Article
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Qinqin Li, Chengzhang Liu, Shaojie Zhang, Rui Li, Yuanyuan Zhang, Panpan He, Zhuxian Zhang, Mengyi Liu, Chun Zhou, Ziliang Ye, Qimeng Wu, Huan Li, Xianhui Qin
Summary: The study found a U-shaped association between the percentage of energy consumed from total carbohydrate and new-onset hypertension, with the lowest risk observed at 50% to 55% carbohydrate intake. Low intake of high-quality carbohydrate and high intake of low-quality carbohydrate were associated with increased risks of hypertension.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Lisa M. Jamieson, Joanne Hedges, X. Ju, Kostas Kapellas, Cathy Leane, Dandara G. Haag, Pedro Ribeiro Santiago, Davi Manzini Macedo, Rachel M. Roberts, Lisa G. Smithers
Summary: The South Australian Aboriginal Birth Cohort study aims to investigate various factors contributing to Aboriginal children's oral and general health, as well as social and emotional well-being. The findings suggest that intervention had a better effect on infants exposed earlier, but dental disease rates remained higher compared to general child population estimates at age 5.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Yunus Colak, Borge G. Nordestgaard, Peter Lange, Jorgen Vestbo, Shoaib Afzal
Summary: Individuals with supernormal lung function have a lower risk of developing COPD, with none developing COPD within 10 years. They have fewer early-life risk factors and smoking exposure, and also have lower risks of hospitalization for acute obstructive lung disease, pneumonia, and all-cause mortality compared to those with normal lung function.
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Yiming Dai, Jiming Zhang, Xiaojuan Qi, Zheng Wang, Minglan Zheng, Ping Liu, Shuai Jiang, Jianqiu Guo, Chunhua Wu, Zhijun Zhou
Summary: The study shows that prenatal exposure to manganese is positively associated with ponderal index at birth and negatively associated with physical growth in early childhood, but not significant for children aged 6 and above.
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Alyssa M. Abreu, Rebecca R. Young, Ashley Buchanan, Ingrid E. Lofgren, Harriet E. T. Okronipa, Anna Lartey, Per Ashorn, Seth Adu-Afarwuah, Kathryn G. Dewey, Brietta M. Oaks
Summary: Daily provision of LNSs does not affect maternal hypertension, compared with IFA and MMN. Higher SBP and DBP are associated with a shorter gestation and smaller birth size; however, only high DBP is associated with LBW and PTB.
JOURNAL OF NUTRITION
(2021)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Yi Zhang, Jingjia Liang, Qian Liu, Xikang Fan, Cheng Xu, Aihua Gu, Wei Zhao, Dong Hang
Summary: The study found a nonlinear inverse association between birth weight and hypertension risk, with a decrease in risk as birth weight increased within the range of 3.43-3.80 kg. Lower birth weight may interact with adult obesity to significantly increase the risk of hypertension.
FRONTIERS IN CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mathieu Nemerimana, Silas M. Havugarurema, Alphonse Nshimyiryo, Angelique Charlie Karambizi, Catherine Kirk, Kathryn Beck, Chantal Gegout, Todd K. Anderson, Olivier C. Bigirumwami, Jules Maurice Ubarijoro, Patient Ngamije, Ann Miller
Summary: Stunting in early life is associated with poor long-term health and developmental outcomes, but nutrition interventions during the first 1,000 days can improve growth and development. This study found that early stunting at 6 months and severe stunting at 11 months decreased the likelihood of stunting recovery at 24 months among children enrolled in Pediatric Development Clinics.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Winok Lapidaire, Alvaro Proano, Cauane Blumenberg, Christian Loret de Mola, Carlos A. Delgado, Darwin del Castillo, Fernando C. Wehrmeister, Helen Goncalves, Robert H. Gilman, Richard A. Oberhelman, Adam J. Lewandowski, Jonathan C. K. Wells, J. Jaime Miranda
Summary: This study explored the differences between preterm and term-born individuals in birth size and adult height, weight, and blood pressure in a Brazilian birth cohort. Preterm participants had lower birth size and remained shorter in adulthood for males, but not for females. At 22 years, females born preterm had lower blood pressure compared to term-born females. These differences were not observed in males.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Qi-Qing Ye, Shao-Min Kong, Xin Yin, Chang Gao, Min-Shan Lu, Rema Ramakrishnan, Cheng Guo, Wang Yao, Ji-Yuan Zeng, Ya-Shu Kuang, Jin-Hua Lu, Jian-Rong He, Xiu Qiu
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the associations between cord blood lipids and childhood adiposity, as well as to explore whether these associations vary across different birth weight categories. The results revealed that cord blood triglycerides were negatively associated with childhood adiposity, while high density lipoprotein levels were positively associated. Furthermore, the correlations between cord blood total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein levels, and childhood adiposity indicators varied across different birth weight categories.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Meng Yang, Hong Mei, Juan Du, Linling Yu, Liqin Hu, Han Xiao
Summary: This study investigated the specific association of birth weight with lung function and the risk of asthma in children. The results showed a non-linear association between birth weight and lung function metrics, with a turning point at 3.6 kg. There was also a possible non-linear relationship between birth weight and the risk of asthma.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Xuemei Hao, Jingru Lu, Shuangqin Yan, Fangbiao Tao, Kun Huang
Summary: Maternal pre-pregnancy overweight and excessive gestational weight gain are associated with decreased cognitive development in children, particularly in terms of intelligence and verbal comprehension. Adequate gestational weight gain in mothers with pre-pregnancy underweight is beneficial for children's cognition, while excessive weight gain is linked to a decrease in children's full-scale intelligence quotient.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Cheng Li, Ziqi Liu, Min Zhao, Cheng Zhang, Pascal Bovet, Bo Xi
Summary: This study examined the association between changes in weight status from birth to childhood and high blood pressure (BP) in children. The findings suggest that childhood weight has a greater impact on BP than birth weight, and children who had incident or persistently high weight from birth to childhood had increased odds of high BP. However, children who had high birth weight but changed to normal weight in childhood did not have significantly increased odds of high BP. These findings highlight the importance of maintaining appropriate weight in early life for the prevention of high BP and related diseases, especially for those with high birth weight.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Marcia C. Castro, Simone Farias-Antunez, David Augusto Batista Sa Araujo, Ana Luiza Penna, Francisco Ariclene Oliveira, Camila Machado de Aquino, Antonio Silva Lima Neto, Geziel Dos Santos de Sousa, Marcia Maria Tavares Machado
Summary: This study aims to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal mental health, child development, and parenting practices. The initial results show that the majority of participants have 9-11 years of schooling and are of mixed race. A significant number of participants were out of the labor force, and a majority reported a decrease in family income after pandemic-related restrictions were imposed. The prevalence of maternal common mental disorder symptoms was 32.5%.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Tiina Lankila, Soile Puhakka, Mikko Karmeniemi, Maarit Kangas, Jarmo Rusanen, Raija Korpelainen
Summary: This study examined the association between residential environmental history and changes in perceived health in the middle-age population. The study found that living in areas with a higher economic dependency ratio or distance from local services increased the risk of deteriorating perceived health, while living farther from green areas reduced the risk of deteriorating perceived health. The urban/rural context of the residential environment may contribute to these findings.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yuchen Li, Arvid Sjolander, Huan Song, Sven Cnattingius, Fang Fang, Qian Yang, Lorena Fernandez de la Cruz, David Mataix-Cols, Gustaf Brander, Jiong Li, Wei Zhang, Katja Fall, Brian M. D'Onofrio, Catarina Almqvist, Paul Lichtenstein, Unnur A. Valdimarsdottir, Donghao Lu
Summary: This study investigated the effects of parental and perinatal factors on the risk of stress-related disorders. The findings suggest that most of the observed associations between these factors and the risk of stress-related disorders are driven by shared familial environment or genetics. The study highlights the importance of family designs in epidemiological studies on the etiology of psychiatric disorders.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Mads Harslof, Kasper M. Pedersen, Shoaib Afzal, George Davey Smith, Borge G. Nordestgaard
Summary: This study used NMR spectroscopy to measure HDL particle counts in 30,195 Danish individuals and further subdivided them according to particle size. The study found that a decrease in the number of small and medium HDL particles was associated with an increased incidence and mortality of infectious diseases. This suggests that low levels of HDL cholesterol may affect the risk of infectious diseases.
CARDIOVASCULAR RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Fernando Pires Hartwig, Linbo Wang, George Davey Smith, Neil Martin Davies
Summary: Instrumental variables (IVs) can be used to determine the causal effect of a treatment X on an outcome Y. Further assumptions, such as homogeneity in the causal effect of X on Y and no effect modification, are needed to identify the average causal effect (ACE) of X on Y. The assumption of no simultaneous heterogeneity is sufficient for identifying the ACE using IVs, even if other assumptions are violated.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Fergus W. Hamilton, Matt J. Thomas, David Arnold, Tom Palmer, Ed Moran, Alexander J. Mentzer, Nick Maskell, Kenneth M. Baillie, Charlotte Summers, Aroon Hingorani, Alasdair MacGowan, Golam M. J. Khandaker, Ruth Mitchell, George Davey Smith, Peter Ghazal, Nicholas J. Timpson
Summary: IL6R blockade is associated with a decreased risk of sepsis and improved survival, similar to its effect in severe COVID-19. Randomized controlled trials of IL-6 receptor antagonists in sepsis should be considered.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Grace Marion Power, Jonathan H. Tobias, Timothy M. Frayling, Jessica Tyrrell, April E. Hartley, Jon E. Heron, George Davey Smith, Tom G. Richardson
Summary: Using a lifecourse Mendelian randomisation approach, this study investigated the influence of body size on fracture risk. The results showed that larger body size in childhood reduces fracture risk, while larger body size in adulthood increases fracture risk.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Iain Mathieson, Felix R. Day, Nicola Barban, Felix C. Tropf, David M. Brazel, Ahmad Vaez, Natalie van Zuydam, Barbara D. Bitarello, Eugene J. Gardner, Evelina T. Akimova, Ajuna Azad, Sven Bergmann, Lawrence F. Bielak, Dorret Boomsma, Kristina Bosak, Marco Brumat, Julie E. Buring, David Cesarini, Daniel Chasman, Jorge E. Chavarro, Massimiliano Cocca, Maria Pina Concas, George Davey Smith, Gail Davies, Ian J. Deary, Tonu Esko, Jessica D. Faul, Oscar Franco, Andrea Ganna, Audrey J. Gaskins, Andrea Gelemanovic, Eco J. C. de Geus, Christian Gieger, Giorgia Girotto, Bamini Gopinath, Hans Joergen Grabe, Erica P. Gunderson, Caroline Hayward, Chunyan He, Diana van Heemst, W. David Hill, Eva R. Hoffmann, Georg Homuth, Jouke Jan Hottenga, Hongyang Huang, Elina Hyppoenen, M. Arfan Ikram, Rick Jansen, Magnus Johannesson, Zoha Kamali, Sharon L. R. Kardia, Maryam Kavousi, Annette Kifley, Tuomo Kiiskinen, Peter Kraft, Brigitte Kuehnel, Claudia Langenberg, Gerald Liew, Penelope A. Lind, Jian'an Luan, Reedik Magi, Patrik K. E. Magnusson, Anubha Mahajan, Nicholas G. Martin, Hamdi Mbarek, Mark McCarthy, George McMahon, Sarah E. Medland, Thomas Meitinger, Andres Metspalu, Evelin Mihailov, Lili Milani, Stacey A. Missmer, Paul Mitchell, Stine Mollegaard, Dennis O. Mook-Kanamori, Anna Morgan, Peter van der Most, Renee de Mutsert, Matthias Nauck, Ilja M. Nolte, Raymond Noordam, Brenda W. J. H. Penninx, Annette Peters, Patricia A. Peyser, Ozren Polasek, Chris Power, Ajka Pribisalic, Paul Redmond, Janet W. Rich-Edwards, Paul M. Ridker, Cornelius A. Rietveld, Susan M. Ring, Lynda M. Rose, Rico Rueedi, Vallari Shukla, Jennifer A. Smith, Stasa Stankovic, Kari Stefansson, Doris Stoeckl, Konstantin Strauch, Morris A. Swertz, Alexander Teumer, Gudmar Thorleifsson, Unnur Thorsteinsdottir, A. Roy Thurik, Nicholas J. Timpson, Constance Turman, Andre G. Uitterlinden, Melanie Waldenberger, Nicholas J. Wareham, David R. Weir, Gonneke Willemsen, Jing Hau Zhao, Wei Zhao, Yajie Zhao, Harold Snieder, Marcel den Hoed, Ken K. Ong, Melinda C. Mills, John R. B. Perry
Summary: Identifying genetic determinants of reproductive success can reveal the mechanisms underlying fertility and identify genes that are currently under natural selection. A genome-wide association study on individuals of European ancestry identified 43 genomic loci associated with the number of children ever born or childlessness. These loci are involved in various aspects of reproductive biology, such as puberty timing, age at first birth, sex hormone regulation, endometriosis, and age at menopause. Additionally, missense variants in ARHGAP27 were found to be associated with higher number of children ever born but shorter reproductive lifespan, suggesting a trade-off at this locus. Other genes, including PIK3IP1, ZFP82, and LRP4, were also implicated by coding variants, and a new role for the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) in reproductive biology was suggested. Furthermore, integration with data from historical selection scans revealed an allele in the FADS1/2 gene locus that has been undergoing selection for thousands of years. These findings highlight the diverse biological mechanisms contributing to reproductive success.
NATURE HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Miranda Rogers, Dipender Gill, Emma Ahlqvist, Tim Robinson, Daniela Mariosa, Mattias Johansson, Ricardo Cortez Cardoso Penha, Laure Dossus, Marc J. Gunter, Victor Moreno, George Davey Smith, Richard M. Martin, James Yarmolinsky
Summary: Preclinical and genetic studies show that impaired GIPR signaling increases glycemic control difficulties and its relationship with cancer risk influenced by impaired glucose homeostasis is unclear. This study examines a variant in GIPR, rs1800437 (E354Q), which impairs long-term GIPR signaling, and its association with the risk of 6 cancers influenced by impaired glucose homeostasis. The results suggest that the E354Q variant is associated with higher risk of breast cancer and has adverse effects on glucose concentrations, insulin secretion, and testosterone concentrations.
Letter
Genetics & Heredity
Gibran Hemani, Apostolos Gkatzionis, Kate Tilling, George Davey Smith
GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Hein Heuvelman, Neil M. Davies, Yoav Ben-Shlomo, Alan Emond, Jonathan Evans, David Gunnell, Rachel Liebling, Richard Morris, Rupert Payne, Claire Storey, Maria Viner, Dheeraj Rai
Summary: This study examines the associations between the use of antidepressants during pregnancy and outcomes using multiple methods to strengthen causal inference. The results show that women who initiate or continue antidepressants during pregnancy are more likely to have contact with healthcare services and continue antidepressant use after pregnancy. However, there is little evidence for substantial associations between antidepressant use and autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or intellectual disability in children.
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
(2023)
Article
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Hannah C. M. Taylor, Nishi Chaturvedi, George Davey Smith, Diana L. S. Ferreira, Abigail Fraser, Laura D. Howe, Alun D. Hughes, Debbie A. Lawlor, Nic J. Timpson, Chloe M. Park
Summary: This study investigated the appropriate allometric scaling relationships between left ventricular mass (LVM) and height, total lean mass, and body surface area in healthy adolescents. The results suggest that pooled data without adjustment for sex may introduce bias in allometric scaling estimates. Clinicians should consider body size, body composition, sex, and age when assessing left ventricular mass.
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Kaitlin H. Wade, Fergus W. Hamilton, David Carslake, Naveed Sattar, George Davey Smith, Nicholas J. Timpson
Summary: Mendelian randomization (MR) is a commonly used method for strengthening causal inference by utilizing the properties of genetic variation. Nonlinear MR allows estimation of the shape of such relationships. In this study, the authors explore the utility and biases of these nonlinear MR methods using a negative control design.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Harriet A. Ball, Elizabeth Coulthard, Mark Fish, Antony Bayer, John Gallacher, Yoav Ben-Shlomo
Summary: This study examines the association between subjective cognitive decline (sSCD) and objective cognition, finding a weak correlation between the two. Older age, poor sleep quality, and higher anxiety are independent predictors of sSCD. The study suggests that sSCD, in the absence of objective decline, may be an example of poor meta-cognition and a potential driver for functional cognitive disorder (FCD).
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Lucy Riglin, Andrew Todd, Rachel Blakey, Amy Shakeshaft, Evie Stergiakouli, George Davey Smith, Kate Tilling, Anita Thapar
Summary: This study found that persistent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with negative social outcomes, such as being not in education, employment, or training (NEET) and receiving state benefits, at age 25. The findings emphasize the importance of continued monitoring and management of ADHD symptoms and related social and clinical outcomes throughout development into adulthood.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Daniel B. Rosoff, Lucas A. Mavromatis, Andrew S. Bell, Josephin Wagner, Jeesun Jung, Riccardo E. Marioni, George Davey Smith, Steve Horvath, Falk W. Lohoff
Summary: By analyzing multiple aging-related phenotypes, this study identified genetic variants and genes associated with aging. Furthermore, it discovered potential drug targets that could improve healthy aging. These findings will contribute to future research on aging and health.
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Sarah Holmes Watkins, Christian Testa, Jarvis T. Chen, Immaculata De Vivo, Andrew J. Simpkin, Kate Tilling, Ana V. Diez Roux, George Davey Smith, Pamela D. Waterman, Matthew Suderman, Caroline Relton, Nancy Krieger
Summary: Epigenetic clocks are used to assess the impact of various phenotypes and exposures on healthy ageing, but little attention has been paid to the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants on whom these clocks are based. This review found that sociodemographic characteristics are generally poorly reported in the construction of commonly used epigenetic clocks. Clear reporting of participant characteristics is important to ensure the appropriateness of the model for other researchers.
ENVIRONMENTAL EPIGENETICS
(2023)
Letter
Endocrinology & Metabolism
George Davey Smith
LANCET DIABETES & ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2023)