Interview with Endre Szemerédi

Endre Szemerédi is the recipient of the 2012 Abel Prize of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. This interview was conducted in Oslo in May 2012 in conjuction with the Abel Prize celebration

Regionalization and local hospital closure in Norwegian maternity care: the effect on neonatal and infant mortality

Objective. To study whether neonatal and infant mortality, after adjustments for differences in case-mix, were independent of the type of hospital in which the delivery was carried out. Data. The Medical Birth Registry of Norway provided detailed medical information for all births in Norway. Study design. Hospitals were classified into two groups: local hospitals/maternity clinics versus central/regional hospitals. Outcomes were neonatal and infant mortality. The data were analyzed using propensity score weighting to make adjustments for differences in case mix between the two groups of hospitals. This analysis was supplemented with analyses of 13 local hospitals that were closed. Using a difference-in-difference approach, the effects that these closures had on neonatal and infant mortality were estimated. Principal finding. Neonatal and infant mortality were not affected by the type of hospital where the delivery took place. Conclusion. A regionalized maternity service does not lead to increased neonatal and infant mortality. This is mainly because high risk deliveries were identified well in advance of the birth, and referred to a larger hospital with sufficient perinatal resources to deal with these deliveries

Effect of complementary food with small amounts of freshwater fish on whole blood n-3 fatty acids in Cambodian infants age 6-15 months

The final publication is available at Elsevier via https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.plefa.2018.07.002”. © 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/The impact of freshwater fish consumption on the status of long-chain n-3 fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA) in infants in landlocked, low-income populations is unknown. We used secondary data from a randomized, single-blinded, controlled trial to evaluate the impact of daily consumption of complementary food products with small amounts of freshwater fish on whole blood n-3 LCPUFA in Cambodian infants. Infants (n=419), received daily, one of four food products for 9 months. Two products contained freshwater fish: WinFood (10% fish by dry weight) and WinFood-L (12% fish by dry weight), while two products were non-fish-based: corn-soy blends (CSB+ and CSB++). Whole blood fatty acids and breastfeeding status were assessed at baseline and endline of the intervention. The WinFood products contributed to an estimated maximum intake of 86.5 mg/day n-3 LCPUFA. There was no difference in whole blood n-3 LCPUFA among the four intervention groups or between the fish-based and the non-fish-based groups (p≥0.142). At endline, 71% of the children were still breastfed. Interaction analyses indicated a lower ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFA in non-breastfed infants in the WinFood groups compared to the CSB groups (pinteraction=0.026). Thus, a high intake of n-3 LCPUFA from breastmilk may have blurred a potential impact of small amounts of freshwater fish effect on n-3 LCPUFA status in Cambodian infants.Danida || 57-08-LIFEEuropean Commission || SMILING Project 289616Institut de Recherche pour le DéveloppementUniversity of CopenhagenCanada Research Chair in Nutritional LipidomicsWorld Food Programm

Stunting, wasting and breast-feeding as correlates of body composition in Cambodian children at 6 and 15 months of age

AbstractThe study aimed at assessing stunting, wasting and breast-feeding as correlates of body composition in Cambodian children. As part of a nutrition trial (ISRCTN19918531), fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) were measured using2H dilution at 6 and 15 months of age. Of 419 infants enrolled, 98 % were breastfed, 15 % stunted and 4 % wasted at 6 months. At 15 months, 78 % were breastfed, 24 % stunted and 11 % wasted. Those not breastfed had lower FMI at 6 months but not at 15 months. Stunted children had lower FM at 6 months and lower FFM at 6 and 15 months compared with children with length-for-agez≥0. Stunting was not associated with height-adjusted indexes fat mass index (FMI) or fat-free mass index (FFMI). Wasted children had lower FM, FFM, FMI and FFMI at 6 and 15 months compared with children with weight-for-lengthz(WLZ) ≥0. Generally, FFM and FFMI deficits increased with age, whereas FM and FMI deficits decreased, reflecting interactions between age and WLZ. For example, the FFM deficits were –0·99 (95 % CI –1·26, –0·72) kg at 6 months and –1·44 (95 % CI –1·69; –1·19) kg at 15 months (interaction,P&lt;0·05), while the FMI deficits were –2·12 (95 % CI –2·53, –1·72) kg/m2at 6 months and –1·32 (95 % CI –1·77, –0·87) kg/m2at 15 months (interaction,P&lt;0·05). This indicates that undernourished children preserve body fat at the detriment of fat-free tissue, which may have long-term consequences for health and working capacity.</jats:p

Stunting, wasting and breast-feeding as correlates of body composition in Cambodian children at 6 and 15 months of age

AbstractThe study aimed at assessing stunting, wasting and breast-feeding as correlates of body composition in Cambodian children. As part of a nutrition trial (ISRCTN19918531), fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) were measured using2H dilution at 6 and 15 months of age. Of 419 infants enrolled, 98 % were breastfed, 15 % stunted and 4 % wasted at 6 months. At 15 months, 78 % were breastfed, 24 % stunted and 11 % wasted. Those not breastfed had lower FMI at 6 months but not at 15 months. Stunted children had lower FM at 6 months and lower FFM at 6 and 15 months compared with children with length-for-agez≥0. Stunting was not associated with height-adjusted indexes fat mass index (FMI) or fat-free mass index (FFMI). Wasted children had lower FM, FFM, FMI and FFMI at 6 and 15 months compared with children with weight-for-lengthz(WLZ) ≥0. Generally, FFM and FFMI deficits increased with age, whereas FM and FMI deficits decreased, reflecting interactions between age and WLZ. For example, the FFM deficits were –0·99 (95 % CI –1·26, –0·72) kg at 6 months and –1·44 (95 % CI –1·69; –1·19) kg at 15 months (interaction,P&lt;0·05), while the FMI deficits were –2·12 (95 % CI –2·53, –1·72) kg/m2at 6 months and –1·32 (95 % CI –1·77, –0·87) kg/m2at 15 months (interaction,P&lt;0·05). This indicates that undernourished children preserve body fat at the detriment of fat-free tissue, which may have long-term consequences for health and working capacity.</jats:p