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Little is known about the usefulness of biomarkers to study the influence of prenatal nutrition supplementation in improving child growth. Anthropometry is not always straightforward to understand how nutrition might impact growth, especially in settings with high rates of malnutrition and infections. We examined the effects of prenatal supplementation on growth and growth biomarkers and the relationship between anthropometric measures and growth biomarkers of children at 4.5 and 9 years of age. Children were enrolled from a longitudinal cohort, where mothers were randomized into daily supplementation with either early‐food (≤9 gestation week [GW]) or usual‐food (~20 GW) (608 kcal 6 days/week); they were further randomized to receive 30‐mg or 60‐mg iron with 400‐μg folic acid, or multiple micronutrients (MM) in rural Bangladesh. Anthropometric data were collected from mothers at GW8 and children at 4.5 (n = 640) and 9 years (n = 536). Fasting blood was collected from children at each age. Early‐food supplementation showed reduced stunting and underweight at 4.5 and 9 years age respectively compared to usual‐food. Prenatal supplementations did not have any effect on growth biomarkers except for STAT5b expression which was lower in the early‐food compared to the usual‐food group (β = −0.21; 95 CI% = −0.36, −0.07). Plasma concentrations of 25‐hydroxy vitamin D and calcium were both inversely associated with weight‐for‐age and body mass index‐for‐age Z‐scores at 9 years, particularly in early‐food and MM groups. Although there was minimal effect on child growth by prenatal supplementations, the associations of biomarkers with anthropometric indices were predominantly driven by timing of food or MM supplementations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Iron supplementation in pregnancy is recommended by the WHO to prevent a major public health problem, namely, maternal iron deficiency and its consequences. There are gaps in the existing evidence regarding maternal and neonatal benefits and harms of universal iron supplementation. Objective: To evaluate the association between maternal iron status during pregnancy and infant size at birth (birth weight and length). Method: This present prospective cohort study was nested in a food and micronutrient supplementation trial conducted in Matlab (MINIMat study), rural Bangladesh. We randomly selected 573 women recruited into the MINIMat study from January – December 2002 who delivered singletons with available birth anthropometric information. The plasma ferritin of each mother was measured at gestational week 14 (GW14; before the start of micronutrient supplementation) and at week 30 (GW30). Results: Multivariable linear regression revealed no association between plasma ferritin at GW14 and birth weight. However, newborns of women in the highest tertile of plasma ferritin at GW30 (median = 29 µg/L) had on average a 93-gm lower birth weight (95% CI: −172, – 14; p = 0.021) than the newborns of women in the lowest tertile (median = 8 µg/L). Logistic regression showed that odds of low birth weight were approximately two times higher [odds ratio (OR) = 2.27; 95% CI: 1.40, 3.67] among those with mothers in the highest ferritin tertile than in the lowest tertile at GW30. No association was found between maternal plasma ferritin and birth length. Conclusion: We observed an inverse association between high plasma ferritin in the last trimester (GW30) and birth weight but not birth length. The results suggested that elevated plasma ferritin in pregnancy could have an untoward effect on birth weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growth patterns in early life are associated with later health. The effect of nutrition during in utero development on later body composition is unclear. We evaluated whether prenatal early invitation to food and/or multiple micronutrient supplementation ( MMS) in pregnancy has an effect on offspring body composition at 54 months of age. In Maternal and Infant Nutrition Interventions in Matlab trial ( ISRCTN16581394) in Bangladesh, 4436 pregnant women were randomised into six equally sized groups: double-masked supplementation with capsules of either 30 mg Fe and 400 μg folic acid, or 60 mg Fe and 400 μg folic acid, or MMS (15 micronutrients), was combined with a randomised early invitation (around 9 weeks) or a usual invitation (around 20 weeks) to start food supplementation (608 kcal 6 days per week). At 54 months, the body composition of the offspring was assessed by leg-to-leg bioelectrical impedance analysis. Of the 3267 live singletons with birth anthropometry, 2290 children were measured at 54 months, representing 70% of the live births. There was no interaction between the food and micronutrient supplementation on body composition outcomes. There were no significant differences in a range of anthropometric and body composition measurements, including weight, height, mid-upper arm circumference, head circumference, skinfold thickness, and fat mass and fat-free mass between the different prenatal food and micronutrient groups using an intention-to-treat analysis. This analysis shows that early invitation to food supplementation and MMS provided to rural Bangladeshi women during pregnancy did not affect offspring body composition at 54 months of age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Immediate and exclusive initiation of breastfeeding after delivery have been associated with better neonatal survival and child health and are recommended by the WHO. We report impact on early infant feeding practices from the PROMISE-EBF trial. Methods PROMISE-EBF was a cluster randomised behaviour change intervention trial of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) promotion by peer counsellors in Burkina Faso, Uganda and South Africa implemented during 2006-2008 among 2579 mother-infant pairs. Counselling started in the last pregnancy trimester and mothers were offered at least five postnatal visits. Early infant feeding practices: use of prelacteal feeds (any foods or drinks other than breast milk given within the first 3 days), expressing and discarding colostrum, and timing of initiation of breastfeeding are presented by trial arm in each country. Prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) are given. Results The proportion of women who gave prelacteal feeds in the intervention and control arms were, respectively: 11% and 36%, PR 0.3 (95% CI 0.2, 0.6) in Burkina Faso, 13% and 44%, PR 0.3 (95% CI 0.2, 0.5) in Uganda and 30% and 33%, PR 0.9 (95% CI 0.6, 1.3) in South Africa. While the majority gave colostrum, the proportion of those who expressed and discarded it in the intervention and control arms were: 8% and 12%, PR 0.7 (95% CI 0.3, 1.6) in Burkina Faso, 3% and 10%, PR 0.3 (95% CI 0.1, 0.6) in Uganda and 17% and 16%, PR 1.1 (95% CI 0.6, 2.1) in South Africa. Only a minority in Burkina Faso (<4%) and roughly half in South Africa initiated breastfeeding within the first hour with no large or statistically significant differences between the trial arms, whilst in Uganda the proportion of early initiation of breastfeeding in the intervention and control arms were: 55% and 41%, PR 0.8 (95% CI 0.7, 0.9). Conclusions The PROMISE-EBF trial showed that the intervention led to less prelacteal feeding in Burkina Faso and Uganda. More children received colostrum and started breastfeeding early in the intervention arm in Uganda. Late breastfeeding initiation continues to be a challenge. No clear behaviour change was seen in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic violence, in particular intimate partner violence (IPV), has been recognized as a leading cause of mortality and morbidity among women of reproductive age. The effects of IPV against women on their children's health, especially their nutritional status has received less attention but needs to be evaluated to understand the comprehensive public health implications of IPV. The aim of current study was to investigate the association between women's exposure to IPV and their children's nutritional status, using data from the 2007 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). Logistic regression models were used to estimate association between ever-married women's lifetime exposure to physical and sexual violence by their spouses and nutritional status of their children under 5 years. Of 2042 women in the BDHS survey with at least one child under 5 years of age, 49.4% reported lifetime experience of physical partner violence while 18.4% reported experience of sexual partner violence. The prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight in their children under 5 years was 44.3%, 18.4% and 42.0%, respectively. Women were more likely to have a stunted child if they had lifetime experience of physical IPV [odds ratio n = 2027 (OR)adj, 1.48; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.23-1.79] or had been exposed to sexual IPV ( n = 2027 ORadj, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.02-1.61). The present findings contribute to growing body of evidence showing that IPV can also compromise children's growth, supporting the need to incorporate efforts to address IPV in child health and nutrition programmes and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cadmium (Cd) is a human toxicant and carcinogen. Genetic variation might affect long-term accumulation. Cd is absorbed via iron transporters. Objectives: We evaluated the impact of iron homeostasis genes [divalent metal transporter 1 (SLC11A2), transferrin (TF), transferrin receptors (TFR2 and TFRC), and ferroportin (SLC40A1)] on Cd accumulation. Methods: Subjects were nonsmoking women living in the Argentinean Andes [n = 172; median urinary Cd (U-Cd) = 0.24 μg/L] and Bangladesh (n = 359; U-Cd = 0.54 μg/L) with Cd exposure mainly from food. Concentrations of U-Cd and Cd in whole blood or in erythrocytes (Ery-Cd) were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Fifty polymorphisms were genotyped by Sequenom. Gene expression was measured in whole blood (n = 72) with Illumina DirectHyb HumanHT-12 v4.0. Results: TFRC rs3804141 was consistently associated with U-Cd. In the Andean women, mean U-Cd concentrations were 22% (95% CI: -2, 51%), and they were 56% (95% CI: 10, 120%) higher in women with GA and AA genotypes, respectively, relative to women with the GG genotype. In the Bangladeshi women, mean U-Cd concentrations were 22% (95% CI: 1, 48%), and they were 58% (95% CI: -3, 157%) higher in women with GA and AA versus GG genotype, respectively [adjusted for age and plasma ferritin in both groups; ptrend = 0.006 (Andes) and 0.009 (Bangladesh)]. TFRC expression in blood was negatively correlated with plasma ferritin (rS = -0.33, p = 0.006), and positively correlated with Ery-Cd (significant at ferritin concentrations of < 30 μg/L only, rS = 0.40, p = 0.046). Rs3804141 did not modify these associations or predict TFRC expression. Cd was not consistently associated with any of the other polymorphisms evaluated. Conclusions: One TFRC polymorphism was associated with urine Cd concentration, a marker of Cd accumulation in the kidney, in two very different populations. The consistency of the findings supports the possibility of a causal association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have reported associations between prenatal arsenic exposure and increased risk of infant mortality. An increase in infectious diseases has been proposed as the underlying cause of these associations, but there is no epidemiologic research to support the hypothesis. Objective: We evaluated the association between arsenic exposure in pregnancy and morbidity during infancy. Methods: This prospective population-based cohort study included 1,552 live-born infants of women enrolled during 2002-2004 in Matlab, Bangladesh. Arsenic exposure was assessed by the concentrations of metabolites of inorganic arsenic in maternal urine samples collected at gestational weeks 8 and 30. Information on symptoms of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) and diarrhea in infants was collected by 7-day recalls at monthly home visits. Results: In total, 115,850 person-days of observation were contributed by the infants during a 12-month follow-up period. The estimated risk of LRTI and severe LRTI increased by 69% [adjusted relative risk (RR) = 1.69; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.36-2.09)] and 54% (RR = 1.54; 95% CI, 1.21-1.97), respectively, for infants of mothers with urinary arsenic concentrations in the highest quintile (average of arsenic concentrations measured in early and late gestation, 262-977 μg/L) relative to those with exposure in the lowest quintile (< 39 μg/L). The corresponding figure for diarrhea was 20% (RR = 1.20; 95% CI, 1.01-1.43). Conclusions: Arsenic exposure during pregnancy was associated with increased morbidity in infectious diseases during infancy. Taken together with the previous evidence of adverse effects on health, the findings strongly emphasize the need to reduce arsenic exposure via drinking water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Dietary diversity (DD) showed an inverse association with death in older people. • Increased DD is associated with reduced mortality in people aged > 70 years. • BMI modified the direction of associations between DDS and mortality. • DD showed a negative association with mortality in underweight older people. • DD showed a positive association with mortality in overweight/obese older people. To examine the association between dietary diversity (DD) and mortality among Thai older people and to investigate whether age, sex, and nutritional status modify this association. The national survey conducted from 2013 to 2015 recruited 5631 people aged > 60 years. Dietary diversity score (DDS) was assessed for the consumption of eight food groups using food frequency questionnaires. The Vital Statistics System provided the data on mortality in 2021. The association between DDS and mortality was analyzed by Cox proportional hazard model and adjusted for the complex survey design. Interaction terms between DDS and age, sex, and BMI were also tested. The DDS was inversely associated with mortality (HR adj 0.98, 95%CI: 0.96–1.00). This association was stronger in people aged > 70 years (HR adj 0.93, 95%CI: 0.90–0.96 for aged 70–79 years, and HR adj 0.92, 95%CI: 0.88–0.95 for aged > 80 years). Inverse association between DDS and mortality was also found in the underweight older population (HR adj 0.95, 95%CI: 0.90–0.99). A positive association was found between DDS and mortality in the overweight/obese group (HR adj 1.03, 95%CI: 1.00–1.05). However, the interaction between the DDS with sex to mortality was not statistically significant. Increasing DD reduces mortality among Thai older people, especially in those above 70, and underweight. In contrast, an increase in DD also meant an increase in mortality among the overweight/obese group. Focus should be placed on the nutritional interventions aimed to improve DD for those 70 and over and underweight to reduce mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]