Vitamin D and probiotics supplement use in young children with genetic risk for type 1 diabetes.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Vitamin D and probiotics are nutrients of interest in the context of type 1 diabetes (T1D). We assessed the prevalence of and factors associated with vitamin D and probiotic supplementations among young children with genetic risk of T1D. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Use of supplements during the first 2 years of life was collected prospectively from 8674 children in The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study. RESULTS: Single and/or multivitamin/mineral (MVM) supplements were reported by 81% of the children. The majority of participants in Finland, Germany and Sweden (97-99%) and 50% in the United States received vitamin D supplements that were mostly MVMs. Probiotics use varied from 6% in the United States to 60% in Finland and was primarily from probiotics-only preparations. More than 80% of the vitamin D and probiotics supplementation was initiated during infancy, and more than half of the uses lasted longer than a year. Being the first child, longer duration of breastfeeding, born in a later year, older maternal age and higher maternal education level were associated with both vitamin D and probiotics use. Shorter gestational age and mother not smoking during pregnancy were associated with a higher likelihood of probiotics supplementation only. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D and probiotics supplementations are popular in children 0-2 years old and are associated with common factors. Data documented here will allow evaluation of the relationship between early childhood dietary intake and the development of islet autoimmunity and progression to T1D.

Ability of physical activity measurements to assess health-related risks.

The aim of this study is to evaluate if two different physical activity (PA) questionnaires have similar ability to rank individuals, and to examine associations with cardiovascular-metabolic risk factors, compared to an objective measure. In a random sample (n=369, age: 65+/-6 years) from the population-based 'Malmö Diet and Cancer' (MDC) cohort, PA was measured by a leisure-time comprehensive questionnaire (MDC-score), a simple leisure-time questionnaire and by accelerometer-monitoring (CSA). Moderate correlations were observed between MDC-score and CSA in men and women (r=0.35 and 0.24, respectively). In men, both questionnaires and CSA were inversely associated with waist circumference, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. In women, the MDC-score was positively associated with high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and the simple questionnaire inversely associated with anthropometric indexes, but no association was seen between PA estimates and cardiovascular components. We conclude that both PA questionnaires distinguish health risks associated with anthropometric-metabolic risk factors, particularly in men.