Associations Between Late Pregnancy Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) and Offspring Bone Mass: A Meta-Analysis of the Southampton Women's Survey (SWS) and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).

Systemic inflammation is associated with reduced bone mineral density and may be influenced by pro-inflammatory diets. We undertook an observational analysis of associations between late pregnancy energy-adjusted dietary inflammatory index (E-DII) scores and offspring bone outcomes in childhood. E-DII scores (higher scores indicating pro-inflammatory diets) were derived from food frequency questionnaires in late pregnancy in two prospective mother-offspring cohorts: the Southampton Women's Survey (SWS) and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). The mean (SD) offspring age at dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanning was 9.2 (0.2) years. Linear regression was used to assess associations between E-DII and bone outcomes, adjusting for offspring sex and age at DXA and maternal age at childbirth, educational level, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), parity, physical activity level, and smoking in pregnancy. Associations were synthesized using fixed-effect meta-analysis. Beta coefficients represent the association per unit E-DII increment. In fully adjusted models (total n = 5910) late pregnancy E-DII was negatively associated with offspring whole body minus head bone area (BA: ß = -3.68 [95% confidence interval -6.09, -1.27] cm2 /unit), bone mineral content (BMC: ß = -4.16 [95% CI -6.70, -1.62] g/unit), and areal bone mineral density (aBMD: ß = -0.0012 [95% CI -0.0020, -0.0004] g.cm-2 /unit), but there was only a weak association with BMC adjusted for BA (ß = -0.48 [95% CI -1.11, 0.15] g/unit) at 9 years. Adjustment for child height partly or, for weight, fully attenuated the associations. Higher late pregnancy E-DII scores (representing a more pro-inflammatory diet) are negatively associated with offspring bone measures, supporting the importance of maternal and childhood diet on longitudinal offspring bone health. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

Implementation of treatment escalation plans in an old age psychiatry inpatient hospital.

A treatment escalation plan (TEP) enables timely and appropriate decision making in the management of deteriorating patients. The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated the widespread use of TEPs in acute care settings throughout the National Health Service (NHS) to facilitate safe and effective decision making. TEP proformas have not been developed for the inpatient psychiatric setting. This is particularly concerning in old age psychiatry inpatient wards where patients often have multiple compounding comorbidities and complex decisions regarding capacity are often made. Our aim for this quality improvement project was to pilot a novel TEP proforma within a UK old age psychiatry inpatient hospital. We first adapted a TEP proforma used in our partner acute tertiary hospital and implemented it on our old age psychiatry wards. We then further refined the form and gathered data about uptake, length of time to complete a TEP and the ceiling of care documented in the TEP. We also explored staff, patient and family views on the usefulness of TEP proformas using questionaries. TEP decisions were documented in 54% of patient records at baseline. Following revision and implementation of a TEP proforma this increased to 100% on our two wards. The mean time taken to complete a TEP was reduced from 7.1 days to 3.2 days following inclusion of the TEP proforma in admission packs. Feedback from staff showed improvements in understanding about TEP and improved knowledge of where these decisions were documented. We advocate the use of TEP proformas on all old age psychiatry inpatient wards to offer clear guidance to relatives and treating clinicians about the ceilings of care for patients. There are potentially wider benefits to healthcare systems by reducing inappropriate transfers between psychiatry and acute NHS hospitals.

The importance of maternal pregnancy vitamin D for offspring bone health: learnings from the MAVIDOS trial.

Optimisation of skeletal mineralisation in childhood is important to reduce childhood fracture and the long-term risk of osteoporosis and fracture in later life. One approach to achieving this is antenatal vitamin D supplementation. The Maternal Vitamin D Osteoporosis Study is a randomised placebo-controlled trial, the aim of which was to assess the effect of antenatal vitamin D supplementation (1000 IU/day cholecalciferol) on offspring bone mass at birth. The study has since extended the follow up into childhood and diversified to assess demographic, lifestyle and genetic factors that determine the biochemical response to antenatal vitamin D supplementation, and to understand the mechanisms underpinning the effects of vitamin D supplementation on offspring bone development, including epigenetics. The demonstration of positive effects of maternal pregnancy vitamin D supplementation on offspring bone development and the delineation of underlying biological mechanisms inform clinical care and future public-health policies.

Multi-Morbidity and Polypharmacy in Older People: Challenges and Opportunities for Clinical Practice.

Multi-morbidity and polypharmacy are common in older people and pose a challenge for health and social care systems, especially in the context of global population ageing. They are complex and interrelated concepts in the care of older people that require early detection and patient-centred shared decision making underpinned by multi-disciplinary team-led comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) across all health and social care settings. Personalised care plans need to remain responsive and adaptable to the needs and wishes of the patient, enabling the individual to maintain their independence. In this review, we aim to give an up-to-date account of the recognition and management of multi-morbidity and polypharmacy in the older person.

Prenatal influences on bone health in children.

INTRODUCTION: Optimising bone health might reduce the burden of both fractures in childhood and fragility fractures in later life. A number of maternal dietary and non-dietary factors have been identified that might influence offspring bone health and represent targets for intervention. AREAS COVERED: This article will outline the accrual of bone mineral throughout the life course and how observational and intervention studies have shown that maternal diet, in particular maternal calcium and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] status, and lifestyle are associated with offspring bone mineralization. Studies examining the effects of maternal micronutrient supplementation on offspring bone mineral density (BMD) will also be discussed. EXPERT COMMENTARY: There is a wealth of observational evidence relating maternal diet to offspring BMD. However, high quality randomized controlled trials, such as the ongoing MAVIDOS study, are needed before these findings can be definitively translated into public health advice.