Types of diabetes during pregnancy and risk of depression and anxiety in offspring from childhood to young adulthood.

AIMS: To assess maternal pre-existing type 1 diabetes (T1D), type 2 diabetes (T2D), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) during pregnancy and risk of depression and anxiety from childhood to young adulthood in offspring. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This birth cohort included singletons born during 1995-2015, followed using electronic medical records through 2020. Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratio (HR) of depression or anxiety diagnosis during follow-up associated with in-utero exposure to maternal diabetes. RESULTS: Among 439 590 offspring, 29 891 (6.8%) had depression and 51 918 (11.8%) had anxiety. T1D, followed by T2D and GDM requiring antidiabetes medication were associated with risk of depression and anxiety in offspring. Compared with no diabetes during pregnancy, the adjusted HRs (95% confidence interval) of depression in offspring associated with T1D, T2D or GDM requiring medications were 1.44 (1.09-1.91), 1.30 (1.15-1.47) and 1.18 (1.11-1.26) respectively; conversely, HRs were 0.97 (0.82-1.15) for T2D and 0.99 (0.94-1.04) for GDM without medications. The associations with anxiety followed similar patterns. The significant associations were observed for offspring ages 5-12 and >12-18 years and attenuated for 18-25 years. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the severity of diabetes (T1D vs. T2D requiring medications vs. GDM requiring medications) during pregnancy may increase the vulnerability of offspring for depression or anxiety.

Universal Biomaterial-on-Chip: a versatile platform for evaluating cellular responses on diverse biomaterial substrates.

Microfluidics has emerged as a promising approach for assessing cellular behavior in vitro, providing more physiologically relevant cell culture environments with dynamic flow and shear stresses. This study introduces the Universal Biomaterial-on-Chip (UBoC) device, which enables the evaluation of cell response on diverse biomaterial substrates in a 3D-printed microfluidic device. The UBoC platform offers mechanical stimulation of the cells and monitoring of their response on diverse biomaterials, enabling qualitative and quantitative in vitro analysis both on- and off-chip. Cell adhesion and proliferation were assessed to evaluate the biocompatibility of materials with different physical properties, while mechanical stimulation was performed to investigate shear-dependent calcium signaling in pre-osteoblasts. Moreover, the applicability of the UBoC platform in creating more complex in vitro models by culturing multiple cell types was demonstrated, establishing a dynamic multicellular environment to investigate cellular interfaces and their significance in biological processes. Overall, the UBoC presents an adaptable tool for in vitro evaluation of cellular behavior, offering opportunities for studying various biomaterials and cell interactions in microfluidic environments.

Environmental challenges facing athletes, stakeholders and spectators at Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games: an evidence-based review of mitigation strategies and recommendations.

The upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games could face environmental challenges related to heat, air quality and water quality. These challenges will pose potential threats to athletes and impact thousands of stakeholders and millions of spectators. Recognising the multifaceted nature of these challenges, a range of strategies will be essential for mitigating adverse effects on participants, stakeholders and spectators alike. From personalised interventions for athletes and attendees to comprehensive measures implemented by organisers, a holistic approach is crucial to address these challenges and the possible interplay of heat, air and water quality factors during the event. This evidence-based review highlights various environmental challenges anticipated at Paris 2024, offering strategies applicable to athletes, stakeholders and spectators. Additionally, it provides recommendations for Local Organising Committees and the International Olympic Committee that may be applicable to future Games. In summary, the review offers solutions for consideration by the stakeholders responsible for and affected by the anticipated environmental challenges at Paris 2024.

Carbon and social impacts in the EU's consumption of fossil and mineral raw materials.

Fossil and mineral raw materials cause unintended and detrimental environmental and social impacts via extraction, production and combustion processes. In this study, we analyse how consumer demand in the European Union (EU) drives environmental and social impacts in mining sectors worldwide. We employ multi-regional input-output analysis to quantify positive (i.e., income, female and male employment) and negative (greenhouse gas emissions, accidents at work, and modern slavery) impacts of raw materials. We trace these environmental and social impacts across the EU's trading partners to identify sectoral and regional hotspots of international spillovers embodied in the EU's consumer demand. We estimate that the EU's consumption is associated with significant spillover impacts primarily in Central Asia, Asia Pacific, and Africa. We contextualise these results within a three-pillar framework to highlight the importance of a comprehensive and partnership-based approach to curbing environmental and social spillovers embodied in the EU's consumption of raw materials. Specifically, we highlight three potential practical policy strategies: leveraging EU domestic instruments and regulations, strengthening the Green Deal and SDG diplomacy and financing, and promoting responsible consumption, recycling and innovation. Our results underline the need for further reforms in mining industries and trade policies to reduce adverse social and environmental impacts.

Snus use in football: the threat of a new addiction?

The use of Snus, an oral nicotine pouch, is becoming increasingly common in English professional football. As a nicotine product, Snus raises important questions about health and performance for practitioners. The purpose of this short communication is to explain the current regulatory status of Snus, performance relatedeffects, and associated health outcomes. Further, based on player statements and evidence from the general public, we argue that Snus is used as a coping mechanism to deal with the stressors of professional football. Accordingly, the communication concludes with guidance for club-level multidisciplinary interventions to support player welfare, aimed at reducing Snus use as well as future research recommendations.

Special Operations Cognitive Agility Training (SOCAT) for Special Operations Forces and spouses.

Increasingly complex and unpredictable personnel and operational demands require Special Operations Forces (SOF) members and their families to remain flexible, adaptive, and resilient within ever-changing circumstances. To mitigate the impact of these stressors on psychological health and fitness, researchers and educators at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) developed Special Operations Cognitive Agility Training (SOCAT), a cognitive performance optimization program supported by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Preservation of the Force and Family (POTFF). The goal of SOCAT is to enhance cognitive agility, defined as the ability to deliberately adapt cognitive processing strategies in accordance with dynamic shifts in situational and environmental demands, in order to facilitate decision making and adapt to change. Overall, SOCAT emphasizes optimal cognitive performance across different contexts - as well as across various stages of the military lifecycle - to serve as a buffer against biopsychosocial vulnerabilities, environmental and social stressors, military operational demands, and behavioral health problems, including suicide. This paper reviews foundational research behind SOCAT, mechanisms through which SOCAT is anticipated to build psychological resilience, and describes the process of developing and tailoring SOCAT for active duty SOF members and spouses. Limitations and future directions, including an ongoing, randomized controlled program evaluation, are discussed.

Associations of Autism Spectrum Disorder with PM2.5 Components: A Comparative Study Using Two Different Exposure Models.

This retrospective cohort study examined associations of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with prenatal exposure to major fine particulate matter (PM2.5) components estimated using two independent exposure models. The cohort included 318 750 mother-child pairs with singleton deliveries in Kaiser Permanente Southern California hospitals from 2001 to 2014 and followed until age five. ASD cases during follow-up (N = 4559) were identified by ICD codes. Prenatal exposures to PM2.5, elemental (EC) and black carbon (BC), organic matter (OM), nitrate (NO3-), and sulfate (SO42-) were constructed using (i) a source-oriented chemical transport model and (ii) a hybrid model. Exposures were assigned to each maternal address during the entire pregnancy, first, second, and third trimester. In single-pollutant models, ASD was associated with pregnancy-average PM2.5, EC/BC, OM, and SO42- exposures from both exposure models, after adjustment for covariates. The direction of effect estimates was consistent for EC/BC and OM and least consistent for NO3-. EC/BC, OM, and SO42- were generally robust to adjustment for other components and for PM2.5. EC/BC and OM effect estimates were generally larger and more consistent in the first and second trimester and SO42- in the third trimester. Future PM2.5 composition health effect studies might consider using multiple exposure models and a weight of evidence approach when interpreting effect estimates.

Noninvasive finger plethysmography for continuous blood pressure monitoring in patients with left ventricular assist device.

BACKGROUND: Accurate blood pressure (BP) measurement remains challenging in patients with HeartMate 3™ left ventricular assist devices (HM3 LVADs). The Finapres® NOVA is a promising non-invasive continuous BP monitor that uses the volume clamp method via a finger cuff, so here we aimed to validate the instrument in HM3 patients. METHODS: In a single-center cohort, BP was monitored in 15 patients within 72 h following HM3 implantation. A radial artery catheter quantified arterial blood pressure (ABP), while the NOVA measured finger arterial pressure (fiAP) and reconstructed brachial artery pressure (reBAP). Waveforms were recorded for 10 min, and mean values were calculated in 15-s intervals. RESUTS: fiAP and ABP were moderately correlated during both the first (ICC 0.61, p = 0.04) and final measurements (ICC 0.66, p = 0.03). reBAP and ABP were strongly correlated during both the first (ICC 0.81, p = 0.002) and final measurements (ICC 0.83, p = 0.001). Both NOVA-derived values may underestimate low BP values while overestimating relatively high BP values. The reBAP was within 5 mm Hg of the ABP in 40% of patients (and within 10 mm Hg in 67%). CONCLUSIONS: This pilot represents the first evidence in support of the Finapres® NOVA for non-invasive BP measurement in select patients with HM3 LVADs. The instrument may provide useful data during BP medication adjustments or pump titration, but despite the correlation between the non-invasive reBAP and invasive ABP, individual-level inaccuracy may be clinically meaningful. Further investigation is needed to clarify these limitations and optimize accuracy before widespread adoption in this unique patient population.

Evidence of susceptibility to autism risks associated with early life ambient air pollution: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Many studies have found associations between early life air pollution exposure and subsequent onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, characteristics that affect susceptibility remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review examined epidemiologic studies on the modifying roles of social, child, genetic and maternal characteristics in associations between prenatal and early postnatal air pollution exposure and ASD. METHODS: A systematic literature search in PubMed and Embase was conducted. Studies that examined modifiers of the association between air pollution and ASD were included. RESULTS: A total of 19 publications examined modifiers of the associations between early life air pollution exposures and ASD. In general, estimates of effects on risk of ASD in boys were larger than in girls (based on 11 studies). Results from studies of effects of family education (2 studies) and neighborhood deprivation (2 studies) on air pollution-ASD associations were inconsistent. Limited data (1 study) suggest pregnant women with insufficient folic acid intake might be more susceptible to ambient particulate matter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and 10 µm (PM10) in aerodynamic diameter, and to nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Children of mothers with gestational diabetes had increased risk of ozone-associated ASD (1 study). Two genetic studies reported that copy number variations may amplify the effect of ozone, and MET rs1858830 CC genotype may augment effects of PM and near-roadway pollutants on ASD. CONCLUSIONS: Child's sex, maternal nutrition or diabetes, socioeconomic factors, and child risk genotypes were reported to modify the effect of early-life air pollutants on ASD risk in the epidemiologic literature. However, the sparsity of studies on comparable modifying hypotheses precludes conclusive findings. Further research is needed to identify susceptible populations and potential targets for preventive intervention.

A sex/age anomaly in thermal comfort observed in an office worker field study: A menopausal effect?

In a field study conducted in office settings in Sydney, Australia, background survey and right-here-right-now thermal comfort questionnaires were collected from a sample of office workers. Indoor environmental observations, including air temperature, mean radiant temperature, air velocity, and relative humidity, were also recorded and matched with each questionnaire according to the time and location. During exploratory data analyses, we observed that female subjects aged over 40 and 50 or younger registered significantly warmer sensations than other subjects, male and female, from other age ranges. To further explore this phenomenon, the sample of building occupants was classified into two groups-women of perimenopausal age (over 40 and 50 or younger) while the remaining respondents served as a reference group for comparison. Women in the perimenopausal age range demonstrated an increased perception of warmth (p < 0.01) and expressed thermal dissatisfaction more frequently (p < 0.01) than the reference group respondents who were exposed to the same indoor environmental conditions. Furthermore, women of perimenopausal age also expressed preference for cooler thermal environments, that is, lower air temperature (p < 0.01) and greater air movement (p<0.01) than the reference group, and their thermal neutrality (ie, the room temperature corresponding to a neutral thermal sensation) was approximately 2°C cooler than that of the reference group (20.7°C vs 22.4°C). A potential physiological explanation for the distinct thermal perception of women aged over 40 and 50 or younger observed in this study could stem from menopausal symptoms-the presence of hot flushes and dysregulation of the thermoregulatory system.

Characterizing Veterans Crisis Line callers and regional follow-up efforts.

The Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) is a national resource offering Veterans 24/7 access to crisis responders and follow-up by a licensed mental health clinician at a Veterans Affairs medical center. This quality improvement project aimed to improve local suicide prevention efforts at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System by characterizing 344 VCL calls and outcomes. Data was extracted from documentation by national VCL responders and local Suicide Prevention Team members. Overall, most callers were assessed at low-to-moderate risk. VCL responders were more likely to assess callers reporting suicidal ideation (SI) as high-risk, but less likely to assess those reporting financial issues as high-risk. VCL calls about SI, about physical health, or that occurred on weekends were more likely to end with immediate evaluation (i.e., emergency room, evaluated by first-responders) compared to their respective comparison groups. VCL calls assessed as high-risk were more likely to report SI during local follow-up contact, whereas VCL calls ending in immediate evaluation (i.e., emergency room, evaluated by first-responders) were less likely to report SI during follow-up with the local VA clinician; 17% of VCL calls without SI reported SI at follow-up. Training of local Suicide Prevention Team members should include that SI can change rapidly and requires assessment regardless of SI during the VCL call.

Perceived changes in social interactions following military psychiatric hospitalization for a suicidal crisis.

Introduction Changes in social interactions following psychiatric hospitalization, a period characterized by heightened suicide risk, are important to understand. OBJECTIVE: We qualitatively explored perceived changes in social interactions one month after inpatient psychiatric discharge following a suicidal crisis. METHODS: A total of 113 United States Service members, recruited in the context of a psychotherapy randomized controlled trial, described the extent to which social interactions with family members, peers, and military commanders had changed. RESULTS: Most participants (82.3%) reported at least some change in social interactions, conveying six common themes. Showing more care and checking in more were frequently reported for family (24.8%, 20.4%), commanders (23.0%, 16.8%), and by peers (12.4%, 10.6%). Showing more concern was most frequently reported for family (13.3%) followed by peers (6.2%) and commanders (6.2%). Participants reported showing more caution from peers (14.2%), commanders (13.3%) and family (6.2%). Acting more distant was reported from commanders (7.1%), peers (7.1%), and family (5.3%). Showing negative reaction(s) was reported from commanders (8.0%), family (3.5%) and rarely for peers (0.9%). CONCLUSION: Inpatient providers are encouraged to prepare patients for potential changes in social interactions following psychiatric discharge and how to best respond to these changes.

Menopause workplace policy: The way forward or backward?

Workplace policies regarding women's reproductive and menopausal health are garnering global attention. The peri- and post-menopause stages may be turbulent times for many women, with some experiencing debilitating symptoms and some none at all. While the symptoms of menopause should be recognised by employers due to their various impacts, the implementation of policies that pertain to all women can alienate older female workers by creating prejudice surrounding work capability. This piece identifies other avenues for the inclusion of menopausal symptoms through pre-existing policy and highlights the issues facing menopausal women in this current age.

International spillover effects in the EU's textile supply chains: A global SDG assessment.

Successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires world countries to account for actions that inadvertently generate negative impacts on other countries. These actions/effects are called 'spillovers', and can hinder a country's SDG progress. In this work, we analyse negative social spillover effects, focussing specifically on the occupational health and safety aspects of workers in textile supply chains. We select two indicators: fatal accidents and non-fatal accidents that take place in global supply chains for satisfying consumption of textile products (such as clothing, leather products) by European Union (EU) countries. Specifically, we scan global supply chains originating in countries outside of EU for meeting the demands of its citizens. To this end, we employ a well-established technique of multi-regional input-output analysis, featuring information on 15,000 sectors for 189 countries, to scan international supply chain routes that are linked to consumption of textile products by EU countries. Our findings suggest that Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Belgium and Portugal are collectively responsible for about 80% of both fatal- and non-fatal accidents that are attributed to the EU's consumption-based footprint. These findings not only call for a need for coherent SDG policies that consider spillover effects, but also the need for these effects to be included in EU's strategic instruments and policy-related tools.

Identifying Policy-relevant Indicators for Assessing Landscape Vegetation Patterns to Inform Planning and Management on Multiple-use Public Lands.

Understanding the structure and composition of landscapes can empower agencies to effectively manage public lands for multiple uses while sustaining land health. Many landscape metrics exist, but they are not often used in public land decision-making. Our objectives were to (1) develop and (2) apply a process for identifying a core set of indicators that public land managers can use to understand landscape-level resource patterns on and around public lands. We first developed a process for identifying indicators that are grounded in policy, feasible to quantify using existing data and resources, and useful for managers. We surveyed landscape monitoring efforts by other agencies, gathered science and agency input on monitoring goals, and quantified the prevalence of potential indicators in agency land health standards to identify five landscape indicators: amount, distribution, patch size, structural connectivity, and diversity of vegetation types. We then conducted pilot applications in four bureau of land management (BLM) field offices in Arizona, California, and Colorado to refine procedures for quantifying the indicators and assess the utility of the indicators for managers. Results highlighted the dominance of upland and the limited extent of riparian/wetland vegetation communities, moderate connectivity of priority vegetation patches, and lower diversity of native vegetation types on BLM compared to non-BLM lands. Agency staff can use the indicators to inform the development of quantitative resource management objectives in land use plans, evaluate progress in meeting those objectives, quantify potential impacts of proposed actions, and as a foundation for an all-lands approach to landscape-level management across public lands.

Longitudinal changes in therapeutic alliance with people with psychosis: Relationship between client and therapist assessments.

Although the clinical significance of therapeutic alliance with people with psychosis is well established, the agreement between client and therapist assessments of therapeutic alliance and the longitudinal changes of both assessments have been rarely addressed. The current study examined client and therapist assessments of therapeutic alliance longitudinally and sought to determine whether insight and severity of symptoms moderated the degree to which therapist and client assessments were in agreement with one another. Forty-five participants diagnosed with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder and their therapists were administered a therapeutic alliance questionnaire (Working Alliance Inventory-Short Form) monthly for 6 months. Baseline symptoms were assessed using the PANSS. Results did not produce evidence that insight into illness moderated the relationship between agreement on the therapeutic alliance. However, symptoms of emotional discomfort at baseline predicted differences in agreement between clients and therapists on the relationship aspect of therapeutic alliance over the course of therapy. These results suggest that the ability to express symptoms of emotional discomfort may affect whether clients and therapists form similar appraisals of the strength of the therapeutic alliance.

Intergenerational effect of early-life growth on offspring height: Evidence from the Hertfordshire Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Previous intergenerational (parent to child) and transgenerational (grandparent to grandchild) studies have shown there is a link between parental and offspring birthweight. OBJECTIVES: The aim was to explore the association between the early-life weight gain of an individual and the adult height of their children and grandchildren. METHODS: Study participants across three generations of the Hertfordshire Cohort Study (HCS) were included in this study. Health visitors recorded the birthweight (kg) and weight at 1 year (kg) of the original (F0 generation) HCS participants when they were born in Hertfordshire between 1931 and 1939. A conditional infant weight gain score for F0 participants was calculated using birthweight and weight at 1 year, and self-reported height (cm) of their children (F1 generation) and their grandchildren (F2 generation) was obtained from postal questionnaires. Due to the lack of clustering within family lines, linear regression analysis was used to compare intergenerational relationships. RESULTS: Data were available from 139 F0, 148 F1, and 198 F2 participants. A positive association was found between parental birthweight (F0) and offspring adult height; on average, a 1 kg increase in F0 birthweight was associated with a 2.04 cm increase in F1 adult height (beta 2.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.03, 4.10). A positive association was found between F0 conditional weight gain during the first year of life and offspring (beta 1.53, 95% CI 0.45, 2.62) and grandchild height (beta 1.06, 95% CI 0.03, 2.10). Positive associations were also found between F0 weight at 1 year and offspring (beta 1.83, 95% CI 0.79, 2.87) and grandchild height (beta 0.91, 95% CI -0.10, 1.91). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates an association between grandparental weight gain in early life and the heights of their children and grandchildren. The results of these analyses highlight the importance of early-life weight gain on the adult stature of subsequent offspring.

Socioeconomic risk factors for labour induction in the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: Labour induction is a childbirth intervention experienced by a growing number of women globally each year. While the maternal and socioeconomic indicators of labour induction are well documented in countries like the United States, considerably less research has been done into which women have a higher likelihood of labour induction in the United Kingdom. This paper explores the relationship between labour induction and maternal demographic, socioeconomic, and health indicators by parity in the United Kingdom. METHOD: Logistic regression analyses were conducted using the first sweep of the Millennium Cohort Study, including a wide range of socioeconomic factors such as maternal educational attainment, marital status, and electoral ward deprivation, in addition to maternal and infant health indicators. RESULTS: In fully adjusted models, nulliparous and multiparous women with fewer educational qualifications and those living in disadvantaged places had a greater likelihood of labour induction than women with higher qualifications and women in advantaged electoral wards. CONCLUSIONS: This paper highlights which UK women are at higher risk of labour induction and how this risk varies by socioeconomic status, demonstrating that less advantaged women are more likely to experience labour induction. This evidence could help health care professionals identify which patients may be at higher risk of childbirth intervention.

A Review of Telemental Health as a Modality to Deliver Suicide-Specific Interventions for Rural Populations.

Introduction: Despite recent advancements in the development of new suicide prevention interventions, suicide rates continue to rise in the United States. As such, suicide prevention efforts must continue to focus on expanding dissemination of suicide-specific interventions. Methods: This review explores telemental health through two-way synchronous clinical video telehealth (CVT) technologies as one approach to improving access to suicide-specific interventions. Results: Studies were reviewed if (1) the modality of interest was telemental health by CVT and (2) management, assessment, or intervention of suicidal thoughts or behaviors was discussed. A total of 22 studies were included. Conclusions: Findings from the limited existing studies are synthesized, and recommendations are provided for future research, clinical, and educational advancements.

Everything Here is Fine: Protective Buffering by Military Spouses During a Deployment.

To minimize potential distractions for deployed military service members (SMs), some nondeployed romantic partners have reported engaging in protective buffering, or intentionally withholding information or concerns to protect their deployed partner. This study assessed the associations of protective buffering and psychological distress and marital satisfaction for military couples during and after deployment. Additionally, the study explored whether protective buffering was related to SM reports of being distracted during deployment by family matters. A total of 54 couples provided data before, during, and after an Army deployment. In multilevel models, higher protective buffering by partners was associated with higher psychological distress and lower marital satisfaction for both SMs and partners during, but not after, deployment. Additionally, partners reported frequent use of protective buffering during deployment; however, protective buffering was not significantly correlated with family related distraction for SMs during deployment. Limitations and implications of these findings are discussed.

Para minimizar posibles distracciones para miembros del servicio militar (SM) desplegados, algunas parejas románticas no desplegadas han informado que practican la amortiguación protectora, es decir, ocultan información o preocupaciones intencionalmente para proteger a su pareja desplegada. Este estudio evaluó las asociaciones de amortiguación protectora y angustia psicológica y satisfacción conyugal para parejas militares durante y después del despliegue. Además, el estudio exploró si la amortiguación protectora tenía relación con informes de los SM de estar distraídos durante el despliegue por cuestiones familiares. Un total de 54 parejas proporcionó datos antes, durante y después de un despliegue del ejército. En modelos multinivel, una amortiguación protectora mayor por parte de las parejas se asoció a mayor angustia psicológica y menor satisfacción conyugal tanto para los SM como para las parejas durante, pero no después del despliegue. Además, los socios informaron el uso frecuente de amortiguación protectora durante un despliegue; sin embargo, la amortiguación protectora no tuvo una correlación significativa con la distracción por motivos familiares para los SM durante el despliegue. Se discuten las limitaciones e implicaciones de estos hallazgos.