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Background: The current study examined if early adversity was associated with accelerated biological aging, and if effects were mediated by the timing of puberty. Methods: In early mid-life, 187 Black and 198 White (M age = 39.4, s.d.age = 1.2) women reported on early abuse and age at first menstruation (menarche). Women provided saliva and blood to assess epigenetic aging, telomere length, and C-reactive protein. Using structural equation modeling, we created a latent variable of biological aging using epigenetic aging, telomere length, and C-reactive protein as indicators, and a latent variable of early abuse using indicators of abuse/threat events before age 13, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. We estimated the indirect effects of early abuse and of race on accelerated aging through age at menarche. Race was used as a proxy for adversity in the form of systemic racism. Results: There was an indirect effect of early adversity on accelerated aging through age at menarche (b = 0.19, 95% CI 0.03–0.44), in that women who experienced more adversity were younger at menarche, which was associated with greater accelerated aging. There was also an indirect effect of race on accelerated aging through age at menarche (b = 0.25, 95% CI 0.04–0.52), in that Black women were younger at menarche, which led to greater accelerated aging. Conclusions: Early abuse and being Black in the USA may both induce a phenotype of accelerated aging. Early adversity may begin to accelerate aging during childhood, in the form of early pubertal timing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although maternal stressor exposure has been associated with shorter telomere length (TL) in offspring, this literature is based largely on White samples. Furthermore, timing of maternal stressors has rarely been examined. Here, we examined how maternal stressors occurring during adolescence, pregnancy, and across the lifespan related to child TL in Black and White mothers. Method: Mothers (112 Black; 110 White; M age = 39) and their youngest offspring (n = 222; M age = 8) were part of a larger prospective cohort study, wherein mothers reported their stressors during adolescence (assessed twice during adolescence for the past year), pregnancy (assessed in midlife for most recent pregnancy), and across their lifespan (assessed in midlife). Mother and child provided saliva for TL measurement. Multiple linear regression models examined the interaction of maternal stressor exposure and race in relation to child TL, controlling for maternal TL and child gender and age. Race-stratified analyses were also conducted. Results: Neither maternal adolescence nor lifespan stressors interacted with race in relation to child TL. In contrast, greater maternal pregnancy stressors were associated with shorter child TL, but this effect was present for children of White but not Black mothers. Moreover, this effect was significant for financial but not social pregnancy stressors. Race-stratified models revealed that greater financial pregnancy stressors predicted shorter telomeres in offspring of White, but not Black mothers. Conclusions: Race and maternal stressors interact and are related to biological aging across generations, but these effects are specific to certain races, stressors, and exposure time periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine associations between household food insecurity and children's physical activity and sedentary behaviours.Design: Secondary analysis was conducted on the Healthy Communities Study, an observational study from 2013 to 2015. Household food insecurity was assessed by two items from the US Department of Agriculture's 18-item US Household Food Security Survey Module. Physical activity was measured using the 7-d Physical Activity Behaviour Recall instrument. Data were analysed using multilevel statistical modelling.Setting: A total of 130 communities in the USA.Participants: In sum, 5138 US children aged 4-15 years.Results: No associations were found for the relationship between household food insecurity and child physical activity. A significant interaction between household food insecurity and child sex for sedentary behaviours was observed (P = 0·03).Conclusions: Additional research capturing a more detailed assessment of children's experiences of food insecurity in relation to physical activity is warranted. Future studies may consider adopting qualitative study designs or utilising food insecurity measures that specifically target child-level food insecurity. Subsequent research may also seek to further explore sub-group analyses by sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the prospective associations of objective and subjective measures of stress during pregnancy with infant stress reactivity and regulation, an earlylife predictor of psychopathology. In a racially and ethnically diverse low-income sample of 151 mother-infant dyads, maternal reports of stressful life events (SLE) and perceived stress (PS) were collected serially over gestation and the early postpartum period. Infant reactivity and regulation at 6 months of age was assessed via maternal report of temperament (negativity, surgency, and regulation) and infant parasympathetic nervous system physiology (respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) during the Still Face Paradigm. Regression models predicting infant temperament showed higher maternal prenatal PS predicted lower surgency and self-regulation but not negativity. Regression models predicting infant physiology showed higher numbers of SLE during gestation predicted greater RSA reactivity and weaker recovery. Tests of interactions revealed SLE predicted RSA reactivity only at moderate to high levels of PS. Thus, findings suggest objective and subjective measures of maternal prenatal stress uniquely predict infant behavior and physiology, adjusting for key pre- and postnatal covariates, and advance the limited evidence for such prenatal programming within high-risk populations. Assessing multiple levels of maternal stress and offspring stress reactivity and regulation provides a richer picture of intergenerational transmission of adversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present store-based intervention was designed to promote sales of fruits and vegetables (F&V) to increase intake among store customers--specifically customers of tiendas, small-to-medium-sized Latino food stores.Design: Four tiendas were randomized to a 2-month environmental change intervention or a delayed treatment control condition. Employees and managers were trained to promote F&V sales, including how to implement a food marketing campaign and installing store equipment to promote fresh fruits and vegetables. The primary outcome was self-reported daily intake of F&V among a convenience sample of customers (at least forty per store) collected at baseline prior to randomization and then 4 months later. In addition, changes in availability of F&V in the tiendas, using unobtrusive observational methods, provided evidence of intervention fidelity.Setting: Tiendas in central North Carolina.Subjects: Participants included 179 customers who were recent immigrants from Mexico and Central America.Results: A group-by-time interaction approached significance on daily servings of F&V; intervention customers reported an increase in F&V intake over time and as a function of the intervention (P < or = 0.06). Unexpectedly, self-efficacy for consuming more fruits (P < or = 0.01) and more vegetables (P < or = 0.06) decreased. In our store-level analyses, a group-by-time interaction was observed for availability of fresh and canned vegetables; the intervention increased availability of vegetables but not fruit.Conclusions: Environmental change strategies to promote healthy eating are needed given the rates of obesity and diabetes in the Latino population. A store-based intervention was moderately effective at increasing customers’ reported F&V intake. Such strategies can have a public health impact on underserved populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveThe nutritional intake of schoolchildren is affected not only by what is consumed at school but also by what is available in food outlets near schools. The present study surveys the range of food outlets around schools and examines how the availability of healthy food in the food stores encountered varies by income status of the school and by store participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food assistance programme.DesignNetwork buffer zones were created to reflect a quarter-mile (400 m) walk from elementary schools with lower- and higher-income student populations in Oakland, CA, USA. All food outlets within these zones were categorised by type, and audits were conducted within food stores using a checklist to assess for the presence or absence of twenty-eight healthy items (in five domains).SettingMid-sized city in the USA.SubjectsFood outlets near public elementary schools.ResultsThere were considerably more food outlets around lower-income schools. Food stores near higher-income schools had higher scores in two of the five domains (healthy beverages/low-fat dairy and healthy snacks). However, there were more food stores near lower-income schools that accepted WIC vouchers. Stratification showed that WIC stores scored higher than non-WIC stores on four of the five domains.ConclusionsAlthough higher-income students have more access to healthy food in the environment surrounding their school, this disparity appears to be mitigated by stores that accept WIC and offer more healthy snacking options. Federal programmes such as this may be particularly valuable for children in lower-income areas. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: To investigate the association between pregravid weight status and diet quality., Design: Institute of Medicine body mass index (BMI) cut-off points of 26.0-29.0 kg m- 2 for overweight and >29 kg m- 2 for obese were used to categorise women's weight status. Dietary information was obtained by self-report at 26-28 weeks' gestation using a modified Block food-frequency questionnaire. The Diet Quality Index for Pregnancy (DQI-P) included: servings of grains, vegetables and fruits, folate, iron and calcium intake, percentage calories from fat, and meal pattern score. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between weight status and tertiles of DQI-P controlling for potential individual confounders., Setting: A clinical-based population recruited through four prenatal clinics in central North Carolina., Subjects: A total of 2394 women from the Pregnancy, Infection and Nutrition study were included in this analysis., Results: Evidence of a dose-response relationship was found between BMI and inadequate servings of grains and vegetables, and iron and folate intake. Pregravid obesity was associated with 76% increased odds of falling into the lowest diet quality tertile compared with underweight women after controlling for potential confounders., Conclusion: A modest association was found between pregravid weight status and diet quality. If corroborated, these findings suggest that overweight pregnant women should be targeted for nutrition counselling interventions aimed to improve diet quality.