Childhood Non-HDL Cholesterol and LDL Cholesterol and Adult Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Events.

BACKGROUND: Although low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) remains the primary cholesterol target in clinical practice in children and adults, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) has been suggested as a more accurate measure of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk. We examined the associations of childhood non-HDL-C and LDL-C levels with adult ASCVD events and determined whether non-HDL-C has better utility than LDL-C in predicting adult ASCVD events. METHODS: This prospective cohort study included 21 126 participants from the i3C Consortium (International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohorts). Proportional hazards regressions were used to estimate the risk for incident fatal and fatal/nonfatal ASCVD events associated with childhood non-HDL-C and LDL-C levels (age- and sex-specific z scores; concordant/discordant categories defined by guideline-recommended cutoffs), adjusted for sex, Black race, cohort, age at and calendar year of child measurement, body mass index, and systolic blood pressure. Predictive utility was determined by the C index. RESULTS: After an average follow-up of 35 years, 153 fatal ASCVD events occurred in 21 126 participants (mean age at childhood visits, 11.9 years), and 352 fatal/nonfatal ASCVD events occurred in a subset of 11 296 participants who could be evaluated for this outcome. Childhood non-HDL-C and LDL-C levels were each associated with higher risk of fatal and fatal/nonfatal ASCVD events (hazard ratio ranged from 1.27 [95% CI, 1.14-1.41] to 1.35 [95% CI, 1.13-1.60] per unit increase in the risk factor z score). Non-HDL-C had better discriminative utility than LDL-C (difference in C index, 0.0054 [95% CI, 0.0006-0.0102] and 0.0038 [95% CI, 0.0008-0.0068] for fatal and fatal/nonfatal events, respectively). The discordant group with elevated non-HDL-C and normal LDL-C had a higher risk of ASCVD events compared with the concordant group with normal non-HDL-C and LDL-C (fatal events: hazard ratio, 1.90 [95% CI, 0.98-3.70]; fatal/nonfatal events: hazard ratio, 1.94 [95% CI, 1.23-3.06]). CONCLUSIONS: Childhood non-HDL-C and LDL-C levels are associated with ASCVD events in midlife. Non-HDL-C is better than LDL-C in predicting adult ASCVD events, particularly among individuals who had normal LDL-C but elevated non-HDL-C. These findings suggest that both non-HDL-C and LDL-C are useful in identifying children at higher risk of ASCVD events, but non-HDL-C may provide added prognostic information when it is discordantly higher than the corresponding LDL-C and has the practical advantage of being determined without a fasting sample.

Childhood Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Adult Cardiovascular Events.

BACKGROUND: Childhood cardiovascular risk factors predict subclinical adult cardiovascular disease, but links to clinical events are unclear. METHODS: In a prospective cohort study involving participants in the International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohort (i3C) Consortium, we evaluated whether childhood risk factors (at the ages of 3 to 19 years) were associated with cardiovascular events in adulthood after a mean follow-up of 35 years. Body-mass index, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol level, triglyceride level, and youth smoking were analyzed with the use of i3C-derived age- and sex-specific z scores and with a combined-risk z score that was calculated as the unweighted mean of the five risk z scores. An algebraically comparable adult combined-risk z score (before any cardiovascular event) was analyzed jointly with the childhood risk factors. Study outcomes were fatal cardiovascular events and fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular events, and analyses were performed after multiple imputation with the use of proportional-hazards regression. RESULTS: In the analysis of 319 fatal cardiovascular events that occurred among 38,589 participants (49.7% male and 15.0% Black; mean [±SD] age at childhood visits, 11.8±3.1 years), the hazard ratios for a fatal cardiovascular event in adulthood ranged from 1.30 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14 to 1.47) per unit increase in the z score for total cholesterol level to 1.61 (95% CI, 1.21 to 2.13) for youth smoking (yes vs. no). The hazard ratio for a fatal cardiovascular event with respect to the combined-risk z score was 2.71 (95% CI, 2.23 to 3.29) per unit increase. The hazard ratios and their 95% confidence intervals in the analyses of fatal cardiovascular events were similar to those in the analyses of 779 fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular events that occurred among 20,656 participants who could be evaluated for this outcome. In the analysis of 115 fatal cardiovascular events that occurred in a subgroup of 13,401 participants (31.0±5.6 years of age at the adult measurement) who had data on adult risk factors, the adjusted hazard ratio with respect to the childhood combined-risk z score was 3.54 (95% CI, 2.57 to 4.87) per unit increase, and the mutually adjusted hazard ratio with respect to the change in the combined-risk z score from childhood to adulthood was 2.88 (95% CI, 2.06 to 4.05) per unit increase. The results were similar in the analysis of 524 fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular events. CONCLUSIONS: In this prospective cohort study, childhood risk factors and the change in the combined-risk z score between childhood and adulthood were associated with cardiovascular events in midlife. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health.).

Obesity during childhood is associated with higher cancer mortality rate during adulthood: the i3C Consortium.

BACKGROUND: In high-income countries, cancer is the leading cause of death among middle-aged adults. Prospective data on the effects of childhood risk exposures on subsequent cancer mortality are scarce. METHODS: We examined whether childhood body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, glucose and lipid levels were associated with adult cancer mortality, using data from 21,012 children enrolled aged 3-19 years in seven prospective cohort studies from the U.S., Australia, and Finland that have followed participants from childhood into adulthood. Cancer mortality (cancer as a primary or secondary cause of death) was captured using registries. RESULTS: 354 cancer deaths occurred over the follow-up. In age-, sex, and cohort-adjusted analyses, childhood BMI (Hazard ratio [HR], 1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-1.24 per 1-SD increase) and childhood glucose (HR 1.22; 95%CI 1.01-1.47 per 1-SD increase), were associated with subsequent cancer mortality. In a multivariable analysis adjusted for age, sex, cohort, and childhood measures of fasting glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and systolic blood pressure, childhood BMI remained as an independent predictor of subsequent cancer mortality (HR, 1.24; 95%CI, 1.03-1.49). The association of childhood BMI and subsequent cancer mortality persisted after adjustment for adulthood BMI (HR for childhood BMI, 1.35; 95%CI 1.12-1.63). CONCLUSIONS: Higher childhood BMI was independently associated with increased overall cancer mortality.

Prevalence Implications of the 2017 American Academy of Pediatrics Hypertension Guideline and Associations with Adult Hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of the 2017 American Academy of Pediatrics hypertension Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG), compared with the previous guideline ("Fourth Report"), on the frequency of hypertensive blood pressure (BP) measurements in childhood and associations with hypertension in adulthood using data from the International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohort Consortium. STUDY DESIGN: Childhood BPs were categorized in normal, prehypertensive/elevated, and hypertensive (stage 1 and 2) ranges using the Fourth Report and the CPG. Participants were contacted in adulthood to assess self-reported hypertension. The associations between childhood hypertensive range BPs and self-reported adult hypertension were evaluated. RESULTS: Data were available for 34 014 youth (10.4 ± 3.1 years, 50.6% female) with 92 751 BP assessments. Compared with the Fourth Report, the CPG increased hypertensive readings from 7.6% to 13.5% and from 1.3% to 2.5% for stage 1 and 2 hypertensive range, respectively (P < .0001). Of 12 761 adults (48.8 ± 7.9 years, 43% male), 3839 (30.1%) had self-reported hypertension. The sensitivity for predicting adult hypertension among those with hypertensive range BPs at any point in childhood, as defined by the Fourth Report and the CPG, respectively, was 13.4% and 22.4% (specificity 92.3% and 85.9%, P < .001), with no significant impact on positive and negative predictive values. Associations with self-reported adult hypertension were similar and weak (c-statistic range 0.61-0.68) for hypertensive range BPs as defined by the Fourth Report and CPG. CONCLUSIONS: The CPG significantly increased the prevalence of childhood BPs in hypertensive ranges and improved the sensitivity, without an overall strengthened association, of predicting self-reported adult hypertension.

Genome-Wide Association Analysis of Longitudinal Bone Mineral Content Data From the Iowa Bone Development Study.

The foundation for osteoporosis risk is, in part, established during childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, all periods of development when bone mass is acquired rapidly. The relative quantity of bone mass accrued is influenced by both lifestyle and genetic factors, although the genetic component is not yet well understood. The purpose of this study was to use a genome-wide association (GWA) analysis to discover single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with: (1) the sex-specific hip bone mineral content at approximately the age of 19 when the amount of bone accrued is near its peak; and (2) the sex-specific rate of hip bone mineral content accrual during the adolescent growth spurt. The Iowa Bone Development Study, a longitudinal cohort study exploring bone health in children, adolescents, and young adults was the source of data. From this cohort, n = 364 (190 females, 174 males) participants were included in GWA analyses to address (1) and n = 258 participants (125 females and 133 males) were included in GWA analyses to address (2). Twenty SNPS were detected having p < 1.0 × 10-5. Of most biologic relevance were 2 suggestive SNPs (rs2051756 and rs2866908) detected in an intron of the DKK2 gene through the GWA analysis that explored peak bone mass in females.

Cardiovascular risk factors before and during pregnancy: Does pregnancy unmask or initiate risk?

OBJECTIVES: To understand if pregnancy unmasks previously silent cardiovascular (CV) adverse factors, or initiates lasting injury. METHODS: Pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy CV risk factors (blood pressure, fasting lipids, and glucose) from 296 women belonging to studies in the International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohort (i3C) Consortium, a group of studies assessing the relationship between child and adolescent CV risk factors and adult outcomes, were used. Correlation coefficients between the pre- and during pregnancy measures were calculated, and the mean difference between the measures was modeled with adjustment for age, body mass index, race, smoking, and study. RESULTS: Measures were strongly correlated at pre- and during-pregnancy visits (p < 0.01), with r of between 0.30 and 0.55. In most cases, the difference between pre-pregnancy and during-pregnancy did not differ significantly from 0 after adjustment for confounders. Stratification by gestational age indicated stronger correlations with measurements obtained during the first and second trimesters than the third. The correlation did not differ by the time elapsed between the pre-pregnancy and pregnancy visits. CONCLUSIONS: Pre- and during-pregnancy CV risk factors are moderately well correlated. This may indicate that susceptible women enter pregnancy with higher risk rather than pregnancy inducing new vascular or metabolic effects.

Prediction of adult class II/III obesity from childhood BMI: the i3C consortium.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Adult class II/III obesity (BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2) has significant adverse health outcomes. Early prevention and treatment are critical, but prospective childhood risk estimates are lacking. This study aimed to define the prospective risk of adult class II/III obesity, using childhood BMI. METHODS: Children ages 3-19 years enrolled in cohorts of the International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohort (i3C) consortium with measured BMI assessments in childhood and adulthood were included. Prospective risk of adult class II/III obesity was modeled based on childhood age, sex, race, and BMI. RESULTS: A total of 12,142 individuals (44% male, 85% white) were assessed at median age 14 [Interquartile range, IQR: 11, 16] and 33 [28, 39] years. Class II/III adult obesity developed in 6% of children with normal weight; 29% of children with overweight; 56% of children with obesity; and 80% of children with severe obesity. However, 38% of the 1440 adults with class II/III obesity (553/1440) were normal weight as children. Prospective risk of adult class II/III obesity varied by age, sex, and race within childhood weight status classifications, and is notably higher for girls, black participants, and those in the United States. The risk of class II/III obesity increased with older adult age. CONCLUSIONS: Children with obesity or severe obesity have a substantial risk of adult class II/III obesity, and observed prospective risk estimates are now presented by age, sex, race, and childhood BMI. Clinical monitoring of children's BMI for adult class II/III obesity risk may be especially important for females and black Americans.

Impact of Lipid Measurements in Youth in Addition to Conventional Clinic-Based Risk Factors on Predicting Preclinical Atherosclerosis in Adulthood: International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohort Consortium.

BACKGROUND: Data suggest that the prediction of adult cardiovascular disease using a model comprised entirely of adult nonlaboratory-based risk factors is equivalent to an approach that additionally incorporates adult lipid measures. We assessed and compared the utility of a risk model based solely on nonlaboratory risk factors in adolescence versus a lipid model based on nonlaboratory risk factors plus lipids for predicting high-risk carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in adulthood. METHODS: The study comprised 2893 participants 12 to 18 years of age from 4 longitudinal cohort studies from the United States (Bogalusa Heart Study and the Insulin Study), Australia (Childhood Determinants of Adult Health Study), and Finland (The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study) and followed into adulthood when cIMT was measured (mean follow-up, 23.4 years). Overweight status was defined according to the Cole classification. Hypertension was defined according to the Fourth Report on High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents from the National High Blood Pressure Education Program. High-risk plasma lipid levels were defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Cholesterol Levels in Children. High cIMT was defined as a study-specific value ≥90th percentile. Age and sex were included in each model. RESULTS: In univariate models, all risk factors except for borderline high and high triglycerides in adolescence were associated with high cIMT in adulthood. In multivariable models (relative risk [95% confidence interval]), male sex (2.7 [2.0-2.6]), prehypertension (1.4 [1.0-1.9]), hypertension (1.9 [1.3-2.9]), overweight (2.0 [1.4-2.9]), obesity (3.7 [2.0-7.0]), borderline high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (1.6 [1.2-2.2]), high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (1.6 [1.1-2.1]), and borderline low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (1.4 [1.0-1.8]) remained significant predictors of high cIMT (P<0.05). The addition of lipids into the nonlaboratory risk model slightly but significantly improved discrimination in predicting high cIMT compared with nonlaboratory-based risk factors only (C statistics for laboratory-based model 0.717 [95% confidence interval, 0.685-0.748] and for nonlaboratory 0.698 [95% confidence interval, 0.667-0.731]; P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Nonlaboratory-based risk factors and lipids measured in adolescence independently predicted preclinical atherosclerosis in young adulthood. The addition of lipid measurements to traditional clinic-based risk factor assessment provided a statistically significant but clinically modest improvement on adolescent prediction of high cIMT in adulthood.

Parental occupational pesticide exposure and nonsyndromic orofacial clefts.

Nonsyndromic orofacial clefts are common birth defects. Reported risks for orofacial clefts associated with parental occupational pesticide exposure are mixed. To examine the role of parental pesticide exposure in orofacial cleft development in offspring, this study compared population-based case-control data for parental occupational exposures to insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides, alone or in combinations, during maternal (1 month before through 3 months after conception) and paternal (3 months before through 3 months after conception) critical exposure periods between orofacial cleft cases and unaffected controls. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios, adjusted for relevant covariables, and 95% confidence intervals for any (yes, no) and cumulative (none, low [

Inflammasome-independent IL-1ß mediates autoinflammatory disease in Pstpip2-deficient mice.

Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) is a human autoinflammatory disorder that primarily affects bone. Missense mutation (L98P) of proline-serine-threonine phosphatase-interacting protein 2 (Pstpip2) in mice leads to a disease that is phenotypically similar to CRMO called chronic multifocal osteomyelitis (cmo). Here we show that deficiency of IL-1RI in cmo mice resulted in a significant reduction in the time to onset of disease as well as the degree of bone pathology. Additionally, the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1ß, but not IL-1α, played a critical role in the pathology observed in cmo mice. In contrast, disease in cmo mice was found to be independent of the nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich repeat-containing family, pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome as well as caspase-1. Neutrophils, but not bone marrow-derived macrophages, from cmo mice secreted increased IL-1ß in response to ATP, silica, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa compared with neutrophils from WT mice. This aberrant neutrophil response was sensitive to inhibition by serine protease inhibitors. These results demonstrate an inflammasome-independent role for IL-1ß in disease progression of cmo and implicate neutrophils and neutrophil serine proteases in disease pathogenesis. These data provide a rationale for directly targeting IL-1RI or IL-1ß as a therapeutic strategy in CRMO.

Parental characteristic patterns associated with maintaining healthy physical activity behavior during childhood and adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Parental characteristics that influence child physical activity (PA) behavior often co-occur. An analytic approach that considers these co-occurring patterns can help researchers better understand the overall context of parental influence. The study aims were to: (1) identify diverse patterns of the relationships among parental characteristics, (2) examine the influence of these parental patterns on child sport participation and moderate-to vigorous-intensity PA (MVPA) trajectories during childhood and adolescence, and (3) examine whether family support mediates the influence of the parental patterns on child sport participation and MVPA trajectories. METHODS: We used data from 408 Iowa Bone Development Study cohort families (97% Caucasians; 65 % mothers with a 4-year college degree). From ages 5 to 19 years, the cohort participated in seven accelerometry assessments, reported sports participation every 6 months, and reported perceived family support for PA at age 15. Parents reported family income, education level, and regular PA participation in high school and adulthood. Structural equation modeling was conducted to identify the latent classes represented among these parental characteristics. Sex-adjusted multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to predict sports participation trajectories and MVPA trajectories by latent class and family support. RESULTS: Three parent latent classes were identified: higher family socioeconomic status (SES) and regular PA in both high school and adulthood by both the father and mother (Group 1); lower family SES and regular PA in high school by the father (Group 2); and lower family SES and no regular PA in high school by the father (Group 3). Sex-adjusted ORs of the "drop-out from sports participation" pattern for the children in Groups 1 and 2, compared to Group 3, were 0.38 (95% CI = 0.20, 0.72) and 0.51 (95% CI = 0.26, 1.00), respectively. Sex-adjusted ORs of the "decreasing from moderate MVPA" pattern for the children in Groups 1 and 2, compared to Group 3, were 0.29 (95% CI = 0.11, 0.75) and 1.16 (95% CI = 0.40, 3.37), respectively. Adding family support to the logistic regression model only slightly changed the ORs. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this study suggest that among lower SES families, the father's role may be important to promote youth to sustain sports participation.

The effect of psychostimulants on skeletal health in boys co-treated with risperidone.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the skeletal effects of chronic psychostimulant treatment in children and adolescents. STUDY DESIGN: Medically healthy 5- to 17-year-old males from 4 different clinic-based studies were combined for this analysis. They were divided by psychostimulant use into 3 groups: none to negligible, intermittent, and continuous use. Most (95%) had also received risperidone for 6 months or more. Treatment history was extracted from medical and pharmacy records. Anthropometric and bone measurements, using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and peripheral quantitative computed tomography, were obtained at each research visit. Multivariable linear regression analysis models examined whether age-sex-specific height Z-score and skeletal outcomes differed among the 3 psychostimulant-use groups. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 194 males with a mean age of 11.7 ± 2.8 years at study entry. The majority had an externalizing disorder. There was no significant difference across the 3 treatment groups in height Z-score or in skeletal outcomes at the radius, lumbar spine, or whole body. One hundred forty-four boys had valid follow-up skeletal data 1.4 ± 0.7 years after study entry. Again, neither height Z-score nor the skeletal outcomes were different among those who remained on psychostimulants between the 2 visits, started psychostimulants anew, or had not taken psychostimulants. CONCLUSIONS: Following chronic treatment, psychostimulants did not appear to significantly affect bone mass accrual in children and adolescents taking risperidone. There was a small, but statistically not significant, negative impact on longitudinal growth.

A second look with prone SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging reduces the need for angiography in patients at low risk for cardiac death or MI.

BACKGROUND: Correction for soft tissue signal attenuation can improve the diagnostic accuracy of single-photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion imaging (SPECT-MPI). The aim of this study was to correlate SPECT-MPI findings with clinical outcomes in patients who underwent stress imaging in the supine position, who also underwent "second look" stress imaging in the prone position. METHODS: Patients without perfusion abnormalities were considered Normal (N = 270). Those with apparent supine stress perfusion abnormalities which all resolved during prone imaging formed the Normal-Prone group (N = 309). Patients with matched perfusion abnormalities during both supine and prone stress imaging were considered Abnormal (N = 169). RESULTS: During follow-up (187 ± 96 days), utilization rates for invasive coronary angiography were similar for Normal vs Normal-Prone patients (3.5% vs 3.8%; P = NS), but were significantly higher in Abnormal patients (42.4%, P < .0001). Coronary revascularization occurred in 0.78%, 0.64%, and 17.7% of Normal, Normal-Prone, and Abnormal patients, respectively (P < .001). Cardiac death or myocardial infarction occurred in 2.2%, 2.3%, and 6.3% of Normal, Normal-Prone, and Abnormal patients, respectively (P = .02). CONCLUSIONS: Second look SPECT-MPI identifies patients at low risk for death or myocardial infarction, who infrequently require invasive coronary angiography.

Combined effects of child and adult elevated blood pressure on subclinical atherosclerosis: the International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohort Consortium.

BACKGROUND: Elevated blood pressure (BP) levels in childhood have been associated with subsequent atherosclerosis. However, it is uncertain whether this risk is attenuated in individuals who acquire normal BP by adulthood. The present study examined the effect of child and adult BP levels on carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) in adulthood. METHODS AND RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 4210 participants from 4 prospective studies (mean follow-up, 23 years). Childhood elevated BP was defined according to the tables from the National High Blood Pressure Education Program. In adulthood, BP was classified as elevated for individuals with systolic BP ≥120 mm Hg, diastolic BP ≥80 mm Hg or with self-reported use of antihypertensive medications. Carotid artery IMT was measured in the left common carotid artery. High IMT was defined as an IMT ≥90th percentile according to age-, sex-, race-, and cohort-specific levels. Individuals with persistently elevated BP and individuals with normal childhood BP, but elevated adult BP had increased risk of high carotid artery IMT (relative risk [95% confidence interval]) 1.82[1.47-2.38] and 1.57[1.22-2.02], respectively) in comparison with individuals with normal child and adult BP. In contrast, individuals with elevated BP as children but not as adults did not have significantly increased risk (1.24[0.92-1.67]). In addition, these individuals had a lower risk of increased carotid artery IMT (0.66[0.50-0.88]) in compared with those with persistently elevated BP. The results were consistent when controlling for age, sex, and adiposity and when different BP definitions were applied. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with persistently elevated BP from childhood to adulthood had increased risk of carotid atherosclerosis. This risk was reduced if elevated BP during childhood resolved by adulthood.

Childhood adiposity, adult adiposity, and cardiovascular risk factors.

BACKGROUND: Obesity in childhood is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. It is uncertain whether this risk is attenuated in persons who are overweight or obese as children but not obese as adults. METHODS: We analyzed data from four prospective cohort studies that measured childhood and adult body-mass index (BMI, the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters). The mean length of follow-up was 23 years. To define high adiposity status, international age-specific and sex-specific BMI cutoff points for overweight and obesity were used for children, and a BMI cutoff point of 30 was used for adults. RESULTS: Data were available for 6328 subjects. Subjects with consistently high adiposity status from childhood to adulthood, as compared with persons who had a normal BMI as children and were nonobese as adults, had an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (relative risk, 5.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.4 to 8.5), hypertension (relative risk, 2.7; 95% CI, 2.2 to 3.3), elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (relative risk, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.4 to 2.3), reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (relative risk, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.8 to 2.5), elevated triglyceride levels (relative risk, 3.0; 95% CI, 2.4 to 3.8), and carotid-artery atherosclerosis (increased intima-media thickness of the carotid artery) (relative risk, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.4 to 2.2) (P ≤ 0.002 for all comparisons). Persons who were overweight or obese during childhood but were nonobese as adults had risks of the outcomes that were similar to those of persons who had a normal BMI consistently from childhood to adulthood (P>0.20 for all comparisons). CONCLUSIONS: Overweight or obese children who were obese as adults had increased risks of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and carotid-artery atherosclerosis. The risks of these outcomes among overweight or obese children who became nonobese by adulthood were similar to those among persons who were never obese. (Funded by the Academy of Finland and others.).

Maternal periconceptional occupational pesticide exposure and neural tube defects.

BACKGROUND: Adverse associations between maternal pesticide exposure and neural tube defects (NTDs) have been suggested but not consistently observed. This study used data from the multisite National Birth Defects Prevention Study to examine associations between maternal periconceptional (1 month preconception through 2 months postconception) occupational pesticide exposure and NTDs. METHODS: Mothers of 502 NTD cases and 2950 unaffected live-born control infants with estimated delivery dates from 1997 through 2002 were included. Duration, categorical intensity scores, and categorical frequency scores for pesticide classes (e.g., insecticides) were assigned using a modified, literature-based job-exposure matrix and maternal-reported occupational histories. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated based on fitted multivariable logistic regression models that described associations between maternal periconceptional occupational pesticide exposure and NTDs. The aORs were estimated for pesticide exposure (any [yes/no] and cumulative exposure [intensity × frequency × duration] to any pesticide class, each pesticide class, or combination of pesticide classes) and all NTD cases combined and NTD subtypes. RESULTS: Positive, but marginally significant or nonsignificant, aORs were observed for exposure to insecticides + herbicides for all NTD cases combined and for spina bifida alone. Similarly, positive aORs were observed for any exposure and cumulative exposure to insecticides + herbicides + fungicides and anencephaly alone and encephalocele alone. All other aORs were near unity. CONCLUSION: Pesticide exposure associations varied by NTD subtype and pesticide class. Several aORs were increased, but not significantly. Future work should continue to examine associations between pesticide classes and NTD subtypes using a detailed occupational pesticide exposure assessment and examine pesticide exposures outside the workplace.

Objectively measured physical activity trajectories predict adolescent bone strength: Iowa Bone Development Study.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity improves bone strength and reduces the risk for osteoporotic fractures. However, there are substantial gaps in our knowledge as to when, how and how much activity is optimal for bone health. PURPOSE: In this cohort study, we examined developmental trajectories of objectively measured physical activity from childhood to adolescence to discern if moderate-and-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) predicts bone strength. METHODS: Starting at age 5 and continuing at 8, 11, 13, 15 and 17 years, Iowa Bone Development Study participants (n=530) wore an accelerometer for 3-5 days. At age 17, we assessed dual X-ray energy absorptiometry outcomes of mass and estimated geometry (femoral neck cross-sectional area and section modulus). We also assessed geometric properties (bone stress index and polar moment of inertia) of the tibia using peripheral computer quantitative tomography. Latent class modelling was used to construct developmental trajectories of MVPA from childhood to late adolescence. General linear models were used to examine the trajectory groups as predictors of age 17 bone outcomes. RESULTS: Girls and boys who accumulated the most MVPA had greater bone mass and better geometry at 17 years when compared to less active peers. The proportion of participants achieving high levels of MVPA throughout childhood was very low (<6% in girls) and by late adolescence almost all girls were inactive. CONCLUSIONS: Bone health benefits of physical activity are not being realised due to low levels of activity for most youth, especially in girls.

Which contributes more to childhood adiposity-high levels of sedentarism or low levels of moderate-through-vigorous physical activity? The Iowa Bone Development Study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relative importance of sedentarism and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for adiposity development in children and adolescents. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 277 boys and 277 girls (95% white; two-thirds of parents with college graduation or higher education) from the Iowa Bone Development Cohort Study completed body fat and accelerometry measurement at examinations of 8, 11, 13, and/or 15 years of age (during 2000-2009). The main exposure was accelerometry-measured sedentary time, frequency of breaks in sedentary time, and moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity time. The outcome was dual energy x-ray absorptiometry-measured body fat mass. RESULTS: Adjusted for age, height, physical maturity, and sedentary time, growth models showed that high moderate-to-vigorous physical activity time was associated with low body fat mass in both boys (coefficient ß=-0.10±0.02) and girls (ß=-0.05±0.01; P<.01). However, sedentary time and frequency of breaks in sedentary time were not associated with body fat mass. CONCLUSIONS: This study does not support an independent effect of sedentarism on adiposity. The preventive effect of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity on adiposity in children and adolescents remained strong after adjusting for the effect of sedentarism.

Periconceptional maternal alcohol consumption and neural tube defects.

BACKGROUND: Neural tube defects (NTD)s, which occur when the neural tube fails to close during early gestation, are some of the most common birth defects worldwide. Alcohol is a known teratogen and has been shown to induce NTDs in animal studies, although most human studies have failed to corroborate these results. Using data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, associations between maternal reports of periconceptional (1 month prior through 2 months postconception) alcohol consumption and NTDs were examined. METHODS: NTD cases and unaffected live born control infants, delivered from 1997 through 2005, were included. Interview reports of alcohol consumption (quantity, frequency, variability, and type) were obtained from 1223 case mothers and 6807 control mothers. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR)s and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using multivariable logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: For all NTDs combined, most aORs for any alcohol consumption, one or more binge episodes, and different type(s) of alcohol consumed were near unity or modestly reduced (≥ 0.7 < aOR ≤ 1.1) and were not statistically significant. Findings were similar for individual NTD subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest no elevated association between maternal periconceptional alcohol consumption and NTDs. Underreporting of alcohol consumption, due to negative social stigma associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy, and limited reports for mothers with early pregnancy loss of a fetus with an NTD may have affected the estimated odds ratios. Future studies should aim to increase sample sizes for less prevalent subtypes, reduce exposure misclassification, and improve ascertainment of fetal deaths and elective terminations.

Nongenetic risk factors and congenital heart defects.

Advances have been made in identifying genetic etiologies of congenital heart defects. Through this knowledge, preventive strategies have been designed and instituted, and prospective parents are counseled regarding their risk of having an affected child. Great strides have been made in genetic variant identification, and genetic susceptibility to environmental exposures has been hypothesized as an etiology for congenital heart defects. Unfortunately, similar advances in understanding have not been made regarding strategies to prevent nongenetic risk factors. Less information is available regarding the potential adverse effect of modifiable risk factors on the fetal heart. This review summarizes the available literature on these modifiable exposures that may alter the risk for congenital heart disease. Information regarding paternal characteristics and conditions, maternal therapeutic drug exposures, parental nontherapeutic drug exposures, and parental environmental exposures are presented. Factors are presented in terms of risk for congenital heart defects as a group. These factors also are broken down by specific defect type. Although additional investigations are needed in this area, many of the discussed risk factors present an opportunity for prevention of potential disease.