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Although endotoxin concentration in the environment is negatively associated with atopic dermatitis (AD) onset in early childhood, the association between endotoxin concentration in the environment and eczema resolution in children with preexisting eczema is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between endotoxin concentration in house dust and eczema persistence in young children. The authors used data from children participating in JECS (Japan Environment and Children's Study). In children who had AD or AD‐like lesions at the age of 1 year, the authors investigated the association between the prevalence of eczema at the age of 3 years and endotoxin concentration (categorized by quartiles) in the dust on children's mattresses at the ages of 1.5 and 3 years. This study included 605 children. Eczema was significantly less prevalent among children whose mattresses were in the second and third quartiles of endotoxin concentration when they were 18 months old than among children whose mattresses were in the first quartile (adjusted odds ratio, 0.57 [95% confidence interval, 0.35‐0.93] and adjusted odds ratio, 0.49 [95% confidence interval, 0.29–0.83], respectively). Moreover, of the children with eczema at age 3 years, those whose mattresses had endotoxin concentrations in the first quartile had significantly worse sleep disturbance caused by itchy rash (>1 time per week) than did those whose mattresses were in the third and fourth quartiles (20.0% vs 3.3% and 3.7%, both p values < 0.01). The findings indicate that low endotoxin exposure is associated with a higher prevalence of persistent eczema during early childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allergic conjunctivitis, allergy, atopic dermatitis, birth cohort study, allergic rhinitis, food allergy, meconium-stained amniotic fluid Keywords: allergic conjunctivitis; allergic rhinitis; allergy; atopic dermatitis; birth cohort study; food allergy; meconium-stained amniotic fluid EN allergic conjunctivitis allergic rhinitis allergy atopic dermatitis birth cohort study food allergy meconium-stained amniotic fluid 1 5 5 05/30/23 20230501 NES 230501 PEER REVIEW The peer review history for this article is available at https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway/wos/peer-review/10.1111/pai.13956. Data on MSAF at childbirth were retrieved from medical record transcripts, by answering yes or no to the question "Was there MSAF?". [Extracted from the article]

Background: Although a history of miscarriage or stillbirth has been reported to negatively affect quality of life (QOL) during the subsequent pregnancy, the association between the number of previous miscarriages or stillbirths and QOL, as well as trends in QOL during pregnancy, has not been clarified. This study sought to determine this association during early and mid- to late pregnancy. Methods: Data from 82,013 pregnant women who participated in the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS) from January 2011 to March 2014 were analyzed. In early and mid/late pregnancy, participants completed questionnaires and QOL was assessed using the Physical and Mental Component Summary (PCS and MCS, respectively) scores from the 8-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-8). The pregnant women were divided into four groups according to number of previous miscarriages or stillbirths (0, 1, 2, and ≥ 3), and the PCS and MCS scores in early pregnancy and mid/late pregnancy were compared between group 0 and groups 1, 2, and ≥ 3. Generalized linear mixed models were used for analysis. Results: PCS score in early pregnancy was lower in group 1 (β = − 0.29, 95% confidence interval [CI] − 0.42 to − 0.15), group 2 (β = − 0.45, 95% CI − 0.73 to − 0.18), and group ≥ 3 (β = − 0.87, 95% CI − 1.39 to − 0.35) than in group 0. Group 1 and group ≥ 3 showed a trend for increased PCS score during pregnancy (β = 0.22, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.37 and β = 0.75, 95% CI 0.18 to 1.33, respectively) compared with group 0. Conclusions: PCS score in early pregnancy was lower with a more frequent history of miscarriage or stillbirth. However, in terms of changes in QOL during pregnancy, pregnant women with a history of miscarriage or stillbirth showed greater increases in PCS score during mid/late pregnancy than pregnant women with no history of miscarriage or stillbirth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caesarean section (CS) birth is widely reported to be a risk factor for childhood obesity. Although susceptibility to childhood obesity is influenced by race and ethnicity, it is unclear whether this risk of childhood obesity with CS birth also applies in the Japanese population. We investigated the impact of CS birth on obesity at 3 years of age in Japanese children. We obtained data from 60,769 mother–toddler pairs in the Japan Environment and Children's Study, a large-scale birth cohort study. Obesity was determined by body mass index measured at 3 years of age. Analysis revealed that 11,241 toddlers (18.5%) had a CS birth and that 4912 toddlers (8.1%) were obese. The adjusted risk ratio for obesity at 3 years of age when born by CS compared with vaginal delivery, estimated using inverse probability of treatment weighting, was 1.16 (95% confidence interval 1.08–1.25). These results suggest that CS birth modestly increases the risk of obesity at 3 years of age in Japanese children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In total, 1.6% of infants had FPIES episodes, 0.7% had acute FPIES episodes, and 0.6% had FPIES caregiver's report (Table 1). To examine the associations of gut modulation factors with infant's FPIES outcomes, we applied logistic regression models for FPIES episode, acute FPIES episode and FPIES caregiver's report as the reference group. In a Japanese cohort of over 100,000 infants, FPIES occurred in 0.6%-1.6% of infants. Recent dramatic increase in patients with food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) provoked by hen's egg in Japan. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Atopic march is defined as the progression from atopic dermatitis (AD) during early life to other allergic diseases in later childhood. In a nationwide birth cohort study, the Japan Environment and Children's Study, we investigated the association of bathing habits, which are known to affect skin conditions, for infants with their later development of allergic diseases. Methods: Pregnant women who lived in 15 designated regional centers throughout Japan were recruited. We obtained information on bathing habits for their 18‐month‐old infants and the prevalence of allergic diseases when they were aged 3 years. Results: Data for 74,349 children were analyzed. Most 18‐month‐old infants were bathed or showered almost every day. When they were divided into four groups according to the frequency of soap use during bathing (every time, most of the time, sometimes, and seldom), the risk of AD later at age 3 was shown to increase in association with a decreasing frequency of soap use [most of the time: adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05–1.34; sometimes: aOR 1.72, 95% CI 1.46–2.03; seldom: aOR 1.99, 95% CI 1.58–2.50], compared with soap use every time during bathing at 18 months of age. Similar results were obtained for food allergy but not for bronchial asthma. Conclusions: Frequent soap use when bathing 18‐month‐old infants was associated with a decreased risk of them developing allergic diseases at age 3. Further well‐designed clinical studies are warranted to determine an effective bathing regimen for preventing the development of allergic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hygiene hypothesis suggests that pet exposure is effective in preventing allergic disease, and some studies have reported the beneficial effects of dog exposure during fetal development or early infancy on food allergy. However, the effects of exposure to pets other than dogs on the kinds of food allergies remains unaddressed. This study aimed to explore the effect of exposure to various species of pets on the risk of food allergies. We obtained information on pet exposure and food allergy from the Japan Environment and Children's Study, a nationwide, prospective birth cohort study that included 97,413 mothers and their children. We examined the associations between exposure to various species of pets during fetal development or early infancy and the incidence risk of food allergies. We conducted logistic regression analysis for each pet species, causative food, and timing of exposure. Exposure to dogs or cats during fetal development or early infancy was estimated to reduce the incidence risk of food allergies until the age of 3 years. Dog exposure was estimated to reduce the incidence risk of egg, milk, and nut allergies, and cat exposure was estimated to reduce the incidence risk of egg, wheat, and soybean allergies. However, hamster exposure was estimated to increase the incidence risk of nut allergy. In conclusion, the association between pet exposure and food allergies might differ depending on the pet species and causative food. Continued dog and cat exposure from fetal development to infancy was estimated to reduce the incidence risk of food allergies. The findings of this study shall aid in the design of future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between maternal pre-pregnancy smoking status and asthma risk is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between pre- and post-pregnancy maternal smoking status and bronchial asthma at 3 years of age in a large birth cohort. Data of 75,411 mother–child pairs from the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS) were analysed using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Overall, 7.2% of the children had bronchial asthma. The maternal smoking status before childbirth was as follows: Never = 60.0%, Quit before recognising current pregnancy = 24.1%, Quit after finding out about current pregnancy = 12.3%, and Still smoking = 3.6%. Children of mothers who sustained smoking during pregnancy had an increased risk of bronchial asthma at 3 years of age even after adjusting for pre- and postnatal covariates (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15–1.56). Children of mothers who quit before (aOR 1.09, 95% CI 1.02–1.18) or after (aOR 1.11, 95% CI 1.01–1.23) recognising the current pregnancy had an increased risk of bronchial asthma at 3 years of age. Maternal smoking throughout pregnancy and smoking exposure pre-pregnancy or in early pregnancy increases the risk of bronchial asthma in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is reported to be more prevalent in children who were born in autumn than in spring. Here, we investigated how early the association between season of birth and eczema or AD can be observed in the postnatal period. We also examined whether specific prevalence outcomes for infant eczema and AD differed according to sex and maternal history of allergic disease in a large Japanese cohort. Methods: Using data of 81,615 infants from the Japan Environment and Children's Study, we examined the associations of birth month or season with four different outcomes—eczema at 1 month, 6 months, and 1 year of age and physician-diagnosed AD up to 1 year of age—using multiple logistic regression analysis. We also analyzed the effect of maternal history of allergic disease on these outcomes stratified by infant sex. Results: The risk of eczema at 1 month was highest in infants born in July. In contrast, infants born in autumn had higher risks of eczema at 6 months (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.19; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.10–2.30) and at 1 year (aOR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.02–1.14) and of physician-diagnosed AD up to 1 year of age (aOR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.20–1.47) compared with infants born in spring. Eczema and AD were more prevalent in infants with a maternal history of allergic disease, particularly boys. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the prevalence of AD is associated with the season of observation. Eczema is prevalent in infants born in autumn, and this phenomenon was observed in infants as young as 6 months old. The risk associated with being born in autumn was particularly clear in boys with a maternal history of allergic disease. Trial registration: UMIN000030786 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal prenatal psychological distress, which includes depression and anxiety, affects the onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, there is no consistent knowledge regarding at which term during pregnancy psychological distress affects the risk of ASD among children. We used a dataset obtained from the Japan Environment and Children's Study, which is a nationwide prospective birth cohort study, to evaluate the association between the six-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) and ASD among 3-year-old children. A total of 78,745 children were analyzed, and 355 of them were diagnosed with ASD (0.45%). The maternal K6 was administered twice during pregnancy: at a median of 15.1 weeks (M-T1) and at that of 27.4 weeks (M-T2) of gestation. Multivariate logistic regression analyses demonstrated that the group with a maternal K6 score of ≥5 at both M-T1 and M-T2 was significantly associated with ASD among the children (adjusted odds ratio, 1.440; 95% confidence interval, 1.104–1.877) compared to the group with a score of ≤4 at both M-T1 and M-T2. There was no significant difference between the group with a score of ≥5 only at M-T1 or M-T2 and that with a score of ≤4 at both M-T1 and M-T2. In conclusion, from the first to the second half of pregnancy, continuous maternal psychological distress was associated with ASD among 3-year-old children. Contrarily, in the group without persistent maternal psychological distress during pregnancy, there was no significant association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are a crucial cause of morbidity and mortality. We aimed to examine whether preconception carbohydrate intake is associated with new‐onset HDP and small for gestational age (SGA) births. Methods: We identified 93 265 normotensive (primiparous, 37 387; multiparous, 55 878) participants from the Japan Environmental Children's Study database who delivered between 2011 and 2014. After excluding participants with multiple gestations, preconception hypertension, and insufficient data, primiparous and multiparous participants were categorized into five groups according to their preconception carbohydrate‐intake quintiles (Q1 and Q5 were the lowest and highest groups, respectively). Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the effect of preconception carbohydrate intake on early (<34 weeks) and late‐onset (≥34 weeks) HDP and the incidence of SGA births. Results: With the middle carbohydrate intake group (Q3) as a reference, the risk for late‐onset HDP among multiparous women was higher in the Q5 group (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02–1.69). The incidence of SGA births was higher in the Q1 group among both primiparous (aOR 1.16, 95% CI 1.01–1.33) and multiparous women (aOR 1.16, 95% CI 1.02–1.32). Conclusions: Excessive carbohydrate intake increases the incidence of HDP in multiparous women, while low‐carbohydrate intake increases the incidence of SGA births. New recommendations for preconception carbohydrate intake are required to prevent major HDP‐related complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated the association between maternal prenatal folic acid supplementation/dietary folate intake and motor and cognitive development in 2-year-old offspring using data from the Japan Environment and Children's Study database. Neurodevelopment of 2-year-old offspring were evaluated using the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development 2001. In total, data of 3839 offspring were analysed. For folic acid supplementation, a multiple regression analysis showed that offspring of mothers who started using folic acid supplements before conception had a significantly lower developmental quotient (DQ) in the postural-motor DQ area than offspring of mothers who did not use them at any time throughout their pregnancy (partial regression coefficient (B) −2·596, 95 % CI −4·738, −0·455). Regarding daily dietary folate intake from preconception to early pregnancy, a multiple regression analysis showed that the group with ≥ 200 µg had a significantly higher DQ in the language-social area than the group with <200 µg. The DQ was higher in the ≥ 400 µg group (B 2·532, 95 % CI 0·201, 4·863) than the 200 to <400 µg group (B 1·437, 95 % CI 0·215, 2·660). In conclusion, our study showed that maternal adequate dietary folate intake from preconception to early pregnancy has a beneficial association with verbal cognition development in 2-year-old offspring. On the other hand, mothers who started using folic acid supplements before conception had an inverse association with motor development in 2-year-old offspring. There were no details on the amount of folic acid in the supplements used and frequency of use. Therefore, further studies are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence regarding the long-term risk of infections in preterm infants is lacking. In this study, we examined whether preterm infants developed various common childhood infections more frequently than full-term infants by the age of 2 years by analyzing data from a questionnaire completed by 67,282 mother–toddler pairs in a nationwide birth cohort study. Of the target population, 2885 (4.3%) were born prematurely. After covariate adjustment for maternal and children factors, lower respiratory tract infections appeared more frequent in preterm than in full-term infants at both 1 and 2 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.21, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05–1.41, and aOR 1.27, 95% CI 1.11–1.46, respectively). However, there was no significant difference in the frequencies of lower respiratory tract infection between preterm and full-term infants after Palivizumab administration. The risk of other common infections, such as in the upper respiratory tract infection, otitis media, urinary tract infection, gastroenteritis, herpangina, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, chickenpox, influenza virus, and adenovirus infections, was not higher in preterm than in full-term infants after covariates adjustment for maternal and children factors. These findings suggest Palivizumab prophylaxis could reduce the frequencies of lower respiratory tract infection in preterm to the same level as in full-term infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA), and preterm birth (PTB) are important neonatal outcomes that may affect infant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to investigate associations between maternal hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations and pregnancy outcomes of LBW, SGA, and PTB. This was a prospective birth cohort study using data of the Japan Environment and Children's Study. Participants were divided into five groups according to maternal Hb (g/dL) in the first and second trimesters: group 1, Hb < 9; group 2, 9 ≤ Hb < 11.0; group 3, 11.0 ≤ Hb < 13.0; group 4, 13.0 < Hb < 14.0; and group 5, 14.0 ≤ Hb. We examined the relationships between LBW, PTB, SGA, and maternal Hb in the first and second trimesters. Excluding 29,673, a total of 74,392 newborns (first trimester: n = 39,084, second trimester: n = 35,308) were included. We obtained adjusted odds ratios (aORs) (95% confidence intervals (CIs)) using multivariate analysis; compared with group 3 in the first trimesters, women in group 1 were at increased risk of PTB (aOR, 3.20; 95% CI, 1.69–6.09), LBW (aOR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.19–4.09). In the second trimester, multivariate analysis revealed that, compared with group 3 in the second trimester, women in group 1 were at increased risk of PTB (aOR, 2.30; 95% CI, 1.19–4.42) and women in group 5 were at increased risk of LBW (aOR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.24–2.81) and PTB (aOR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.06–2.83). Elevated maternal Hb in the second trimester was associated with risks of PTB and LBW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the neurodevelopment of infants born to women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Materials and Methods: Data from the National Birth Cohort in the Japan Environment and Children's Study from 2011 to 2014 (n = 81,705) were used. Japan uses the GDM guidelines of the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups. The Japanese translation of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires, third Edition, was used to assess neurodevelopment in the following domains: communication skills, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, problem‐solving ability, and personal and social skills. The survey was carried out every 6 months from the age of 6 months to 4 years (total of eight times). Generalized estimating equations were used to evaluate the association between maternal GDM and neurodevelopmental delay based on odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results: Neurodevelopmental delays, particularly in problem‐solving ability, fine motor skills, and personal and social skills, were significantly higher in infants born to women with GDM than in those born to women without GDM (adjusted OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.12–1.36; adjusted OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.03–1.27; and adjusted OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.04–1.33). Furthermore, stratification showed no significant increase in the adjusted ORs (95% CIs) of girls. Conclusions: Neurodevelopment was significantly delayed up to 4 years‐of‐age among boys born to women with GDM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]