Maternal biomarker patterns for metabolism and inflammation in pregnancy are influenced by multiple micronutrient supplementation and associated with child biomarker patterns and nutritional status at 9-12 years of age

Maternal nutritional status influences fetal development and long-term risk for adult non-communicable diseases. However, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We examined whether biomarkers for metabolism and inflammation during pregnancy were associated with maternal health and with child biomarkers and health at 9&ndash;12 years of age in 44 maternal-child dyads from the Supplementation with Multiple Micronutrients Intervention Trial (SUMMIT, ISRCTN34151616) in Lombok, Indonesia. Archived blood for each dyad from maternal enrollment, later in pregnancy, postpartum, and from children at 9&ndash;12 years comprised 132 specimens. Multiplex microbead immunoassays were used to quantify vitamin D-binding protein (D), adiponectin (A), retinol-binding protein 4 (R), C-reactive protein (C), and leptin (L). Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed distinct variance patterns, i.e. principal components (PC), for baseline pregnancy, bp.pc1.D&darr;A&darr;R&darr; and bp.pc2.C&darr;L&uarr;; combined follow-up during pregnancy and postpartum, dp-pp.pc1.D&uarr;&darr;A&uarr;R&uarr;&darr;L&darr; and dp-pp.pc2.A&uarr;C&uarr;L&uarr;; and children, ch.pc1.D&uarr;R&uarr;C&uarr; and ch.pc2.D&darr;A&uarr;L&uarr;. Maternal multiple micronutrient (MMN) supplementation led to an association of baseline maternal bp.pc2.C&darr;L&uarr; with decreased post-supplementation maternal dp-pp.pc2.A&uarr;C&uarr;L&uarr; (p&nbsp;= 0.022), which was in turn associated with both increased child ch.pc1.D&uarr;R&uarr;C&uarr; (p&nbsp;= 0.036) and decreased child BMI z-score (BMIZ) (p&nbsp;= 0.022). Further analyses revealed an association between maternal dp-pp.pc1.D&uarr;&darr;A&uarr;R&uarr;&darr;L&darr; and increased child BMIZ (p =&nbsp;0.036). Child ch.pc1.D&uarr;R&uarr;C&uarr; was associated with decreased birth weight (p =&nbsp;0.036) and increased child BMIZ (p&nbsp;= 0.002). Child ch.pc2.D&darr;A&uarr;L&uarr; was associated with increased child BMIZ (p&nbsp;= 0.005), decreased maternal height (p =&nbsp;0.030) and girls (p =&nbsp;0.002). A pattern of elevated maternal adiponectin and leptin in pregnancy was associated with increased C-reactive protein, vitamin A, and D binding proteins pattern in children, suggesting biomarkers acting in concert may have qualitative as well as quantitative influence beyond single biomarker effects. Patterns in pregnancy proximal to birth were more associated with child status. In addition, child patterns were more associated with child status, particularly child BMI. MMN supplementation affects maternal biomarker patterns of metabolism and inflammation in pregnancy, and potentially in the child. However, child nutrition conditions after birth may have a greater impact on metabolism and inflammation.</p

Prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 after one year of pandemic in Jakarta and neighbouring areas, Indonesia: A single center study

We determined the prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in Jakarta and neighboring areas, Indonesia from March 2020 to February 2021, based on nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal (NP/OP) swab specimens that were tested at the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, Jakarta. NP/OP swab specimens were collected from COVID-19 suspects or individuals in contact tracing programs from primary healthcare centers (PHC) and hospitals. The specimens were screened for the SARS-CoV-2 by qRT-PCR. Demography data and clinical symptoms were collected using national standardized laboratory form. Of 64,364 specimens, 10,130 (15.7%) were confirmed positive for SARS-CoV-2, with the peak prevalence of infection in March 2020 (26.3%) follow by in January 2021 (23.9%) and February 2021 (21.8%). We found that the positivity rate of the specimens from Jakarta, West Java, and Banten was 16.3%, 13.3%, and 16.8%, respectively. Positivity rate was higher in specimens from hospitals (16.9%) than PHC (9.4%). Of the positive specimens, 29.6% were from individuals aged >60 years old, followed by individuals aged 41–60 years old (24.2%). Among symptomatic cases of SARS-CoV-2, the most common symptoms were cough, fever, and a combination of both cough & fever. In conclusion, this study illustrates the prevalence and epidemiological characteristics from one COVID-19 diagnostic center in Jakarta and neighbouring areas in Indonesia