Seroprevalence of Epstein-Barr Virus Infection in U.S. Children Ages 6-19, 2003-2010

Background:Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a common herpesvirus linked to infectious mononucleosis and multiple cancers. There are no national estimates of EBV seroprevalence in the United States. Our objective was to estimate the overall prevalence and sociodemographic predictors of EBV among U.S. children and adolescents aged 6-19.Methods:We calculated prevalence estimates and prevalence ratios for EBV seroprevalence using data from the 2003-2010 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for children aged 6-19 (n = 8417). Poisson regression was used to calculate multivariable-adjusted prevalence ratios across subgroup categories (sex, race/ethnicity, parental education, household income, household size, foreign-born, BMI, and household smoking).Findings:Overall EBV seroprevalence was 66.5% (95% CI 64.3%-68.7%.). Seroprevalence increased with age, ranging from 54.1% (95% CI 50.2%-57.9%) for 6-8 year olds to 82.9% (95% CI 80.0%-85.9%) for 18-19 year olds. Females had slightly higher seroprevalence (68.9%, 95% CI 66.3%-71.6%) compared to males (64.2%, 95% CI 61.7%-66.8%). Seroprevalence was substantially higher for Mexican-Americans (85.4%, 95% CI 83.1%-87.8%) and Non-Hispanic Blacks (83.1%, 95% CI 81.1%-85.1%) than Non-Hispanic Whites (56.9%, 95% CI 54.1%-59.8%). Large differences were also seen by family income, with children in the lowest income quartile having 81.0% (95% CI 77.6%-84.5%) seroprevalence compared to 53.9% (95% CI 50.5%-57.3%) in the highest income quartile, with similar results for parental education level. These results were not explained by household size, BMI, or parental smoking. Among those who were seropositive, EBV antibody titers were significantly higher for females, Non-Hispanic Blacks and Mexican-Americans, with no association found for socioeconomic factors.Conclusions:In the first nationally representative U.S. estimates, we found substantial socioeconomic and race/ethnic differences in the seroprevalence of EBV across all ages for U.S. children and adolescents. These estimates can help researchers and clinicians identify groups most at risk, inform research on EBV-cancer etiology, and motivate potential vaccine development

Maternal ethnobotanical knowledge is associated with multiple measures of child health in the Bolivian Amazon

Premi a l'excel·lència investigadora. Àmbit de les Ciències Socials. 2008Culture is a critical determinant of human behavior and health, and the intergenerational transmission of knowledge regarding the use of available plant resources has historically been an essential function of culture. Local ethnobotanical knowledge is important for health and nutrition, particularly in rural low-resource settings, but cultural and economic transitions associated with globalization threaten such knowledge. This prospective study investigates the association between parental ethnobotanical knowledge and child health among the Tsimane', a horticulturalist and foraging society in Amazonian Bolivia. Anthropometric data and capillary blood samples were collected from 330 Tsimane' 2- to 10-year-olds, and mothers and fathers were interviewed to assess ethnobotanical knowledge and skills. Comprehensive measures of parental schooling, acculturation, and economic activities were also collected. Dependent variables included three measures of child health: (i) C-reactive protein, assayed in whole-blood spots as an indicator of immunostimulation; (ii) skinfold thickness, to estimate subcutaneous fat stores necessary to fuel growth and immune function; and (iii) height-for-age, to assess growth stunting. Each child health measure was associated with maternal ethnobotanical knowledge, independent of a wide range of potentially confounding variables. Each standard deviation of maternal ethnobotanical knowledge increased the likelihood of good child health by a factor of >1.5. Like many populations around the world, the Tsimane' are increasingly facing the challenges and opportunities of globalization. These results underscore the importance of local cultural factors to child health and document a potential cost if ethnobotanical knowledge is lost

Quality of Relationships with Parents and Friends in Adolescence Predicts Metabolic Risk in Young Adulthood

Objective: This study was designed to examine whether family and peer relationships in adolescence predict the emergence of metabolic risk factors in young adulthood. Method: Participants from a large, nationally representative cohort study (N = 11,617 for these analyses) reported on their relationship experiences with parents and close friends during adolescence. Fourteen years later, interviewers collected blood samples, as well as anthropometric and blood pressure measurements. Blood samples were analyzed for HbA1c. Results: Ordered logistic regressions revealed that for females, supportive parent–child relationships and close male friendships in adolescence were associated with reduced odds of having elevated metabolic risk markers in young adulthood. These effects remained significant even after controlling for baseline measures of body mass index (BMI) and health and demographic covariates. The protective effects of close relationships were not significant for males, however. Exploratory analyses with 2-parent families revealed that supportive father–child relationships were especially protective for females. Conclusions: These findings suggest that, for females, close and supportive relationships with parents and male friends in adolescence may reduce the risk of metabolic dysregulation in adulthood

Sociosexuality, testosterone, and life history status: Prospective associations and longitudinal changes among men in Cebu, Philippines

Sociosexuality is defined as an individual\u27s interest in uncommitted sexual activity and can be measured in terms of both psychological orientations and behavioral expression. In socio-ecological contexts in which adults monogamously partner and cooperate to raise children, individuals with unrestricted sociosexuality are likely to prioritize mating/competition over committed partnering and parenting. Given the importance of mother-father cooperation in the evolutionary past, humans may have the capacity to facultatively and opportunistically downregulate sociosexuality to focus on priorities related to invested partnering and parenting. To date, no prior studies have used longitudinal data to track within-individuals changes in sociosexuality as it relates to such life history transitions. Given the lack of prior longitudinal research in this area, it is likewise unknown what physiological mechanisms might mediate within-individual changes in sociosexuality through time but testosterone is a plausible candidate. To explore these questions, we drew on a large, long-running study of Filipino men (n=288), who were single non-fathers at 25.9 years of age and were followed up 4–5 years later. We found that men with more unrestricted sociosexuality at baseline were more likely to experience relationship dissolution by follow-up, consistent with past work. Compared to men who remained single non-fathers at follow-up, men who became married residential fathers showed shifts towards more restricted global sociosexuality as well as sociosexual behavior. Relative to their own baseline values, married residential fathers also had more restricted sociosexuality in all domains at follow-up. They were the only group for whom this was found. We found theoretically-consistent but modest support for positive correlations between men\u27s testosterone and their sociosexuality, but no evidence that the two change in tandem together through time. Our results suggest that some amount of between-individual differences in sociosexuality are not stable and can facultatively shift alongside other aspects of male reproductive effort

Spatial transcriptomics identifies spatially dysregulated expression of <i>GRM3</i> and <i>USP47</i> in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Research Funding Medical Research Council. Grant Number: MR/L016400/1 Biogen Academy of Medical Sciences. Grant Number: 210JMG 3102 R45620 MND Scotland Engineering and Physical Sciences Research CouncilPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Seventeen-Year Changes in Body Mass Index, Waist Circumference, Elevated Blood Pressure, and Diabetes Phenotypes in a Cohort of Filipino Women

Obesity, hypertension, and diabetes have risen dramatically in Asia, but few cohort studies track age and secular trends in these conditions. We use Cebu (The Philippines) Longitudinal Health and Nutrition survey data to document 1998 to 2015 prevalence and co-occurrence of body mass index (BMI; >25 kg/m2), high waist circumference (WC; >80 cm), elevated blood pressure (EBP; systolic ⩾130 or diastolic ⩾85 mm Hg), and type 2 diabetes among ~2000 women aged 29 to 62 years in 1998; and identify their relationship to community, household, and individual factors using longitudinal logistic regression. Prevalence (1998-2015) rates were 35% to 49%, BMI >25 kg/m2; 32% to 58% high WC; 21% to 59% EBP; and 2% to 14% diabetes. Only 20% of women had none of these conditions in 2015. Diabetes was strongly driven by age and secular trends in high WC related to higher socioeconomic status and urbanization. Hypertension increased with age in lower socioeconomic status rural and more affluent urban women. Results underscore the continuing need for public health measures to prevent obesity and to identify and treat hypertension and diabetes

Concepts and methods in studies measuring individual ethnobotanical knowledge

We review 34 quantitative studies that have measured individuallevel variations in ethnobotanical knowledge, analyzing how those studies have conceptualized and operationalized ethnobotanical knowledge. We found that this type of research is recent but growing, and is concentrated in indigenous peoples of developing countries. We also found that studies differ on how they conceptualize and measure individual ethnobotanical knowledge. As it is the case in other interdisciplinary research, the lack of conceptual consistency and comparable data limit the inferences that can be drawn from empirical analyses of ethnobotanical knowledge. Future research should 1) validate the consistency of measures of individual ethnobotanical knowledge; 2) analyze the reliability of data generated by the different methods developed so far; and 3) address the relationship between the various dimensions of ethnobotanical knowledge. Studies of individual ethnobotanical knowledge have the potential to contribute to a systematic understanding of humanity’s most widespread and ancient form of knowledge

Slow early growers have more muscle in relation to adult activity: evidence from Cebu, Philippines

Adult skeletal muscle mass (SMM) protects against type 2 diabetes but little is known about its developmental antecedents. We examined whether pace of early weight gain predicted adult SMM in a birth cohort from Cebu City, Philippines. Additionally, we examined whether increases in SMM associated with adult muscle-building exercise varied according to early growth