Association of allergic diseases with children’s life satisfaction: population-based study in Finland

Objective To assess the impact of allergic diseases on the subjective well-being and life satisfaction of primary-school children.Design Population-based cohort.Setting Finnish sample of children ages 10 and 12 from the International Survey of Children’s Well-Being.Participants Nationally representative sample of 1947 school children.Main outcome measure Two different instruments to assess the child’s own perception of well-being, the short version of the Student Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS) and the Brief Multidimensional Student Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS).Results Altogether, 51.4% of children reported having at least one allergic condition (10.1% asthma, 23.8% eczema and 40.3% seasonal allergic rhinitis). A statistically significant distinction in life satisfaction emerged between non-allergic and allergic children (inferior in the latter). In particular, children with eczema were more likely to report a reduction in life satisfaction compared with non-allergic children (SLSS β=−128.220; BMSLSS β=−90.694; p<0.01). Apart from freedom from eczema, good life satisfaction was associated with a physically active lifestyle.Conclusions Active allergic disease reduces the child’s own perception of well-being. During clinical visits, more attention should be paid to the child’s psychosocial status and impairments, which may differ substantially from those of parents or medical authorities.</div

Body composition in children with chronic inflammatory diseases: A systematic review

Background & aimsAberrations in body composition are expected in children suffering from chronic inflammatory conditions. The objective is to examine whether children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD: Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), coeliac disease, asthma and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) have an altered body composition as compared to healthy children.MethodsA systematic review, registered in Prospero (registration number: CRD42018107645), was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. We conducted a search of three databases, Pubmed, Cochrane and Scopus. An assessment of the quality of the study was performed.ResultsData from 50 studies, 32 with IBD, 8 with coeliac disease, 2 with asthma and 8 with JIA, involving 2399 children were selected for review after applying the eligibility criteria. In all but 4 studies, children with Crohn's disease exhibited decreased amounts of fat mass and fat free mass. Reductions in fat mass were also evident in studies in children with coeliac disease. It is uncertain whether body composition is altered in children with asthma or JIA.ConclusionsChildren with Crohn's disease manifest with lowered adiposity and lean mass and therefore are likely to be at risk for suffering malnutrition-related clinical complications. Apart from Crohn's disease, data examining body composition in children with chronic inflammatory conditions are scarce and there is a paucity of reports examining the relationship between inflammation and body composition. Interpretation of the current study results is hampered by the low quality of the studies and due to the fact that the analyses have been habitually secondary outcomes.</p

Effects of probiotics on the prevention of atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an immune disorder that is becoming increasingly prevalent throughout the world. The exact etiology of AD remains unknown, and a cure for AD is not currently available. The hypothesis that appropriate early microbial stimulation contributes to the establishment of a balanced immune system in terms of T helper type Th1, Th2, and regulatory T cell (Treg) responses has led to the use of probiotics for the prevention and treatment of AD in light of various human clinical studies and animal experiments. Meta-analysis data suggests that probiotics can alleviate the symptoms of AD in infants. The effects of balancing Th1/Th2 immunity and enhancing Treg activity via the interaction of probiotics with dendritic cells have been described in vitro and in animal models, although such an effect has not been demonstrated in human studies. In this review, we present some highlights of the immunomodulatory effects of probiotics in humans and animal studies with regard to their effects on the prevention of AD

Infant formula enriched with milk fat globule membrane, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, synbiotics, gangliosides, nucleotides and sialic acid reduces infections during the first 18 months of life: The COGNIS study

Special thanks to all the parents who collaborated and granted their confidence upon the EURISTIKOS Excellence Centre for Paediatric Research, University of Granada, the children for their patience and their smiles. Thanks to all the collaborators of the COGNIS-team, and Laboratorios Ordesa, S.L. for funding support.Functional nutrients like synbiotics or milk-fat globule membrane (MFGM) affect positively host immunity, modifying intestinal microbioma and reducing early childhood infections. We compared effects of an experimental enriched-infant formula with long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, MFGM, synbiotics, sialic acid, nucleotides and gangliosides to a standard infant formula and breastfeeding regarding infections incidence and evolution in infants until 18 months of age. 170 healthy infants were enrolled in a RCT to receive either a bioactive functional nutrients enriched infant formula (EF, n = 85) or a standard formula (SF, n = 85). 50 breastfed (BF) infants were also enrolled. At age 12 months, EF group compared to SF and BF groups showed a lower incidence of infectious episodes. Moreover, they also presented less incidence of respiratory tract infections and gastrointestinal infections than SF infants, reducing risk by 30.2% and 32.5%, respectively. Infants fed with an EF seem to have reduced incidence of certain infections at 12 months of age.Laboratorios Ordesa, S.L.COGNIS-tea

The gut microbiota of Colombians differs from that of Americans, Europeans and Asians

ABSTRACT: The composition of the gut microbiota has recently been associated with health and disease, particularly with obesity. Some studies suggested a higher proportion of Firmicutes and a lower proportion of Bacteroidetes in obese compared to lean people; others found discordant patterns. Most studies, however, focused on Americans or Europeans, giving a limited picture of the gut microbiome. To determine the generality of previous observations and expand our knowledge of the human gut microbiota, it is important to replicate studies in overlooked populations. Thus, we describe here, for the first time, the gut microbiota of Colombian adults via the pyrosequencing of the 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA), comparing it with results obtained in Americans, Europeans, Japanese and South Koreans, and testing the generality of previous observations concerning changes in Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes with increasing body mass index (BMI). Results: We found that the composition of the gut microbiota of Colombians was significantly different from that of Americans, Europeans and Asians. The geographic origin of the population explained more variance in the composition of this bacterial community than BMI or gender. Concerning changes in Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes with obesity, in Colombians we found a tendency in Firmicutes to diminish with increasing BMI, whereas no change was observed in Bacteroidetes. A similar result was found in Americans. A more detailed inspection of the Colombian dataset revealed that five fiber-degrading bacteria, including Akkermansia, Dialister, Oscillospira, Ruminococcaceae and Clostridiales, became less abundant in obese subjects. Conclusion: We contributed data from unstudied Colombians that showed that the geographic origin of the studied population had a greater impact on the composition of the gut microbiota than BMI or gender. Any strategy aiming to modulate or control obesity via manipulation of this bacterial community should consider this effect

Childhood pet ownership and multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundMany studies have been conducted investigating a range of environmental factors which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). We collated available data about exposure to domestic animals before symptom onset in MS to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis.MethodsMedline, Embase and Cinahl were searched for relevant articles, based on pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria and reference lists were hand-searched. Data were extracted and critical analysis was conducted using the Newcastle-Ottawa criteria. Meta-analysis used random effects.ResultsStudy heterogeneity was high and study quality was variable. Random effects meta-analysis showed no associations with any pet ownership and development of MS.ConclusionIt is not possible to draw definitive conclusions from this work. The studies included had a high level of heterogeneity. There are many variables involved in pet ownership and exposure and the nature of the way these have been studied makes the analysis challenging

Integraatiomekanismien käyttö toimitusketjun johtamisessa institutionaalisen ja kontingenssiteorian näkökulmasta

Research shows that supply chain integration (SCI) can lead to a competitive advantage and increase profits. Thus, it is not surprising that the majority of the research on SCI has focused on assessing the link between supply chain integration and performance. Instead, the antecedents of supply chain integration have received only little attention. In addition to this unbalance between the topics, supply chain integration research is mainly based on contingency theory. There is a need for incorporating other theories, such as institutional theory, in SCI research. This thesis examines the usage of supply chain integration mechanisms in manufacturing firms. The usage of mechanisms is studied from two theoretical perspectives: institutional theory and contingency theory. Contingency theory is further divided into strategic contingency and structural contingency theories. The objective of the study is to develop an understanding how these three theories explain the usage of SCI mechanisms. Based on the literature review, a theoretical framework was formed to describe the influence of different variables on supply chain integration mechanisms. The link between theories and SCI mechanisms was tested with a regression analysis. The data utilized in this study is part of High Performance Manufacturing research project, which is an extensive study about manufacturing plants. The data consists of plant-level data from 152 manufacturing firms from Finland, Sweden, Germany, China, and Taiwan. The results from the regression analysis indicate that institutional variables explain the most the usage of supply chain integration mechanisms. The variance explained by strategic contingency variables remains little. This study shows that institutional factors have a significant influence on the usage of SCI mechanisms, signaling that institutional theory should be included in the future SCI studies as well.On tutkittu, että toimitusketjuintegraatio voi parantaa yrityksen kilpailuetua ja kasvattaa voittoja. Ei siis ole yllättävää, että toimitusketjuintegraatiotutkimus on keskittynyt lähinnä selvittämään yrityksen suorituskyvyn ja toimitusketjuintegraation välistä yhteyttä. Sen sijaan tekijöitä, jotka vaikuttavat siihen, miksi yritykset pyrkivät toimitusketjuintegraation käyttöön, on tutkittu vain vähän. Lisäksi integraatiota on tarkasteltu lähinnä kontingenssiteorian näkökulmasta. Toimitusketjuintegraatiotutkimus kaipaa kuitenkin vaihtoehtoisia näkökulmia, joista yksi on institutionaalinen teoria. Tämä työ tutkii, mitkä tekijät selittävät toimitusketjuintegraatiomekanismien käyttöä tehtaissa. Mekanismien käyttöä tutkitaan kahdesta teoreettisesta näkökulmasta, jotka ovat institutionaalinen teoria ja kontingenssiteoria. Kontingenssiteoria on jaettu vielä strategiseen ja rakenteelliseen kontingenssiteoriaan. Työn tavoitteena on kehittää ymmärrys siitä, miten edellä mainitut kolme teoriaa selittävät integraatiomekanismien käyttöä. Kirjallisuuskatsauksen pohjalta työlle muodostettiin teoreettinen viitekehys institutionaalisten, strategisten ja rakenteellisten kontingenssitekijöiden vaikutuksesta integraatiomekanismien käyttöön. Teorioiden selittävyyttä testattiin regressioanalyysillä. Työssä käytettiin dataa, joka on osa High Performance Manufacturing –tutkimusprojektia. Data koostui 152 tehtaasta Suomesta, Ruotsista, Saksasta, Kiinasta ja Taiwanista. Tulokset näyttävät, että institutionaaliset tekijät selittävät eniten toimitusketjuintegraatiomekanismien käyttöä. Vähiten mekanismien käyttöä selittivät strategiset kontingenssitekijät. Institutionaalisten muuttujien selittävyys vahvistaa tarpeen institutionaalisen teorian hyödyntämiselle toimitusketjuintegraatiotutkimuksessa jatkossakin