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High birth weight and its interaction with physical activity influence the risk of obesity in early school-aged children
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Jia-Ru Deng, Wei-Qing Tan, Shu-Yi Yang, Li-Ping Ao, Jian-Ping Liang, Li-Xia Li, Yan-Hui Gao, Yi Yang, Li Liu |
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Background: High birth weight (HBW) is associated with childhood obesity, but with inconsistent results. This study investigated the relationship between HBW and childhood obesity, and further explored the interaction of HBW with behavioral and socio-economic determinants of obesity.
Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 1906 grade-two children of Guangzhou, China, from June to November, 2016. Overweight/obesity corresponded to a body mass index higher than the sex-age-specific criteria. Abdominal obesity was assessed using the sex-specific waist-height ratio cutoffs. The association of HBW with obesity was evaluated in multivariable logistic regression model. The relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) and the attributable proportion of interaction (AP) indices were used to measure additive interaction, while applying the interaction of OR index for multiplicative interaction assessment.
Results: Children with HBW had an increased risk of overweight/obesity [odds ratio (OR) = 2.42, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.56-3.76] compared with those without HBW. Significant additive interaction of HBW with physical activity was found for overweight/obesity [relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) = 2.69, 95% CI = 0.62-4.75; attributable proportion of interaction (AP) = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.42-1.02]. The HBW children with insufficient activity had higher odds of overweight/obesity compared to the non-HBW children with sufficient activity (OR = 3.75, 95% CI = 2.06-6.83). In addition, we identified a significant interaction of HBW with household income for abdominal obesity (RERI = 1.20, 95% CI = 0.02-2.37; AP = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.16-1.36). Conclusions: HBW confers an increased risk for childhood overweight/obesity. Physical activity attenuates the effect of HBW on overweight/obesity, and HBW possibly synergistically interacts with high household income to promote abdominal obesity in childhood. |
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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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Impact of National Egyptian school feeding program on growth, development, and school achievement of school children
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A. M. Metwally, Marwa M. El-Sonbaty, L. A. El Etreby, E. M. Salah El-Din, N. Abdel Hamid, H. A. Hussien, A. M. Hassanin, Z. M. Monir |
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Background: School feeding program (SFP) increases access to education and to better health. This study aims to evaluate the effects of SFP on physical growth, cognitive development, psychosocial behavior, and learning achievement of school children.
Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted. The intervention group included 903 pupils in the fifth grade receiving the school meal, while the control group included 886 pupils, matched for age and sex, without meal. The meal consisted of a pie made of flour fortified with vitamins A, B6, B12, C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, calcium, iron, zinc, and phosphorus. Socioeconomic position, nutritional status, and dietary behavior were evaluated. Neuropsychological tests were done. Psychosocial behavior was rated and educational achievement was recorded. Post hoc and independent sample t tests were used to detect the association of the studied parameters with the intake of school snack.
Results: Children who took the meal had better scores on visual memory, auditory vigilance tests (9.71 ¡À 2.80 vs. 7.45 ¡À 3.25; 25.02 ¡À 3.36 vs. 10.82 ¡À 8.92, respectively, P < 0.001), the afternoon attention and working memory test (8.20 ¡À 2.21vs. 7.75 ¡À 3.05) (P < 0.001), but less score of externalizing behavior (P < 0.001) than the control group. No significant changes of children¡¯s nutritional status were detected between the two groups. School meal was the main predictor of visual memory and auditory vigilance (P < 0.001), and was the strongest predictor of academic achievements when combined with family size and meals¡¯ frequency (P < 0.001). Conclusion: School meal improves academic achievements of school children. |
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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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Identification of eight novel mutations in 11 Chinese patients with maple syrup urine disease
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Wei-Hua Sun, Bing-Bing Wu, Ya-Qiong Wang, Meng-Yuan Wu, Xin-Ran Dong, Yue-Ping Zhang, Wei Lu, Ping Zhang, Bin Yang, Min Zhang, Hong-Jiang Wu, Wen-Hao Zhou |
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Background: Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is an autosomal recessive inherited disorder that affects the degradation of branched-chain amino acids and is associated with acute and chronic brain dysfunction. This study presents 11 new patients with MSUD and describes the clinical characteristics and gene mutations reported in Chinese individuals.
Methods: During 2011-2018, 11 pedaitric patients with MSUD from 11 Chinese families were analyzed based on clinical characteristics and mass spectrometry, with confirmation via gene sequencing. Novel mutations affecting protein function were predicted with Mutation-Taster, PolyPhen-2, CADD and SIFT software. 3D models of the mutated proteins were generated by using the SWISS-MODEL online server, and the models were visualized in PyMOL. The characteristics and gene mutations in patients with MSUD were analyzed retrospectively.
Results: Seventeen mutations in the BCKDHA, BCKDHB and DBT genes were found, 8 of which are novel: c.55C>/T, c.349C>T, c.565C>T, c.808G>A, c.859C>G, and c.1270dupC in BCKDHA; c.275-2A>G in BCKDHB; and c.1291C>T in DBT. Eight patients died. Two patients had severe mental retardation and were physically handicapped. One patient with the intermediate type had relatively good prognosis, with mild psychomotor retardation and adiposity. Four mothers underwent amniocentesis for prenatal diagnosis during their second pregnancy; two fetuses were wild type, and two were carriers of one heterozygous mutation. Conclusions: Eight novel mutations were associated with MSUD in Chinese patients. Prenatal diagnosis was successfully performed by genetic analysis. Mutations in the BCKDHB gene were found in the majority of Chinese patients with MSUD. |
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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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