High prevalence of hypovitaminosis D3 among pregnant women in central Iran: correlation with newborn vitamin D3 levels and negative association with gestational age.

OBJECTIVE: Hypovitaminosis D3 is a significant concern among pregnant women and their newborns because vitamin D3 (Vit-D3) plays a crucial role in embryonic growth, development, and health. This study aimed to evaluate the Vit-D3 status of a group of pregnant Iranian women and its association with newborn Vit-D3 levels, medical and clinical indices after delivery. METHODS: A total of 206 pregnant women and their newborns were assessed for Vit-D3 levels and their correlation with gestational age. Mean±standard deviation (SD) or the orders (non-parametric tests) of variables were compared, and correlation estimations were performed to elucidate any differences or associations between groups, with a confidence interval of at least 0.95. RESULTS: The mean±SD of mothers' age and gestational age were 29.65±6.18 years and 35.59±1.6 weeks, respectively. Neonatal Vit-D3 levels were associated with maternal age. Using a 30 ng/mL cutoff point for serum Vit-D3 levels, 83.5% of pregnant women and 84.7% of newborns had hypovitaminosis D3. The average Vit-D3 levels of mothers and newborns at delivery time were 23.5±8.07 ng/mL and 20.76±9.14 ng/mL, respectively. Newborn Vit-D3 levels were positively correlated with maternal Vit-D3 serum levels (R=0.744; P<0.001) and gestational age (R=0.161; P=0.022). In newborns, head circumference was inversely correlated with bilirubin level (R=-0.302; P<0.001) but directly associated with weight (R=0.640; P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Hypovitaminosis D3 remains a significant challenge for pregnant Iranian women. Maternal Vit-D3 levels provide for the newborn's needs, particularly in the late stages of pregnancy. Therefore, Vit-D3 supplementation and regular monitoring are essential for pregnant women and their newborns.

Preterm Birth and Breast Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUNDS: Changes in estrogen levels during pregnancy as well as histologic changes in breast tissue can justify the relationship of preterm birth (PTB) and the risk of BC. Therefore, there is a hypothesis that the duration of pregnancy can be associated with BC, so the aim of this study was to find out whether PTB is a risk factor for BC. METHODS: Published studies were located back to the earliest available publication date (1983), using the Medline/PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science bibliographic databases. This review included the cohort or case control studies that assessed the association between PTB and BC. Pooled effect sizes with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using random-effects models. RESULTS: Thirteen studies including a total of 2,845,553 women were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled results suggested that PTB could increase the risk of BC (RR: 1.03, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.07; I2= 62.5%). The risk was significantly increased in women who delivered at 37-39 (RR: 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.06) and 26-31 weeks of gestation (RR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.47) compared to women who delivered at 40-41 weeks of gestation. A significant increment in the risk of BC was observed in primiparous (RR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.08) and women older than 45 years (RR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.24). There was no difference between other gestational age categories. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings add to evidence that short gestation pregnancies may increase the risk of BC, especially in primiparous and women older than 45 years. Considering the methodological weaknesses existed in included studies, minor clinical differences, and the complexity of the exact pathophysiology of PTB on BC, the precise position of PTB as a risk factor for BC in clinical practice is undetermined. Further studies are still needed.
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Swimming exercise strain-dependently affects maternal care and depression-related behaviors through gestational corticosterone and brain serotonin in postpartum dams.

Pregnancy is a very complex and highly stressful time in which women become more physically and emotionally vulnerable. Therefore, mothers are more likely to face decreased self-esteem and increased postpartum depression. Despite the high prevalence of postpartum depression, more than 50 % of mothers are undiagnosed or untreated, showing an urgent need to explore an effective preventive strategy. A healthy lifestyle and regular physical activity have been suggested to be associated with an increased quality of life in pregnant and postpartum women. The purpose of this study was to determine whether swimming exercise before and during pregnancy can affect maternal care and postpartum depression-related behaviors in dams. To this end, female NMRI and C57BL/6 J mice were subjected to swimming exercise before conception and throughout pregnancy. On postpartum days 1-2, maternal behavior including nest building, active nursing, and licking/grooming were monitored. A battery of behavioral tests was also used to measure depression-related symptoms including anhedonia- and anxiety-like behavior, social behavior, and behavioral despair. To identify the underlying mechanisms, corticosterone and inflammatory cytokines during late pregnancy, and corticosterone and brain serotonin during the postpartum period were measured in dams. The findings indicated that swimming exercise increased gestational corticosterone, decreased maternal care and brain serotonin, and increased all depression-related behaviors in postpartum C57BL/6 J dams, while only increased licking/grooming and social behavior, and reduced anhedonia-like behavior in postpartum NMRI dams. Taken together, this study suggests that swimming exercise before and during pregnancy could alter maternal care and postpartum depression-like behavior in a strain-dependent manner.

A systematic review and meta-analysis on tubal ligation and breast cancer risk.

BACKGROUND: Based on previous studies, it has been hypothesized that tube sterilization may be associated with a lower risk of breast cancer. This study aims to investigate the relationship between tubal ligation and the risk of breast cancer through a systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched for relevant non randomized studies published up to November 2020. Then, we screened the papers to include the eligible papers in the meta-analysis. Finally, we pooled the extracted results of individual studies to estimate the summary effect size. All analyses were done using Stata software version 13 (Stata Corp, College Station, TX). RESULTS: Four hundred sixty-four papers were retrieved from PubMed/Medline (160), Scopus (165), and Web of Science (139), and 21 papers from Google Scholar and manual search of references in selected full texts. After the removal of duplicates and screening of the papers, 11 articles (6 cohort and 5 case-control study) were included in the final analysis. The results of cohort (RR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.97-1.0, I2 = 21.1%) and case control studies (OR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.62-1.12, I2 = 88.9%) revealed that tubal ligation was not significantly associated with breast cancer risk. CONCLUSION: According to our findings, tubal ligation cannot be considered as a risk factor associated with breast cancer risk.

Environmental enrichment alters neurobehavioral development following maternal immune activation in mice offspring with epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a chronic brain disease affecting millions of people worldwide. Anxiety-related disorders and cognitive deficits are common in patients with epilepsy. Previous studies have shown that maternal infection/immune activation renders children more vulnerable to neurological disorders later in life. Environmental enrichment has been suggested to improve seizures, anxiety, and cognitive impairment in animal models. The present study aimed to explore the effects of environmental enrichment on seizure scores, anxiety-like behavior, and cognitive deficits following maternal immune activation in offspring with epilepsy. Pregnant mice were treated with lipopolysaccharides-(LPS) or vehicle, and offspring were housed in normal or enriched environments during early adolescence to adulthood. To induce epilepsy, adult male and female offspring were treated with Pentylenetetrazol-(PTZ), and then anxiety-like behavior and cognitive functions were assessed. Tumor-necrosis-factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL) 10 were measured in the hippocampus of offspring. Maternal immune activation sex-dependently increased seizure scores in PTZ-treated offspring. Significant increases in anxiety-like behavior, cognitive impairment, and hippocampal TNF-α and IL-10 were also found following maternal immune activation in PTZ-treated offspring. However, there was no sex difference in these behavioral abnormalities in offspring. Environmental enrichment reversed the effects of maternal immune activation on behavioral and inflammatory parameters in PTZ-treated offspring. Overall, the present findings highlight the adverse effects of prenatal maternal immune activation on seizure susceptibility and psychiatric comorbidities in offspring. This study suggests that environmental enrichment may be used as a potential treatment approach for behavioral abnormalities following maternal immune activation in PTZ-treated offspring.

First trimester determination of fetal gender by ultrasonographic measurement of anogenital distance: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: In some patients with a family history of the gender-linked disease, determination of the fetal gender in the first trimester of pregnancy is of importance. In X-linked recessive inherited diseases, only the male embryos are involved, while in some conditions, such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia, female embryos are affected; hence early determination of fetal gender is important. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the current study was to predict the gender of the fetus based on the accurate measurement of the fetal anogenital distance (AGD) by ultrasound in the first trimester. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To determine the AGD and crown-rump length in this cross-sectional study, 316 women with singleton pregnancies were exposed to ultrasonography. The results were then compared with definitive gender of the embryos after birth. RESULTS: The best cut-off for 11 wk to 11 wk, 6 days of pregnancy was 4.5 mm, for 12 wk to 12 wk, 6 days was 4.9 mm, and for 13 wk to 13 wk, 6 days was 4.8 mm. CONCLUSION: AGD is helpful as an ultrasonographic marker that can determine fetal gender in the first trimester, especially after 12 wks.