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Context Higher mean and rapid increases in body mass index (BMI) during infancy are associated with subsequent obesity and may be influenced by exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as phenols. Objective In a prospective US-based cohort conducted 2010-2014, we investigated associations between environmental phenol exposures and BMI in 199 infants. Methods We measured 7 urinary phenols at ages 6-8 and 12 weeks and assessed BMI z-score at up to 12 study visits between birth and 36 weeks. We examined individual and joint associations of averaged early infancy phenols with level of BMI z-score using mean differences (β [95% CI]) and with BMI z-score trajectories using relative risk ratios (RR [95% CI]). Results Benzophenone-3, methyl and propyl paraben, and all phenols jointly were positively associated with higher mean BMI z-score (0.07 [−0.05, 0.18], 0.10 [−0.08, 0.27], 0.08 [−0.09, 0.25], 0.17 [−0.08, 0.43], respectively). Relative to a stable trajectory, benzophenone-3, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,5-dichlorophenol, and all phenols jointly were positively associated with risk of a rapid increase trajectory (1.46 [0.89, 2.39], 1.33 [0.88, 2.01], 1.66 [1.03, 2.68], 1.41 [0.71, 2.84], respectively). Conclusion Early phenol exposure was associated with a higher mean and rapid increase in BMI z-score across infancy, signaling potential long-term cardiometabolic consequences of exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore diet patterns in children with tympanostomy tube placement (TTP) complicated by postoperative tympanostomy tube otorrhea. Study Design: Cross‐sectional survey and retrospective cohort study. Methods: Caregivers of children (0–12 years old), at a tertiary‐care pediatric hospital who underwent TTP within 6 months to 2 years prior to enrollment were included. Children with a history of Down syndrome, cleft palate, craniofacial syndromes, known immunodeficiency, or a non‐English‐speaking family were excluded. Our primary outcome variable was the number of otorrhea episodes. The primary predictor was diet patterns, particularly dessert intake, which was captured through a short food questionnaire. Results: A total of 286 participants were included in this study. The median age was 1.8 years (IQR, 1.3, 2.9). A total of 174 (61%) participants reported at least one episode of otorrhea. Children who consumed dessert at least two times per week had a higher risk of otorrhea compared to children who consumed one time per week or less (odds ratio [OR], 3.22, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.69, 6.12). The odds ratio increase continued when considering more stringent criteria for otorrhea (multiple episodes or one episode occurring 4 weeks after surgery), with a 2.33 (95% CI: 1.24, 4.39) higher odds of otorrhea in children with dessert intake at least 2 times per week. Conclusions: Our pilot data suggest that episodes of otorrhea among children with TTP were associated with more frequent dessert intake. Future studies using prospectively administered diet questionnaires are necessary to confirm these findings. Level of Evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 133:3575–3581, 2023 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2017, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, at the request of the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS), published an expert report proposing updates to food packages for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Recommendations included adoption of the "whole grain‐rich" criteria instead of the whole grain health claim to classify whole grain breakfast cereals, and further, that all breakfast cereals be whole grain‐rich. Aims & Methods: To discuss the advantages and implications of these recommendations, the Cereal & Grains Association, in partnership with General Mills, Inc., convened an expert roundtable in April 2022. Results & Discussion: The roundtable agreed increasing whole grain intake among WIC participants is critical and adoption of the whole grain‐rich criteria aligns with the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and child nutrition programs. However, potential challenges in requiring all cereals to be whole grain‐rich, including cost, and consumer choices based on taste and cultural preferences were noted and potential solutions discussed. Conclusion: Considering the public health need to increase whole grain intake, USDA FNS should increase the provision of whole grain in WIC food packages, while also considering the preferences of WIC participants and food costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Objectives Materials and methods Results Discussion Conclusion Testis volume, an indicator of the reproductive development during minipuberty, is commonly measured by Prader orchidometer, despite ultrasound being the gold standard. Data are lacking on the longitudinal relationship between these two measures and on the stability of boys’ relative testis size across infancy.To examine the relationship between ultrasound‐based and orchidometer‐based testis volume measurements and to assess the stability of relative testis size among individual boys in the study.The Infant Feeding and Early Development study is a longitudinal cohort of healthy infants recruited from hospitals in the Philadelphia area during 2010–2013. We measured testis size from birth to 28 weeks in 147 infants using Prader orchidometry (nine study visits) and ultrasound (five study visits). We modeled testis growth, extracted predicted volumes for each boy on each day of the study, and ranked these volumes from smallest to largest.The average testis volume trajectory exhibited linear growth over the first 16 weeks followed by slower growth and then a plateau. Prader orchidometry overestimated testis size by almost 3‐fold, compared to ultrasound. A range of ultrasound volumes corresponded to each bead size (e.g., bead size of 1 cm3 corresponded to an ultrasound‐based volume between 0.11 and 0.87 cm3). Infants changed rankings of median of 22 positions (of 147) across the entire 6‐month follow‐up. Infants’ ranks near birth were highly correlated with their ranks at the end of the study.Consistent with other studies, we found wide variability in testis size during infancy and that Prader orchidometry overestimates testis size. When compared to ultrasound, orchidometry only crudely estimates testis size in this age group. Ultrasound‐based volumes generally showed stability in relative testis size across infancy.Accurate measurement of testis size is difficult using orchidometry in infants. This highlights the need for ultrasound for accurate measurement, with a one‐time measurement likely sufficient to determine relative testis size across the first 6 months of infancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of diet quality in children with tympanostomy tube placement (TTP) complicated by tympanostomy tube otorrhea (TTO)., Study Design: Three-day 24-hour diet recall., Setting: Tertiary care medical center., Methods: Children between the ages of 2 to 6 years old with TTP performed 6 months to 2 years prior to enrollment were included. Children with a history of Down syndrome, cleft palate, craniofacial syndromes, known immunodeficiency, g-tube dependent, or a non-English speaking family were excluded. The primary outcome variable was TTO. The primary predictor was total caloric intake measured by percent estimated energy rate (%EER)., Results: A total of 120 families completed the 3-day diet recall. The median age was 27 months (interquartile range: 7.9-68.5), with 57% male sex. Most children reported dietary intake within the recommended range percent intake for carbohydrates and fat and less than recommended range for percent vitamin D. Within this cohort 63 (52.5%) participants had >1 TTO episode and 57 (47.5%) ≤ $\le $ 1 TTO episode. Children with an EER% that was average or high were at higher odds of >1 TTO episodes compared to participants with a low EER% with ORs of 4.6 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.4, 15.6) and 5.7 (95% CI: 1.5, 22.1) respectively., Conclusion: Children with a typical or high total daily caloric intake are approximately 5 to 6 times more likely to have multiple TTO episodes compared to those with low intake., (© 2024 The Author(s). Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation.)

Purpose: The 2017 European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommendation of an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 30 mg glutamic acid/kg bw/d did not take into consideration the primary energy sources during infancy, including infant formulas. In the present study, we determined total daily intakes of glutamic acid in a contemporary cohort of healthy infants who were fed either cow milk formula (CMF) or extensive protein hydrolysate formulas (EHF); the formulas differed in glutamic acid content (262.4 mg/100ml, CMF; 436.2 mg/100ml, EHF)., Methods: The infants ( n  = 141) were randomized to be fed either CMF or EHF. Daily intakes were determined from weighed bottle methods and/or prospective diet records, and body weights and lengths were measured on 15 occasions from 0.5 to 12.5 months. The trial was registered on http://www., Clinicaltrials: gov/ as trial registration number NCT01700205 on 3 October 2012., Results: Glutamic acid intake from formula and other foods was significantly higher in infants fed EHF when compared to CMF. As glutamic acid intake from formula decreased, intake from other nutritional sources steadily increased from 5.5 months. Regardless of formula type, every infant exceeded the ADI of 30 mg/kg bw/d from 0.5 to 12.5 months., Conclusions: Faced with the knowledge that the EFSA health-based guidance value (ADI) was not based on actual intake data and did not account for the primary energy sources during infancy, EFSA may reconsider the scientific literature on growing children's intakes from human milk, infant formula, and the complementary diet to provide parents and health care providers with revised guidelines.

Despite medical, dietary, and lifestyle recommendations and drug advancements, hypertension persists as among the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases in the US population, and control remains elusive. Uncontrolled hypertension may increase the risk of serious illness from various other health challenges, including cardiovascular and renal responses. Adoption of a healthy diet is a consistent core element of lifestyle modifications that are recommended for mitigation of hypertension. The dietary sodium-to-potassium ratio is recognized as having promising potential in the regulation of blood pressure. In fact, the understanding of the relation between this ratio and blood pressure was documented as a key evidence gap in the 2019 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report that revised recommended intake levels for both sodium and potassium. Although notable animal and human evidence supports this point, fundamental to developing a specific dietary recommendation for a sodium-to-potassium ratio is a well-designed human intervention trial. The successful translatability of such a trial will require careful consideration of study elements, including the study population, duration, blood pressure measurement, and dietary intervention, among other factors. This paper addresses these decision points and serves as supporting documentation for a research group or organization with the interest and means to address this important data gap, which will undoubtedly be foundational for advancing dietary guidance and would inform the next iteration of Dietary Reference Intakes for sodium and potassium., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society for Nutrition 2021.)