Maternal age of menarche and adiposity: evidence from Hong Kong’s “Children of 1997“ birth cohort

Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.BACKGROUND:: Earlier age of menarche predicts chronic diseases. Earlier maternal age of menarche is also associated with higher body mass index (BMI) and height into childhood. METHODS:: We used generalized estimating equations in Hong Kong’s “Children of 1997“ birth cohort to examine the adjusted association of maternal age of menarche with BMI and height z-score, and whether associations varied by maternal birthplace. RESULTS:: Earlier maternal age of menarche was not associated with infant BMI but was associated subsequently with higher BMI in childhood and at puberty. Maternal age of menarche was negatively associated with height in children of Hong Kong-born mothers, but positively associated with infant length for children with mothers born in China (p-value for interaction 0.02). CONCLUSION:: These different patterns suggest drivers of adiposity and linear growth differ, and are more influential in some circumstances. Understanding these drivers may indicate setting-specific interventions to prevent childhood obesity.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Association of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Frequency with Adiposity: Evidence from the “Children of 1997” Birth Cohort

Background: Observationally, sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is associated with adiposity in Western children but could be confounded. We examined the association of SSB frequency with adiposity in the non-Western setting of Hong Kong. Methods: We examined the associations of SSB consumption frequency at 11 and 13 years assessed by using a food frequency questionnaire with subsequent body mass index (BMI) z-score and overweight/obesity up to 18 years using generalized estimating equations, and with waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and body fat percentage at 16–19 years using linear regression in a population-representative Chinese birth cohort “Children of 1997” (n = 3628). Results: At 11 and 13 years, 6.8% and 8.2% of children respectively consumed SSB daily. Neither SSB frequency at 11 nor at 13 years was associated with subsequent BMI z-score or overweight/obesity up to 18 years, or with waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, or body fat percentage at 16–19 years adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic position, health status, physical activity and other food consumption, although bias to the null from under-reporting cannot be eliminated. Conclusion: Although we cannot definitively exclude a small association of SSB frequency with adiposity, lack of association of SSB frequency with adiposity in a non-Western setting with low SSB consumption suggests that the role of SSB in adiposity appears to be minor

Highly luminescent phosphine oxide-containing bipolar alkynylgold(iii) complexes for solution-processable organic light-emitting devices with small efficiency roll-offs.

We report the synthesis of alkynylgold(iii) complexes with an electron-transporting phosphine oxide moiety in the tridentate ligand and hole-transporting triarylamine moieties as auxiliary ligands to generate a new class of phosphine oxide-containing bipolar gold(iii) complexes for the first time. Such gold(iii) complexes feature high photoluminescence quantum yields of over 70% in 1,3-bis(N-carbazolyl)benzene thin films with relatively short excited-state lifetimes of less than 3.9 μs at a 20 wt% dopant concentration. Highly efficient solution-processable organic light-emitting devices have been prepared with superior current efficiencies of up to 51.6 cd A-1 and external quantum efficiencies of up to 15.3%. Notably, triplet-triplet annihilation has been significantly reduced, as exemplified by a very small efficiency roll-off of ∼1% at a practical brightness of 500 cd m-2

Highly luminescent phosphine oxide-containing bipolar alkynylgold(iii) complexes for solution-processable organic light-emitting devices with small efficiency roll-offs.

We report the synthesis of alkynylgold(iii) complexes with an electron-transporting phosphine oxide moiety in the tridentate ligand and hole-transporting triarylamine moieties as auxiliary ligands to generate a new class of phosphine oxide-containing bipolar gold(iii) complexes for the first time. Such gold(iii) complexes feature high photoluminescence quantum yields of over 70% in 1,3-bis(N-carbazolyl)benzene thin films with relatively short excited-state lifetimes of less than 3.9 μs at a 20 wt% dopant concentration. Highly efficient solution-processable organic light-emitting devices have been prepared with superior current efficiencies of up to 51.6 cd A-1 and external quantum efficiencies of up to 15.3%. Notably, triplet-triplet annihilation has been significantly reduced, as exemplified by a very small efficiency roll-off of ∼1% at a practical brightness of 500 cd m-2

The effect of liver enzymes on body composition: A Mendelian randomization study.

BackgroundHigher alanine transaminase (ALT), indicating poor liver function, is positively associated with diabetes but inversely associated with body mass index (BMI) in Mendelian randomization (MR) studies, suggesting liver function affects muscle mass. To clarify, we assessed the associations of liver enzymes with muscle and fat mass observationally with two-sample MR as a validation.MethodsIn the population-representative "Children of 1997" birth cohort (n = 3,455), we used multivariable linear regression to assess the adjusted associations of ALT and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) at ~17.5 years with muscle mass and body fat percentage observationally. Genetic variants predicting ALT, ALP and gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) were applied to fat-free and fat mass in the UK Biobank (n = ~331,000) to obtain unconfounded MR estimates.ResultsObservationally, ALT was positively associated with muscle mass (0.11 kg per IU/L, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.10 to 0.12) and fat percentage (0.15% per IU/L, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.17). ALP was inversely associated with muscle mass (-0.03 kg per IU/L, 95% CI -0.04 to -0.02) and fat percentage (-0.02% per IU/L, 95% CI -0.03 to -0.01). Using MR, ALT was inversely associated with fat-free mass (-0.41 kg per 100% in concentration, 95% CI -0.64 to -0.19) and fat mass (-0.58 kg per 100% in concentration, 95% CI -0.85 to -0.30). ALP and GGT were unclearly associated with fat-free mass or fat mass.ConclusionALT reducing fat-free mass provides a possible pathway for the positive association of ALT with diabetes and suggests a potential target of intervention

Supplementary of the effect of liver enzymes on adiposity: a Mendelian randomization study

<div> <p><b>Legends for Supplemental Tables:</b></p> <p>Supplemental Table 1. Baseline characteristics of the participants who were included (n=3,458) and excluded (n=4,869) in the analyses of the Hong Kong’s “Children of 1997” birth cohort, Hong Kong, China, 1997 to 2016</p> <p>Supplemental Table 2. Characteristics of palindromic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the exposure and outcome genome-wide association studies (GWAS). </p> <p>Supplemental Table 3. Characteristics of unequivocally aligned single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the exposure and outcome genome-wide association study (GWAS). </p> <p>Supplemental Table 4. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with potential pleiotropic effects other than via the specific liver enzyme from Ensembl and from GWAS Catalog </p> </div> <br