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Otitis media, one of the most common childhood diseases, is characterized by inflammation or infection of the middle ear. Due to their ease of access, daily probiotics are recommended for the prevention of early childhood otitis media. This study aimed to assess the impact of probiotics on the incidence of otitis media using a dataset (n = 95,380) from the Japan Environment and Children's Study, a nationwide birth cohort study. After multiple imputations, the association between the incidence of otitis media in early childhood and the daily frequency of yogurt intake in children and mothers was examined using a generalized linear model after adjusting for several confounders. Repeated incidence of otitis media during the 2 years after birth was found in 14,874 participants (15.6%). Based on participants with the lowest frequency of yogurt intake ("almost never") as the reference group, risk ratios for otitis media incidence decreased with higher frequencies of yogurt intake in children at one year of age, but also independently in mothers during pregnancy. The lowest risk ratio (95% confidence interval) for otitis media incidence at six months of age was observed with the most frequent yogurt intake (once/day or more) (0.54 [0.46–0.63]). Additionally, although a similar association was observed in the subgroup of those with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P), a high-risk group for severe recurrent otitis media, no statistical significance was observed. Thus, increased regular yogurt intake in both children and mothers was associated with a decrease of otitis media during early childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionCleft lip and/or palate (CL/P), the most prevalent congenital anomaly, has been associated with higher rates of child maltreatment. In particular, the presence of cleft lip has more of an impact on external appearance and may increase the risks of negative health outcomes such as parental postpartum depression; however, this concept remains controversial. Item #10 of the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale is the assessment of parental self-harm ideation, and its presence in postpartum mothers merits risk assessments as an emergent issue that may affect the health of both mothers and infants. This study focused on the impact of CL/P on maternal self-harm ideation.MethodsOf 100,300 live births from a nationwide birth cohort in Japan, 238 mothers of infants with CL/P [186 children born with cleft lip (CL ± P) and 52 born with isolated cleft palate (CP)] were included in the analyses. The prospective association of children with CL/P and maternal self-harm ideation, which were acquired using item #10 in the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale at 1 and 6 months postpartum, was examined using binomial logistic regression analyses after multiple imputations and with adjustments for several maternal (age at delivery, smoking habit, and alcohol intake) and child-related (sex and prevalence of other congenital diseases) variables.ResultsThe prevalence of self-harm ideation in 238 mothers of infants with CL/P at 1 and 6 months were 14.7% (35/238) and 18.8% (45/238) [8.2% (8,185/100,062) and 12.9% (12,875/100,062) in the control group], respectively. The odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for maternal self-harm ideation increased with CL/P prevalence [1.80 (1.22–2.65) and 1.47 (0.98–2.18)] at 1 and 6 months of age, respectively. After stratified by the prevalence of cleft lip, we found significant differences in the CL ± P group but not in the CP group. Furthermore, persistent self-harming ideation was associated with a higher risk in the CL ± P group [2.36 (1.43–3.89)].ConclusionCL/P, particularly cleft lip, which is more noticeable externally, was associated with an increased prevalence of maternal self-harm ideation. The findings in this study indicate some potential benefits of increasing support for mothers who have infants with CL/P.

Background: Bruxism is defined as a repetitive masticatory muscle activity, characterized by clenching or grinding of the teeth and/or by bracing or thrusting of the mandible. Although the bruxism etiology can be bidirectionally described with sleep disorders, there are few studies available to understand the association of sleep duration with bruxism behavior in early childhood.Methods: A dataset of children (n = 90,148) from the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS) - an ongoing nationwide, prospective birth cohort study - was used to investigate the prospective association of the infant's sleep duration with bruxism behavior, which were acquired using self-reported questionnaire. After multiple imputation of data, the association between sleep duration and bruxism behavior in early childhood was examined using a binomial logistic regression analysis. It was conducted with adjustments for several maternal (e.g., age at delivery and sleep duration) and child-related (e.g., sex and sleep position) variables.Results: The prevalence of bruxism behavior at the ages of two and four were 16.2% and 22.5%, respectively. Using the shortest sleep duration group's participants (≤13 h) as the reference, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for prevalence of bruxism behavior decreased with longer sleep duration at one month of age, but not at 36 months of age, after covariate adjustments. Furthermore, in comparison with the impacts between daytime and nighttime sleep, nighttime sleep with longer duration were dominantly associated with bruxism behavior.Conclusion: The sleep duration in infant stage, especially during newborn stage was associated with the prevalence of bruxism behavior in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P), the most prevalent congenital anomaly, is understood to negatively affect a wide range of child development. Since the concept remains controversial, because most published work is from cross‐sectional studies, we examined the neurodevelopmental trajectories in participants with CL/P through a longitudinal comparison with the general population during early childhood using data from a nationwide birth cohort study in Japan. The linear mixed models for each domain of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, third edition (ASQ‐3), were used to detect differences in standardised mean scores between groups. The ASQ‐3 is a general neurodevelopmental screening tool comprising communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem‐solving, and personal‐social domains. Participants' neurodevelopment was determined semi‐annually from 6 to 36 months of age. The trajectories of standardised mean scores in each domain showed several significant differences between the control and CL/P groups, with the maximum difference at 24 months of age in the communication domain. Indeed, CL/P was associated with significantly lower scores in the communication (coefficient: –3.31, 95% CI: –5.09 to –1.14), problem‐solving (coefficient: –3.13, 95% CI: –5.07 to –1.18), and personal‐social domains (coefficient: –1.99, 95% CI: –3.87 to –0.11). Trajectories of ASQ‐3 scores suggest neurodevelopmental delays in children with CL/P. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Cleft lip and/or palate is among the most prevalent congenital birth defects, and negatively affects maternal psychological status and may consequently result in higher prevalence of child maltreatment. However, the association of childbirths of infants with cleft lip and/or palate with maternal emotional involvement still remains unclear. We examined the association between childbirths of infants with cleft lip and/or palate and mother-to-infant bonding, using data from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study, a nationwide birth cohort study. Methods A cross-sectional study using the jecs-an-20,180,131 dataset was performed. A total 104,065 fetuses in 15 regional centres in Japan were enrolled after obtaining informed written consent. The Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale, a self-report scale consisting of 10 items, was used to evaluate maternal bonding at one year after childbirth. Finally, the participants consisted of 79,140 mother-infant pairs, of which 211 mothers of infants with cleft lip and/or palate were included in our analyses. Multivariable logistic regression analysis using multiple imputation for missing data was performed to calculate the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval in the estimation of the association between bonding disorders and childbirths with cleft lip and/or palate. Results No increased risk of bonding disorders was observed among all the mothers of infants with cleft lip and/or palate (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]; 0.97 [0.63–1.48], p = 0.880), however, advanced maternal age or multiple parity may adversely affect the associations between bonding disorders and cleft lip and/or palate, respectively. After stratification with a combination of maternal age and parity, a significant association of cleft lip and/or palate with bonding disorders was found only among advanced-age multiparae (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 2.51 [1.17–5.37], p = 0.018), but it was weakened after additional adjustment for maternal depression. Conclusions Childbirths of infants with cleft lip and/or palate may increase the risk of bonding disorders among advanced-age multiparae, possibly through maternal depression. This finding provides valuable information for the provision of multidisciplinary cleft care.

Background: Despite dramatic declines in prenatal maternal blood lead levels (BLLs) in most developed countries, little is known about the effects of extremely low-level (<1.0 µg/dL) lead exposure on fetal growth.Methods: We measured maternal BLL during the second or third trimester of pregnancy and assessed birth outcomes, including birthweight, preterm birth (<37 gestational weeks) risk, small for gestational age births (SGA; birthweight <10th percentile) and low birthweight (LBW; <2500 g). The association between birthweight and maternal BLL was estimated using linear and quadratic spline models. Multivariable logistic models were used to examine the risk of binary responses.Results: From 103 099 pregnant women, 20 000 blood samples were randomly selected for analysis. The maternal BLL range was 0.16-7.4 µg/dL, and the median was 0.63 µg/dL. After adjusting for covariates, the linear model showed that each 0.1 μg/dL increase in maternal BLL was associated with a 5.4 g decrease in mean birthweight [95% confidence interval (CI), 3.4 to 7.5 g]. The risk of SGA [adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 1.03; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.05) and LBW (aOR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.05) increased, whereas the risk of preterm delivery did not (aOR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.97 to 1.02).Conclusions: Even at a maternal BLL below 1.0 µg/dL, prenatal lead exposure was associated with decreased birthweight and increased risk of SGA and LBW, but not preterm delivery. The adverse effect estimates of prenatal lead exposure on birth outcomes were quantitatively small and clinically limited at this low level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cleft lip and/or palate is among the most prevalent congenital birth defects, and negatively affects maternal psychological status and may consequently result in higher prevalence of child maltreatment. However, the association of childbirths of infants with cleft lip and/or palate with maternal emotional involvement still remains unclear. We examined the association between childbirths of infants with cleft lip and/or palate and mother-to-infant bonding, using data from the Japan Environment and Children's Study, a nationwide birth cohort study.Methods: A cross-sectional study using the jecs-an-20,180,131 dataset was performed. A total 104,065 fetuses in 15 regional centres in Japan were enrolled after obtaining informed written consent. The Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale, a self-report scale consisting of 10 items, was used to evaluate maternal bonding at one year after childbirth. Finally, the participants consisted of 79,140 mother-infant pairs, of which 211 mothers of infants with cleft lip and/or palate were included in our analyses. Multivariable logistic regression analysis using multiple imputation for missing data was performed to calculate the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval in the estimation of the association between bonding disorders and childbirths with cleft lip and/or palate.Results: No increased risk of bonding disorders was observed among all the mothers of infants with cleft lip and/or palate (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]; 0.97 [0.63-1.48], p = 0.880), however, advanced maternal age or multiple parity may adversely affect the associations between bonding disorders and cleft lip and/or palate, respectively. After stratification with a combination of maternal age and parity, a significant association of cleft lip and/or palate with bonding disorders was found only among advanced-age multiparae (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 2.51 [1.17-5.37], p = 0.018), but it was weakened after additional adjustment for maternal depression.Conclusions: Childbirths of infants with cleft lip and/or palate may increase the risk of bonding disorders among advanced-age multiparae, possibly through maternal depression. This finding provides valuable information for the provision of multidisciplinary cleft care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]