Infant feeding in relation to eating patterns in the second year of life and weight status in the fourth year.

OBJECTIVE: To explore associations of early infant feeding with (i) eating patterns in the second year of life and (ii) weight status in the fourth year of life in a prospective cohort of children in Scotland. DESIGN: Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) longitudinal birth cohort study (2005-2008). SETTING: Scotland, UK. SUBJECTS: Children aged 9-12 months (n 5217) followed through to 45-48 months. RESULTS: Infant feeding was associated with eating patterns, defined by using SPSS two-step cluster analysis, in the second year of life. Children who were ever breast-fed compared with never breast-fed (adjusted OR = 1·48, 95 % CI 1·27, 1·73) were more likely to have a positive eating pattern (Cluster 2). Children who started complementary feeding at 4-5 months or 6-10 months compared with 0-3 months (adjusted OR = 1·32, 95 % CI 1·09, 1·59 or AOR = 1·50, 95 % CI 1·19, 1·89) were more likely to belong to Cluster 2. Breast-feeding was negatively associated with being overweight or obese in the fourth year of life compared with no breast-feeding (adjusted OR = 0·81, 95 % CI 0·81, 1·01). Introduction of complementary feeding at 4-5 months compared with 0-3 months was negatively associated with being overweight or obese (adjusted OR = 0·74, 95 % CI 0·57, 0·97). CONCLUSIONS: Breast-feeding and introduction of complementary feeding after 4 months were associated with a positive eating pattern in the second year of life. Introduction of complementary feeding at 4-5 months compared with 0-3 months was negatively associated with being overweight or obese.

Impact of age and menopausal status on the postprandial triacylglycerol response in healthy women.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of age and the natural menopause on the postprandial triacylglycerol (TAG) response in healthy women. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty-seven premenopausal and sixty-one postmenopausal women underwent a sequential meal postprandial investigation, in which blood samples were taken at regular intervals after a test breakfast and lunch given at 0 and 330 min respectively. Lipids and glucose were measured in the fasting sample, with TAG analysed in the postprandial samples. Postmenopausal women were shown to have higher fasting total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and glucose (P<0.02). Marked differences in the postprandial TAG response were evident between the groups, with a greater incremental area under the curve (IAUC) and maximum TAG concentration in the postmenopausal women (P<0.04). Multivariate regression analysis revealed both age and fasting TAG to be independently associated with the summary measures of the postprandial TAG response in the premenopausal women only. Interestingly, sub-division of the women into both younger and older pre- and postmenopausal subgroups, showed the most marked difference in TAG-IAUC to be between the younger and the older premenopausal women, whereas differences in fasting LDL-C were most evident between the older premenopausal and the younger postmenopausal women. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest a divergence in the relationship of age and menopausal status with fasting LDL-C and postprandial TAG which may reflect differences in the metabolic effects of age and the menopause on these lipid risk markers or a greater impact of early oestrogen decline on pathways of TAG rather than LDL metabolism.

Influence of apoA-V gene variants on postprandial triglyceride metabolism: impact of gender.

Although apolipoprotein A-V (apoA-V) polymorphisms have been consistently associated with fasting triglyceride (TG) levels, their impact on postprandial lipemia remains relatively unknown. In this study, we investigate the impact of two common apoA-V polymorphisms (-1131 T>C and S19W) and apoA-V haplotypes on fasting and postprandial lipid metabolism in adults in the United Kingdom (n = 259). Compared with the wild-type TT, apoA-V -1131 TC heterozygotes had 15% (P = 0.057) and 21% (P = 0.002) higher fasting TG and postprandial TG area under the curve (AUC), respectively. Significant (P = 0.038) and nearly significant (P = 0.057) gender x genotype interactions were observed for fasting TG and TG AUC, with a greater impact of genotype in males. Lower HDL-cholesterol was associated with the rare TC genotype (P = 0.047). Significant linkage disequilibrium was found between the apoA-V -1131 T>C and the apoC-III 3238 C>G variants, with univariate analysis indicating an impact of this apoC-III single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on TG AUC (P = 0.015). However, in linear regression analysis, a significant independent association with TG AUC (P = 0.007) was only evident for the apoA-V -1131 T>C SNP, indicating a greater relative importance of the apoA-V genotype.