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Increased parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity is associated with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) inattentive symptoms, but not hyperactive‐impulsive symptoms, and may contribute to inattentive subtype etiology. Guided by prior work linking infant rhinorrhea and watery eyes without a cold (RWWC) to PNS dysregulation, we examined associations between infant RWWC and childhood ADHD symptoms in a longitudinal cohort of Black and Latinx children living in the context of economic disadvantage (N = 301 youth: 158 females, 143 males). Infant RWWC predicted higher inattentive (relative risk [RR] 2.16, p <.001) but not hyperactive‐impulsive (RR 1.53, p =.065) ADHD symptoms (DuPaul scale), administered to caregivers at child age 8–14 years. Stratified analyses revealed that these associations were present in females but not males, who were three times more likely to have higher ADHD current total symptoms if they had infant RWWC than if they did not. Additionally, associations between RWWC and inattention symptoms were observed only in females. RWWC may thus serve as a novel risk marker of ADHD inattentive‐type symptoms, especially for females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify the rates and types of postoperative complications in patients with and without Graves' disease undergoing total thyroidectomy using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database. Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: All hospitals participating in NSQIP from 2007 to 2017. Methods: Thyroidectomy data were abstracted from the NSQIP database from 2007 to 2017 using related Current Procedural Terminology codes. Exclusion criteria included diagnosis of malignancy and partial thyroidectomy. Patients with a diagnosis of Graves' disease were compared against the control group, which consisted of other nononcologic diagnoses. Statistical analysis including matched pair analysis was performed. Results: Unmatched data demonstrated that patients with Graves' disease who underwent total thyroidectomy (n = 5495) had a higher rate of readmission (odds ratio [OR], 1.41; 95% CI, 1.16‐1.73) and rate of reoperation (OR, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.88‐2.79) in comparison to control patients (n = 24,213). They also had a higher rate of postoperative complication (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.23‐1.93) especially for wound‐related outcomes (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.32‐2.69), readmission for postoperative hypocalcemia (OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.54‐2.92), and reoperation for hematoma or hemorrhage (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.32‐2.69). A matched‐pair analysis of the data also demonstrated similar significant results. Conclusion: Patients with Graves' disease undergoing total thyroidectomy are at higher risk of complications in comparison to those who do not have Graves' disease, likely due to sequelae of the disease. However, overall rates were low, suggesting that the procedure remains relatively low risk and should continue to be offered to select patients who meet criteria for surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prenatal exposure to air pollution disrupts cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development. The brain disturbances associated with prenatal air pollution are largely unknown. Methods: In this prospective cohort study, we estimated prenatal exposures to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and then assessed their associations with measures of brain anatomy, tissue microstructure, neurometabolites, and blood flow in 332 youth, 6–14 years old. We then assessed how those brain disturbances were associated with measures of intelligence, ADHD and anxiety symptoms, and socialization. Results: Both exposures were associated with thinning of dorsal parietal cortices and thickening of postero–inferior and mesial wall cortices. They were associated with smaller white matter volumes, reduced organization in white matter of the internal capsule and frontal lobe, higher metabolite concentrations in frontal cortex, reduced cortical blood flow, and greater microstructural organization in subcortical gray matter nuclei. Associations were stronger for PM2.5 in boys and PAH in girls. Youth with low exposure accounted for most significant associations of ADHD, anxiety, socialization, and intelligence measures with cortical thickness and white matter volumes, whereas it appears that high exposures generally disrupted these neurotypical brain‐behavior associations, likely because strong exposure‐related effects increased the variances of these brain measures. Conclusions: The commonality of effects across exposures suggests PM2.5 and PAH disrupt brain development through one or more common molecular pathways, such as inflammation or oxidative stress. Progressively higher exposures were associated with greater disruptions in local volumes, tissue organization, metabolite concentrations, and blood flow throughout cortical and subcortical brain regions and the white matter pathways interconnecting them. Together these affected regions comprise cortico‐striato‐thalamo‐cortical circuits, which support the regulation of thought, emotion, and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A mother–child dyad trajectory model of weight and body composition spanning from conception to adolescence was developed to understand how early life exposures shape childhood body composition. Methods: African American (49.3%) and Dominican (50.7%) pregnant mothers (n = 337) were enrolled during pregnancy, and their children (47.5% female) were followed from ages 5 to 14. Gestational weight gain (GWG) was abstracted from medical records. Child weight, height, percentage body fat, and waist circumference were measured. GWG and child body composition trajectories were jointly modeled with a flexible latent class model with a class membership component that included prepregnancy BMI. Results: Four prenatal and child body composition trajectory patterns were identified, and sex‐specific patterns were observed for the joint GWG–postnatal body composition trajectories with more distinct patterns among girls but not boys. Girls of mothers with high GWG across gestation had the highest BMI z score, waist circumference, and percentage body fat trajectories from ages 5 to 14; however, boys in this high GWG group did not show similar growth patterns. Conclusions: Jointly modeled prenatal weight and child body composition trajectories showed sex‐specific patterns. Growth patterns from childhood though early adolescence appeared to be more profoundly affected by higher GWG patterns in females, suggesting sex differences in developmental programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gestational weight gain (GWG) is potentially modifiable and is associated with infant size and body composition; however, long‐term effects on childhood obesity have not been reported among multi‐ethnic urban populations. We examined the association between GWG and child anthropometric measures and body composition at 7 years [waist circumference (WC), body mass index z‐score (BMIZ), obesity (BMIZ ≥95%ile) and bioelectrical impedance analysis estimates of percentage body fat (%fat)] in African–American and Dominican dyads (n = 323) in the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health prospective birth cohort study from 1998 to 2013. Linear and logistic regression evaluated associations between excessive GWG [>Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2009 guidelines] and outcomes, adjusting for pre‐pregnancy BMI and covariates. Pre‐pregnancy BMI (mean ± standard deviation, all such values) and total GWG were 25.8 ± 6.2 kg m−2 (45% overweight/obese) and 16.4 ± 7.9 kg (64% > IOM guidelines), respectively. Excessive GWG was associated with higher BMIZ {0.44 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.2, 0.7], P < 0.001}, WC [β: 2.9 cm (95% CI: 1.1, 4.6), P = 0.002], %fat at 7 years [β: 2.2% (95% CI: 1.0, 3.5), P = 0.001)] and obesity [odds ratio: 2.93 (95% CI: 1.5, 5.8), P = 0.002]. Pre‐pregnancy BMI was positively associated with child size, adiposity and obesity (all P < 0.05). Excessive GWG was highly prevalent and was associated with child obesity, greater percentage body fat and abdominal adiposity. Strategies to support healthy GWG are warranted to promote healthy growth and prevent childhood obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miller RL, Garfinkel R, Lendor C, Hoepner L, Li Z, Romanoff L, Sjodin A, Needham L, Perera FP, Whyatt RM. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolite levels and pediatric allergy and asthma in an inner-city cohort. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2010: 21: 260–267. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) has been associated with allergic sensitization and asthma. We hypothesized that increased urinary PAH metabolites are associated with allergy or asthma among children age 5 yrs in an inner-city birth cohort. As part of an ongoing prospective birth cohort under the auspices of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH), urine was collected from 5-yr-old children (n = 222) of Dominican American and African American mothers in Northern Manhattan and South Bronx of New York City. Twenty-four PAH metabolites were measured in these specimens, and their levels (unadjusted and specific gravity corrected) were evaluated with IgE levels and asthma outcomes. Ten metabolites were detected in urine from all children. Concentrations ranged higher than those in representative samples of US children ages 6–11 in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Among CCCEH children, compared with African Americans, the Dominican children had higher 2-hydroxynaphthalene but lower 9-hydroxyfluorene and 4-hydroxyphenanthrene concentrations. Increased 3-hydroxyfluorene and 3-hydroxyphenanthrene levels were associated with higher anti-mouse IgE levels (p < 0.05). These plus 2-hydroxynaphthalene, 2-hydroxyflourene and 1-hydroxyphenanthrene concentrations were associated with higher anti-mouse IgE levels on multivariate analyzes. Increased 2-hydroxyphenanthrene, 3-hydroxyphenanthrene and 4-hydroxyphenanthrene levels were associated with higher anti-cat IgE levels (p < 0.05) in univariate, but not multivariate, analyzes. Levels of PAH metabolites were not associated with respiratory symptoms. Measures of PAH metabolites suggest considerable exposure in an urban pediatric population, and possible associations with allergic sensitization to mouse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]