Impact of Pregestational Weight and Weight Gain during Pregnancy on Long-Term Risk for Diseases.

The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of maternal BMI at start of pregnancy and maternal weight gain during pregnancy on the risk of various diseases later in life.In a population-based cohort from southern Sweden, women with at least one delivery registered in the Swedish Medical Birth Register ten or more years before answering a health questionnaire were identified (n = 13,608). Complete data were found in 3,539 women.Women with BMI >25 at start of pregnancy had increased risk of developing obesity (OR 21.9), diabetes (OR 6.4), cardiac disease (OR 2.7), endocrine diseases (OR 2.3), and other morbidity (OR 1.4), compared with women of normal weight. A high weight gain (>15 kg) during pregnancy was associated to later risk of overweight (OR 2.0) and obesity (OR 2.2), but not diabetes, cardiac disease, or endocrine diseases. A positive association was found between low weight gain and the risk of developing psychiatric disorders (OR 1.6).A high BMI at start of pregnancy significantly increased the risk of several diseases later in life. However, a high weight gain during pregnancy was only significant for future overweight and obesity. These findings have implications for both pregestational intervention and post gestational follow up of obese and overweight women

Women with a predisposition for diabetes have an increased risk of pregnancy complications, especially in combination with pregestational overweight

BACKGROUND: Overweight and gestational diabetes are risk factors for pregnancy complications. We hypothesized that the metabolic impact of overweight on pregnancy outcome, would be different if it was combined with a predisposition for diabetes. The aim of this study was to compare the outcome of pregnancies in women with diabetes diagnosed later in life, to the outcome of pregnancies of women who did not develop diabetes. METHODS: Women in a population-based cohort who also were registered in the Swedish Medical Birth Registry (n = 4738) were included. A predisposition for diabetes (GDM or diabetes after pregnancy) was found in 455 pregnancies. The number of pregnancies with maternal BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 and without diabetes were 2466, and in 10,405 pregnancies the mother had a BMI < 25 kg/m2 without diabetes at any time. Maternal BMI, gestational length, gestational weight gain, frequency of caesarean section, infant birth weight, frequency of large for gestational age (LGA) and Apgar score were retrospectively compared. RESULTS: Pregnancies with normal maternal BMI ≤25 kg/m2, with predisposition for diabetes had a higher frequency of LGA (11.6% vs. 2.9%; p < 0.001), a higher frequency of macrosomia (28.6% vs. 17.6%; p < 0.001), and a shorter gestational length (39.7 vs. 40 weeks; p = 0.08) when compared to pregnancies in women without a predisposition for diabetes. In addition, pregnancies with both maternal predisposition for diabetes and BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 there was a higher frequency of LGA (23.3% vs. 7.1%; p < 0.001), caesarean section (24.0% vs. 14.9%, p = 0.031) compared to pregnancies in women who were only overweight. A predisposition for diabetes significantly increases the risk of macrosomia (OR1.5; 95% CI 1.07-2.15; p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: In pregnancy, there is an increased frequency of LGA, macrosomia and caesarean section if the woman has a predisposition for diabetes. The frequency of overweight young women is increasing, and it is urgent to identify pregnant women with a predisposition to diabetes. How to distinguish the women with the highest risk for adverse pregnancy outcome and the highest risk of future disease, remains to be studied

On threats and violence for staff and patient accessible electronic health records

Does patient accessible electronic health records (PAEHR) result in increased risk of threats and violence? This study was conducted one year after launching PAEHR in Uppsala to examine whether staff whose patients had gained access to the patient portal perceived greater risks of threats and violence, and were exposed to more threats and violence, than those whose patients had not yet gained access. A total of 174 (35%) professionals responded to a web survey. 83 were from the emergency department, whose patients had online electronic health record access, and 91 were from the psychiatric department, whose patients had not. 40% of all participating professionals believed that risks of threats and violence increase after launch. The results did not support a correlation with more incidents of threats and violence, and only one respondent reported that patient access had played any significant negative role in relation to an incident

Pregnancy outcome in women with gestational diabetes – A longitudinal study of changes in demography and treatment modalities

Introduction: Gestational diabetes is on the rise and demographics are changing in many countries due to increased migration. Simultaneously, the treatment of gestational diabetes in our clinic has shifted towards metformin with substantially less insulin treatment. The aim was to study the impact of these changes on metabolic control and pregnancy outcome by comparing women diagnosed with gestational diabetes during 2012-2013 and 2016-2017. Material and methods: Our universal Oral Glucose Tolerance Test screening program for gestational diabetes diagnosed 199 women with singleton pregnancies during 2012-2013 and 203 during 2016-2017. Treatment and achieved metabolic control in the two different time periods were compared. Pregnancy outcome data related to gestational diabetes were retrieved from case notes and compared between the different time periods. Results: When comparing results from 2016-2017 with 2012-2013 there was no difference in maternal weight or weight gain. There was a higher frequency of heredity (52.6 vs 35.4%; P = 0.001) and non-Scandinavian ethnicity (46.5 vs 33.8%; P = 0.011).The frequency of smoking during pregnancy was significantly lower (2.6 vs 7.7%; P = 0.023) There was an improved metabolic control as measured by median glucose in 2016-2017 compared with 2012-2013 (5.8 vs 6.2 mmol/L; P < 0.001). Insulin was less frequently used in 2016-2017 than in 2012-2013 (32.5 vs 44.7%; P = 0.012). There was a significant increase in the use of metformin (14.8 vs 0%; P < 0.001). There were no differences regarding the frequency of large-for-gestational-age infants (8.2% vs 7.3%; P = 0.762) or macrosomia (16.3 vs 15.1%; P = 0.745), median birthweight (3510 vs 3521; P = 0.879), frequency of cesarean section (28.1 vs 27.8%; P = 0.951) or Apgar scores at 10 minutes (10 [3-10] vs 10 [7-10]; P = 0.290). Conclusions: In an increasing but changing population of gestational diabetes women in our region, with more hereditary and non-Scandinavian origins, but with fewer smokers, metabolic control has improved with maintained favorable pregnancy outcomes, with more frequent use of metformin and substantially less use of insulin treatment

Frequency of different diseases 10–17 years after pregnancy by BMI group.

<p>Frequency of different diseases 10–17 years after pregnancy by BMI group.</p

Weight gain in different BMI groups Women who were overweight (BMI>25) before pregnancy had a lower weight gain compared to normal weight (BMI≤25) women.

<p>Weight gain in different BMI groups Women who were overweight (BMI>25) before pregnancy had a lower weight gain compared to normal weight (BMI≤25) women.</p

Characteristics of women by BMI in early pregnancy.

<p>Characteristics of women by BMI in early pregnancy.</p

Early gestational BMI and gestational weight gain as risk factors for diabetes, overweight and obesity in a multivariate analysis.

<p>Early gestational BMI and gestational weight gain as risk factors for diabetes, overweight and obesity in a multivariate analysis.</p

Antibodies in children with malaria to PfEMP1, RIFIN and SURFIN expressed at the Plasmodium falciparum parasitized red blood cell surface

Abstract Naturally acquired antibodies to proteins expressed on the Plasmodium falciparum parasitized red blood cell (pRBC) surface steer the course of a malaria infection by reducing sequestration and stimulating phagocytosis of pRBC. Here we have studied a selection of proteins representing three different parasite gene families employing a well-characterized parasite with a severe malaria phenotype (FCR3S1.2). The presence of naturally acquired antibodies, impact on rosetting rate, surface reactivity and opsonization for phagocytosis in relation to different blood groups of the ABO system were assessed in a set of sera from children with mild or complicated malaria from an endemic area. We show that the naturally acquired immune responses, developed during malaria natural infection, have limited access to the pRBCs inside a blood group A rosette. The data also indicate that SURFIN4.2 may have a function at the pRBC surface, particularly during rosette formation, this role however needs to be further validated. Our results also indicate epitopes differentially recognized by rosette-disrupting antibodies on a peptide array. Antibodies towards parasite-derived proteins such as PfEMP1, RIFIN and SURFIN in combination with host factors, essentially the ABO blood group of a malaria patient, are suggested to determine the outcome of a malaria infection