Indicators of Cobalamin Status During Pregnancy, Pregnancy Outcome and Long-Term Effects on Offspring Health.

BACKGROUND: Little attention has been given to prenatal cobalamin insufficiency in settings where dietary cobalamin intake is presumed adequate, such as populations with habitual intake of foods from animal sources. RESULTS: However, low cobalamin status in women of fertile age has been reported in Europe, United States, and Canada. In India, where cobalamin deficiency is highly prevalent, it has been associated with an increased risk of miscarriage, intrauterine growth retardation, as well as insulin resistance and lower neurodevelopment scores in the offspring. Low cobalamin status in pregnancy has been associated with similar outcomes as those reported in the Indian studies although the evidence is scant and conflicting. CONCLUSIONS: Consideration should be given to maternal cobalamin status in the context of prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes as well as cobalamin insufficiency both in the mother and the offspring during lactation. Further attention is now justified with the increasing tendency toward plant-based diets. Reference intervals for cobalamin status during each trimester of pregnancy are needed and further investigation of the long-term conse-quences of low cobalamin status during pregnancy for health and development in the offspring is warranted.

Plain language titleInadequate cobalamin status during critical periods of growth and development can have negative consequences on maternal and childhood health.

Association between birthweight, cardiovascular risk factors, and depression in young Mexican adults.

INTRODUCTION: Background: the aim of this study was to investigate the association between birthweight, cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, and depression in young Mexican adults. Methods: birthweight reports, family history of CVD and diabetes-related diseases, anthropometrics, serum lipid profile (total cholesterol [TC], triglycerides [TG], high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol [HDL-C], low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol [LDL-C], and very-low density lipoprotein-cholesterol [VLDL-C]), and depressive symptoms were measured in 778 subjects of the UP-AMIGOS cohort study. To investigate the association between birthweight categories and CVD risk factors and depression, a one-way analysis of variance with post-hoc test was performed of quantitative variables, and 2 test for qualitative variables. Results: mean age was 17.8 years and 469 (60.3 %) of patients were female (n = 469, 60.3 %). The percentage of patients with low birthweight (LBW) was 8.1 % (n = 63), and 3.3 % (n = 26) reported high birthweight (HBW). Young adults with HBW were associated with elevated diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and high weight and body mass index (BMI) when compared to LBW subjects, the difference being statically significant (p < 0.05). Birthweight had no significant association with depression (p > 0.67). Conclusion: the findings from this population-based study revealed a positive relation between birthweight categories and some CVD risk factors. Depression was not related to birthweight.

INTRODUCCIÓN: Introducción: el objetivo de este estudio fue investigar la asociación entre el peso al nacer, los factores de riesgo de las enfermedades cardiovasculares (ECV) y la depresión en adultos mexicanos jóvenes. Métodos: se obtuvieron como variables el peso al nacer, los antecedentes heredofamiliares de ECV y diabetes, la antropometría, el perfil lipídico (colesterol total [CT], triglicéridos [TG], lipoproteína de alta densidad [C-HDL], lipoproteína de baja densidad [C-LDL] y lipoproteína de muy baja densidad [C-VLDL]) y los síntomas de depresión de 778 participantes del estudio de cohortes UP-AMIGOS. Se realizó un análisis de la varianza de 1 vía con pruebas post hoc para investigar la asociación entre las categorías de peso al nacer, riesgo ECV y depresión entre las variables cuantitativas; para las variables cualitativas se realizaron pruebas del 2. Resultados: la edad media fue de 17,8 años y 469 (60,3 %) de los participantes eran mujeres. El porcentaje de pacientes con bajo peso al nacer (BPN) fue del 8,1 % (n = 63) y el 3,3 % (n = 26) tenían elevado peso al nacer (EPN). Se encontró una asociación en el grupo de EPN con la elevación de la presión arterial diastólica (PAS), el peso y el índice de masa corporal (IMC) al compararlo con el grupo de BPN, con una diferencia significativa de p < 0,05. No se encontró ninguna asociación entre el peso al nacer y la depresión (p > 0,67). Conclusiones: se encontró una relación positiva entre las categorías de peso al nacer con algunos factores de riesgo de ECV. La depresión no se asoció con el peso al nacer según los resultados de este estudio poblacional.