Shared Reading of the Families With the Children With Chronic Disease.

The aim of the study is to evaluate shared reading of families of children with chronic diseases. The mothers of children aged 2 to 6 years with chronic health problems who applied to the pediatric outpatient clinic between January and May 2022 were the study group, and the mothers of children with an acute health problem were the control group. The sociodemographic information form and "Child-Parent Shared Reading Activities Scale" were applied. At the end of the interview, 3 questions about shared reading were asked. A total of 187 children were enrolled in the study: 92 and 95 in the chronic disease group and control group, respectively. 57.6% of mothers of chronically ill children reported that the parents almost never did shared reading with their child. It was found that all mothers knew the importance of reading, but they could not support especially in the risky chronic disease group.

First-trimester maternal serum betatrophin levels are decreased in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the present study was to compare maternal serum betatrophin levels during the first trimester from healthy pregnancies to those complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). METHODS: In this prospective study, 320 pregnant women were evaluated in their first trimester, and 145 pregnant women who met the inclusion criteria were divided into the following two groups according to GDM screening results: GDM (n:20) and non-diabetic healthy control (n: 125). Samples of maternal serum fasting insulin, fasting blood glucose, hemoglobin (HB)A1c, and betatrophin levels obtained from the women's blood samples between 11+0/7 -13+6/7 gestational weeks during first trimester nuchal translucency screening. 75-g oral glucose tolerance test protocol was preferred for GDM scanning between 24+0/7 -28+0/7 gestational weeks. RESULTS: Maternal age and first-trimester body mass index (BMI) were higher in the GDM group than in the control group. Gestational age at blood draw was similar between the groups. First-trimester fasting insulin, fasting glucose, hemoglobin (Hb)A1c, thyroid-stimulating hormone, triiodothyronine (sT3), and thyroxine (sT4) were statistically similar between groups. First trimester Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) was 2.67 ± 1.42 in the GDM group and 2.12 ± 1.61 in the control group and not statistically different. Maternal age and BMI adjusted first-trimester maternal serum betatrophin levels were 11.58 ± 6.40 ng/mL in the GDM group and 31.11 ± 3.00 ng/mL in the control group and was statistically lower in the GDM group (p < 0.001). DISCUSSION: Our results indicated that first trimester maternal serum betatrophin levels are decreased in pregnancies complicated by GDM and first trimester betatrophin levels could be an early screening tool for GDM to allow better pregnancy management.

The role of the brain-sparing effect of growth-restricted fetuses in newborn germinal matrix/intraventricular hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of the brain-sparing effect (BSE) of fetal growth restriction (FGR) in newborn germinal matrix/intraventricular hemorrhage (GM/IVH). METHODS: A total of 320 patients who delivered prior to the 34th gestational week were analyzed from data records. 201 patients were divided into two groups according to cerebro-placental ratio (CPR): early fetal growth restriction (FGR) with abnormal CPR group (n=104) and appropriate for gestational age with normal Doppler group (control) (n=97). Using the normal middle cerebral artery (MCA) Doppler as a reference, multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between the BSE and the primary outcome. RESULTS: The rate of Grade I-II germinal matrix/intraventricular hemorrhage (GM/IVH) was 31(29.8%) in the group possessing early FGR with abnormal CPR and 7(7.2%) in the control group, showing a statistically significant difference. The rate of grade III-IV GM/IVH was 7(6.7%) in the group possessing early FGR with abnormal CPR and 2 (2.1%) in the control group, showing no statistically significant difference. We found that gestational age at delivery <32 weeks was an independent risk factor for GM/IVH. In addition, we found that other variables such as the presence of preeclampsia, fetal weight percentile <10, emergency CS delivery, 48-h completion after the first steroid administration and 24-h completion rate after MgSO4 administration were not independently associated with the primary outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the rate of GM-IVH was increased in the group possessing early FGR with abnormal CPR; however, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that BSE was not an independent risk factor for GM/IVH.

Effect of preeclampsia and preeclampsia severity on insulin, HOMA-IR, and betatrophin levels in non-diabetic pregnant women.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of preeclampsia and its severity on insulin, the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and betatrophin levels in non-diabetic pregnant women. METHODS: Our study comprised 102 pregnant women who were divided into the following three groups: (1) control, (2) severe preeclampsia, and (3) mild preeclampsia. The women were screened with the single-stage 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) criteria were used for diagnosis. Those women with type 2 diabetes (T2D) mellitus or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Maternal demographic characteristics were similar among the groups. Fasting plasma glucose and postprandial 2-h plasma glucose levels were significantly increased in the severe-preeclampsia group compared to that in the other groups. Fasting insulin levels were 14.3 ± 8.7uU/mL in the severe-preeclampsia group, 19.1 ± 6.0uU/mL in the mild-preeclampsia group, and 20.5 ± 12.5uU/mL in the control group and significantly lower in the severe-preeclampsia group than in the mild-preeclampsia and control groups. The serum betatrophin level was 7.8 ± 2.6 ng/mL in the severe-preeclampsia group, 6.1 ± 1.8 ng/mL in the mild-preeclampsia group, and 5.8 ± 1.3 ng/mL in the control group and significantly increased in the severe-preeclampsia group compared to other groups. HOMA-IR was similar among the groups. Maternal serum insulin levels were negatively (r = -0,255; P = 0.010) and serum betatrophin levels were positively (r = 0.368; P ≤ 0.001) correlated with preeclampsia severity. CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that severe preeclampsia effect maternal serum glucose, insulin and betatrophin levels. Histhopatholical and immunohistochemical demostrations on pancreatic cells in new preeclampsia rat models will expand the information on the current situation.