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Objective: To estimate the prevalence of flatus-only and faecal incontinence, to describe their risk factors and to analyse the association between anal incontinence and psychological distress over the first year postpartum.Design: Cohort study from pregnancy to 12 months postpartum.Setting: Two university hospital maternity wards in France.Population: A total of 2002 pregnant women were recruited between 2003 and 2006. Data on anal incontinence were available for the 1632 women who comprise the sample for analysis.Methods: Women were enrolled during pregnancy. A postal questionnaire was sent at 4 and 12 months postpartum.Main Outcome Measures: Anal (flatus-only and faecal) incontinence was assessed at 4 months postpartum. Mental health was assessed at 4 and 12 months postpartum by the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) and use of antidepressant drugs as well as by self-rated mental health.Results: At 4 months postpartum, the prevalence for flatus-only incontinence was 14.4% and for faecal incontinence 1.7%; multivariate analysis, restricted to women reporting no anal incontinence before the index pregnancy, showed that continuing breastfeeding at 4 months was related to a higher risk of de novo postpartum anal incontinence (OR = 2.23). Women who reported anal incontinence at 4 months were more frequently depressed (EPDS ≥10 or antidepressant use) at 12 months postpartum: 36.0% of those with faecal incontinence were depressed, 23.3% of those with flatus-only incontinence and only 14.8% of the continent women.Conclusion: Postnatal faecal incontinence was rare but associated with poorer maternal mental health. Postnatal screening should be encouraged, and psychological support offered.Tweetable Abstract: Postnatal faecal incontinence was associated with depression; postnatal screening should be encouraged and psychological support offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with developmental coordination disorder also manifest difficulties in non-motor domains (attentional, emotional, behavioral and socialization skills). Longitudinal studies can help disentangle the complex relationships between the development of motor skills and other cognitive domains. This study aims to examine the contribution of early cognitive factors to changes in motor skills during the preschool period. Children (N = 1144) from the EDEN mother–child cohort were assessed for motor skills with the Copy Design task (NEPSY battery) and the parent-rated Ages and Stages Questionnaire (fine and gross motor skills scores) at ages 3 and 5–6 years. At 3 years, language skills were evaluated using tests from the NEPSY and ELOLA batteries. Emotional problems, conduct problems, inattention and hyperactivity symptoms, peer relationships and pro-social behavior were assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) also at 3 years. Linear and logistic regression models were performed to examine whether positive and negative changes in motor skills between 3 and 5–6 years are associated with specific cognitive skills at 3 years, while adjusting for a broad range of pre- and postnatal environmental factors. In the linear regression model, the SDQ Inattention symptoms score at 3 years was associated with negative changes in motor skills (standardized β = − 0.09, SD = 0.03, p value = 0.007) and language skills at 3 years were associated with positive changes in motor skills (standardized β = 0.05, SD = 0.02, p value = 0.041) during the preschool period. In logistic regression models, the SDQ Inattention symptoms score at 3 years was associated with a higher likelihood of a declining trajectory of motor skills (OR [95% CI] = 1.37 [1.02–1.84]). A higher language skills score at 3 years was associated with an increased likelihood of a resilient trajectory (1.67 [1.17–2.39]). This study provides a better understanding of the natural history of developmental coordination delays by identifying cognitive factors that predict changes in motor skills between the ages of 3 and 5–6 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives As early-life feeding experiences may influence later health, we aimed to examine relations between feeding patterns over the first year of life and child's growth in the first 5 years of life. Methods Our analysis included 1022 children from the EDEN mother-child cohort. Three feeding patterns were previously identified, i.e. 'Later dairy products introduction and use of ready-prepared baby foods' (pattern-1), 'Long breastfeeding, later main meal food introduction and use of home-made foods' (pattern-2) and 'Use of ready-prepared adult foods' (pattern-3). Associations between the feeding patterns and growth [weight, height and body mass index {BMI}] were analysed by multivariable linear regressions. Anthropometric changes were assessed by the final value adjusted for the initial value. Results Even though infant feeding patterns were not related to anthropometric measurements at 1, 3 and 5 years, high scores on pattern-1 were associated with higher 1-3 years weight and height changes. High scores on pattern-2 were related to lower 0-1 year weight and height changes, higher 1-5 years weight and height changes but not to BMI changes, after controlling for a wide range of potential confounding variables including parental BMI. Scores on pattern-3 were not significantly related to growth. Additional adjustment for breastfeeding duration reduced the strength of the associations between pattern-2 and growth but not those between pattern-1 and height growth. Conclusion Our findings emphasize the relevance of considering infant feeding patterns including breastfeeding duration, age of complementary foods introduction as well as type of foods used when examining effects of early infant feeding practices on later health. © 2017 World Obesity Federation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although exposure to cigarette smoking during pregnancy has been associated with alterations of DNA methylation in the cord blood or placental cells, whether such exposure before pregnancy could induce epigenetic alterations in the placenta of former smokers has never been investigated.Methods: Our approach combined the analysis of placenta epigenomic (ENCODE) data with newly generated DNA methylation data obtained from 568 pregnant women, the largest cohort to date, either actively smoking during their pregnancy or formerly exposed to tobacco smoking.Results: This strategy resulted in several major findings. First, among the 203 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) identified by the epigenome-wide association study, 152 showed "reversible" alterations of DNA methylation, only present in the placenta of current smokers, whereas 26 were also found altered in former smokers, whose placenta had not been exposed directly to cigarette smoking. Although the absolute methylation changes were smaller than those observed in other contexts, such as in some congenital diseases, the observed alterations were consistent within each DMR. This observation was further supported by a demethylation of LINE-1 sequences in the placentas of both current (beta-coefficient (β) (95% confidence interval (CI)), - 0.004 (- 0.008; 0.001)) and former smokers (β (95% CI), - 0.006 (- 0.011; - 0.001)) compared to nonsmokers. Second, the 203 DMRs were enriched in epigenetic marks corresponding to enhancer regions, including monomethylation of lysine 4 and acetylation of lysine 27 of histone H3 (respectively H3K4me1 and H3K27ac). Third, smoking-associated DMRs were also found near and/or overlapping 10 imprinted genes containing regions (corresponding to 16 genes), notably including the NNAT, SGCE/PEG10, and H19/MIR675 loci.Conclusions: Our results pointing towards genomic regions containing the imprinted genes as well as enhancers as preferential targets suggest mechanisms by which tobacco could directly impact the fetus and future child. The persistence of significant DNA methylation changes in the placenta of former smokers supports the hypothesis of an "epigenetic memory" of exposure to cigarette smoking before pregnancy. This observation not only is conceptually revolutionary, but these results also bring crucial information in terms of public health concerning potential long-term detrimental effects of smoking in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Environmental exposures during pregnancy and early life may have adverse health effects. Single birth cohort studies often lack statistical power to tease out such effects reliably. To improve the use of existing data and to facilitate collaboration among these studies, an inventory of the environmental exposure and health data in these studies was made as part of the ENRIECO (Environmental Health Risks in European Birth Cohorts) project. The focus with regard to exposure was on outdoor air pollution, water contamination, allergens and biological organisms, metals, pesticides, smoking and second hand tobacco smoke (SHS), persistent organic pollutants (POPs), noise, radiation, and occupational exposures. The review lists methods and data on environmental exposures in 37 European birth cohort studies. Most data is currently available for smoking and SHS (N=37 cohorts), occupational exposures (N=33), outdoor air pollution, and allergens and microbial agents (N=27). Exposure modeling is increasingly used for long-term air pollution exposure assessment; biomonitoring is used for assessment of exposure to metals, POPs and other chemicals; and environmental monitoring for house dust mite exposure assessment. Collaborative analyses with data from several birth cohorts have already been performed successfully for outdoor air pollution, water contamination, allergens, biological contaminants, molds, POPs and SHS. Key success factors for collaborative analyses are common definitions of main exposure and health variables. Our review emphasizes that such common definitions need ideally be arrived at in the study design phase. However, careful comparison of methods used in existing studies also offers excellent opportunities for collaborative analyses. Investigators can use this review to evaluate the potential for future collaborative analyses with respect to data availability and methods used in the different cohorts and to identify potential partners for a specific research question.