamin D from dietary supplements. Offspring of women who took >10 µg/d in mid-pregnancy had a significantly increased risk for fractures compared with the reference level of zero intake (hazard ratios (HR) 1·31; 95 % CI 1·06, 1·62), but this was solely among girls (HR 1·48; 95 % CI 1·10, 2·00). Supplement use in the peri-conceptional period exhibited similar pattern, although not statistically significant. In conclusion, our data indicated no protective effect of maternal vitamin D status with respect to offspring forearm fractures

NMR-based metabolomic profiling of overweight adolescents:an elucidation of the effects of inter-/intraindividual differences, gender, and pubertal development

The plasma and urine metabolome of 192 overweight 12–15-year-old adolescents (BMI of 25.4 ± 2.3 kg/m2) were examined in order to elucidate gender, pubertal development measured as Tanner stage, physical activity measured as number of steps taken daily, and intra-/interindividual differences affecting the metabolome detected by proton NMR spectroscopy. Higher urinary excretion of citrate, creatinine, hippurate, and phenylacetylglutamine and higher plasma level of phosphatidylcholine and unsaturated lipid were found for girls compared with boys. The results suggest that gender differences in the metabolome are being commenced already in childhood. The relationship between Tanner stage and the metabolome showed that pubertal development stage was positively related to urinary creatinine excretion and negatively related to urinary citrate content. No relations between physical activity and the metabolome could be identified. The present study for the first time provides comprehensive information about associations between the metabolome and gender, pubertal development, and physical activity in overweight adolescents, which is an important subject group to approach in the prevention of obesity and life-style related diseases. While this study is preliminary, these results may have the potential to translate into clinical applicability upon further investigations; if biomarkers for Tanner stage can be established, these might be used for identification of individuals susceptible to an early pubertal development

Bioimpedance index for measurement of total body water in severely malnourished children: Assessing the effect of nutritional oedema

Restoration of body composition indicates successful management of severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Bioimpedance (BI) index (height(2)/resistance) is used to predict total body water (TBW) but its performance in SAM, especially with oedema, requires further investigation

A questionnaire to identify patellofemoral pain in the community: an exploration of measurement properties

Background Community-based studies of patellofemoral pain (PFP) need a questionnaire tool that discriminates between those with and those without the condition. To overcome these issues, we have designed a self-report questionnaire which aims to identify people with PFP in the community. Methods Study designs: comparative study and cross-sectional study. Study population: comparative study: PFP patients, soft-tissue injury patients and adults without knee problems. Cross-sectional study: adults attending a science festival. Intervention: comparative study participants completed the questionnaire at baseline and two weeks later. Cross-sectional study participants completed the questionnaire once. The optimal scoring system and threshold was explored using receiver operating characteristic curves, test-retest reliability using Cohen’s kappa and measurement error using Bland-Altman plots and standard error of measurement. Known-group validity was explored by comparing PFP prevalence between genders and age groups. Results Eighty-four participants were recruited to the comparative study. The receiver operating characteristic curves suggested limiting the questionnaire to the clinical features and knee pain map sections (AUC 0.97 95 % CI 0.94 to 1.00). This combination had high sensitivity and specificity (over 90 %). Measurement error was less than the mean difference between the groups. Test–retest reliability estimates suggest good agreement (N = 51, k = 0.74, 95 % CI 0.52–0.91). The cross-sectional study (N = 110) showed expected differences between genders and age groups but these were not statistically significant. Conclusion A shortened version of the questionnaire, based on clinical features and a knee pain map, has good measurement properties. Further work is needed to validate the questionnaire in community samples

Abschätzung der Auswirkungen der Krautfäule auf den Bio-Kartoffelbau in verschiedenen Europäischen Ländern, sowie Inventar der angewendeten Anbau- und Pflanzenschutzstrategien

Problemstellung/Ziele Die Kraut- und Knollenfäule (Phytophthora infestans) ist die Krankheit, die im biologischen (aber auch konventionellen) Kartoffelanbau in Europa die größten Probleme verursacht. Unter günstigen klimatischen Bedingungen breitet sich die Krankheit sehr rasch aus und kann große Ertragsausfälle verursachen. Innerhalb von Europa variiert der durch P. infestans verursachte wirtschaftliche Schaden stark zwischen den Regionen. Dies hängt von verschiedenen Faktoren ab, aber in biologisch bewirtschafteten Anbausystemen immt man an, dass die klimatischen Bedingungen, die verwendeten Sorten sowie die agronomischen Maßnahmen wie Bodenbearbeitung oder die Verwendung von Pflanzenschutzmitteln eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Die Reduktion oder das Verbot des Kupfereinsatzes im biologischen Kartoffelanbau wird deshalb auch unterschiedliche Auswirkungen in den verschiedenen Europäischen Regionen haben. Als Teilprojekt des EU-finanzierten Projektes Blight-MOP (QLRT 31065) wurde eine detaillierte Studie der ökonomischen und gesetzlichen Rahmenbedingungen und ein Inventar der Anbausysteme in 7 Ländern durchgeführt, um (i) Ein Inventar der derzeitigen Anbautechniken zu erstellen, (ii) die Auswirkungen von P. infestans auf Erträge und Wirtschaftlichkeit zu evaluieren und die Auswirkungen eines Kupferverbotes abzuschätzen und um (iii) Pflanzenschutzstrategien von Bioproduzenten zu identifizieren, die bereits jetzt ohne den Einsatz von Kupfer auskommen. Fazit: Diese Betriebsanalyse weist darauf hin, dass eine Optimierung der Einzelmassnahmen und die regionsspezfische Integration von Massnahmen zu einer substanziellen Verbesserung des Anbauerfolges führen können. Die Betriebsanalyse zeigt auch, dass Kupfer bislang eine wichtige Rolle bei der Ertragsbildung gespielt hat. Ein Kupferverbot ohne Angebot von praxistauglichen Alternativlösungen (wie sie innerhalb von Blight-MOP und anderen Projekten erarbeitet werden) würde demnach zu einer starken Destabilisierung des biologischen Kartoffelanbaues und vermutlich zu einer Angebotsvernappung führen. Andere Teilprojekte des Blight-MOP Projektes zielen auf die Verbesserung von anbautechnischen Massnahmen und die Entwicklung von Ersatzprodukten für Kupfer ab

Whole blood long-chain n-3 fatty acids as a measure of fish oil compliance in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a pilot study

Long-chain n-3 fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA) may prevent chemotherapy-induced hyperlipidemia in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, compliance could be a problem and intake-biomarker correlations may be affected by bodyweight and blood transfusions. We assessed whole blood n-3 LCPUFA three times during the first 83 days of treatment in six 1-17-year-old children with ALL, who received 2.4-4.9 g/d n-3 LCPUFA depending on bodyweight. Mean compliance was 73%, which resulted in a 2.5-fold increase in blood n-3 LCPUFA irrespective of blood transfusions. The correlation between relative blood content of n-3 LCPUFA and intake in g/d across the study period was strong (r=0.76, p=0.001). When n-3 LCPUFA was expressed in absolute concentrations and intake per kg bodyweight the correlation decreased (r=0.39, p=0.164) and was driven by baseline values. Thus, relative content of n-3 LCPUFA in blood reflects fish oil compliance in children with ALL despite blood transfusions and differences in bodyweight