Tracing and strains causing septicemia in extremely preterm infants to the skin, mouth, and gut microbiota.

Unlabelled: Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) comprise about 50 species, some of which cause septicemia in preterm neonates. CoNS establish early on the skin and in the oral and gut microbiota, from where they may spread to the bloodstream. The colonization pattern preceding septicemia is not well-defined.

Gut microbiota markers in early childhood are linked to farm living, pets in household and allergy.

Background: Children growing up on farms or with pets have a lower risk of developing allergy, which may be linked to their gut microbiota development during infancy.

Methods: Children from the FARMFLORA birth cohort (N = 65), of whom 28 (43%) lived on a dairy farm and 40 (62%) had pets, provided fecal samples at intervals from 3 days to 18 months of age. Gut microbiota composition was characterized using quantitative microbial culture of various typical anaerobic and facultatively anaerobic bacteria, with colonization rate and population counts of bacterial groups determined at the genus or species level.

Associations of gestational and childhood exposure to lead, cadmium, and fluoride with cognitive abilities, behavior, and social communication at 4 years of age: NICE birth cohort study.

Background: Early-life lead exposure affects cognitive development and emerging evidence suggests similar effects of cadmium and fluoride.

Objective: To assess the impact of gestational and childhood exposure to lead, cadmium, and fluoride on cognitive abilities and behavioral and social communication problems.

Methods: We studied 470 pregnant women (gestational week 29) and their 4-year-old children from the NICE cohort in northern Sweden.

Wound cleansing solutions versus normal saline in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers - A systematic review.

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a major complication of diabetes mellitus, defined as infection, ulceration and/or destruction of deep tissues and/or peripheral artery disease in the lower extremities. Efficient cleansing is essential for the treatment of wounds, as it removes debris and necrotic tissue and decreases the burden of wound-colonizing microorganisms. The objective was to conduct a systematic review of the literature to investigate the effects of wound cleansing agents commonly used in DFU care, compared to the use of normal saline for DFU management.

Biomarker Candidates of Habitual Food Intake in a Swedish Cohort of Pregnant and Lactating Women and Their Infants.

Circulating food metabolites could improve dietary assessments by complementing traditional methods. Here, biomarker candidates of food intake were identified in plasma samples from pregnancy (gestational week 29, N = 579), delivery (mothers, N = 532; infants, N = 348), and four months postpartum (mothers, N = 477; breastfed infants, N = 193) and associated to food intake assessed with semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires. Families from the Swedish birth cohort Nutritional impact on Immunological maturation during Childhood in relation to the Environment (NICE) were included.

Associations of the placental metabolome with immune maturation up to one year of age in the Swedish NICE-cohort.

Introduction: Allergies and other immune-mediated diseases are thought to result from incomplete maturation of the immune system early in life. We previously showed that infants' metabolites at birth were associated with immune cell subtypes during infancy. The placenta supplies the fetus with nutrients, but may also provide immune maturation signals.

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) in infants' plasma and corresponding mother's milk and plasma in relation to subsequent sensitisation and atopic disease.

Background: Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in intestinal contents may influence immune function, while less is known about SCFAs in blood plasma. The aims were to investigate the relation between infants' and maternal plasma SCFAs, as well as SCFAs in mother's milk, and relate SCFA concentrations in infant plasma to subsequent sensitisation and atopic disease.

Methods: Infant plasma (N = 148) and corresponding mother's milk and plasma were collected four months postpartum.

Toxic metals and essential trace elements in placenta and their relation to placental function.

Introduction: Placental function is essential for fetal development, but it may be susceptible to malnutrition and environmental stressors.

Objective: To assess the impact of toxic and essential trace elements in placenta on placental function.

Methods: Toxic metals (cadmium, lead, mercury, cobalt) and essential elements (copper, manganese, zinc, selenium) were measured in placenta of 406 pregnant women in northern Sweden using ICP-MS.

Associations of gestational and early-life exposure to toxic metals and fluoride with a diagnosis of food allergy or atopic eczema at 1 year of age.

Studies have indicated that early-life exposure to toxic metals and fluoride affects the immune system, but evidence regarding their role in allergic disease development is scarce. We aimed to evaluate the relations of exposure to such compounds in 482 pregnant women and their infants (4 months of age) with food allergy and atopic eczema diagnosed by a paediatric allergologist at 1 year of age within the Swedish birth-cohort NICE (Nutritional impact on Immunological maturation during Childhood in relation to the Environment). Urinary cadmium and erythrocyte cadmium, lead, and mercury concentrations were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), urinary inorganic arsenic metabolites by ICP-MS after separation by ion exchange chromatography, and urinary fluoride by an ion-selective electrode.

Biomarkers of seafood intake during pregnancy - Pollutants versus fatty acids and micronutrients.

Intake of fish and seafood during pregnancy may have certain beneficial effects on fetal development, but measurement of intake using questionnaires is unreliable. Here, we assessed several candidate biomarkers of seafood intake, including long-chain omega 3 fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA), selenium, iodine, methylmercury, and different arsenic compounds, in 549 pregnant women (gestational week 29) in the prospective birth cohort NICE (Nutritional impact on Immunological maturation during Childhood in relation to the Environment). Proportions of the fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in erythrocytes were measured using gas chromatography with flame ionization detector.

Staphylococcus aureus sequence type (ST) 45, ST30, and ST15 in the gut microbiota of healthy infants - persistence and population counts in relation to ST and virulence gene carriage.

Staphylococcus aureus colonizes the anterior nares, and also the gut, particularly in infants. S. aureus is divided into lineages, termed clonal complexes (CCs), which comprise closely related sequence types (STs).

Frequent Occurrence of Perianal Disease and Granuloma Formation in Patients with Crohn's Disease and Coexistent Orofacial Granulomatosis.

Background: Orofacial granulomatosis (OFG) is an inflammatory disorder of the perioral region and oral cavity. Crohn's disease (CD) in conjunction with OFG (CD-OFG), has been suggested to constitute a phenotype of CD with distinct features at diagnosis.

Aims: The aim of this project was to investigate whether the distinct phenotypic features of CD-OFG persist in the years following the initial diagnosis of CD.

Association of maternal urinary fluoride concentrations during pregnancy with size at birth and the potential mediation effect by maternal thyroid hormones: The Swedish NICE birth cohort.

Background: Observational studies have indicated that elevated maternal fluoride exposure during pregnancy may impair child neurodevelopment but a potential impact on birth outcomes is understudied.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of gestational fluoride exposure on birth outcomes (birth size and gestational age at birth) and to assess the potential mediating role of maternal thyroid hormones.

Methods: We studied 583 mother-child dyads in the NICE cohort in northern Sweden.

Assessment of Joint Impact of Iodine, Selenium, and Zinc Status on Women's Third-Trimester Plasma Thyroid Hormone Concentrations.

Background: Iodine is essential for synthesizing thyroid hormones, but other micronutrients are also required for optimal thyroid function. However, there is a lack of data on combined micronutrient status in relation to thyroid hormones in pregnancy.

Objectives: We aimed to assess the joint associations of iodine, selenium, and zinc status with plasma concentrations of thyroid hormones and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in pregnancy.

Differences between Arterial and Venous Umbilical Cord Plasma Metabolome and Association with Parity.

Umbilical cord blood is frequently used in health monitoring of the neonate. Results may be affected by the proportion of arterial and venous cord blood, the venous blood coming from the mother to supply oxygen and nutrients to the infant, and the arterial carrying waste products from the fetus. Here, we sampled arterial and venous umbilical cords separately from 48 newly delivered infants and examined plasma metabolomes using GC-MS/MS metabolomics.

Infant Iodine and Selenium Status in Relation to Maternal Status and Diet During Pregnancy and Lactation.

Iodine and selenium are essential trace elements. Recent studies indicate that pregnant and lactating women often have insufficient intake of iodine and selenium, but the impact on fetal and infant status is unclear. Here, we assessed iodine and selenium status of infants in relation to maternal intake and status of these trace elements in the birth cohort NICE, conducted in northern Sweden ( = 604).

Maternal characteristics and pregnancy outcomes in the NICE birth cohort: an assessment of self-selection bias.

Background: Prospective birth cohorts are essential for identifying associations between exposures and outcomes. However, voluntary participation introduces a potential bias due to self selection since the persons that chose to participate may differ in background characteristics and behaviors.

Objectives: To investigate potential bias due to self-selection in the (NICE) birth cohort in northern Sweden.

Low Concentration of Fecal Valeric Acid at 1 Year of Age Is Linked with Eczema and Food Allergy at 13 Years of Age: Findings from a Swedish Birth Cohort.

Background: Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are abundant bacterial metabolites in the gut, with immunomodulatory properties. Hence, they may influence allergy development. Previous studies have linked fecal SCFA pattern during infancy with allergy.

Proportions of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Umbilical Cord Blood at Birth Are Related to Atopic Eczema Development in the First Year of Life.

Atopic eczema, the most common atopic disease in infants, may pave the way for sensitization and allergy later in childhood. Fatty acids have immune-regulating properties and may regulate skin permeability. Here we examine whether the proportions of fatty acids among the infant and maternal plasma phospholipids at birth were associated with maternal dietary intake during pregnancy and development of atopic eczema during the first year of age in the Nutritional impact on Immunological maturation during Childhood in relation to the Environment (NICE) birth cohort.

Thyroid hormones in relation to toxic metal exposure in pregnancy, and potential interactions with iodine and selenium.

Background: Several endocrine-disrupting metals may affect thyroid function, but the few available studies of exposure during pregnancy and thyroid hormones are inconclusive.

Objective: To explore if environmental exposure to cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and methylmercury (MeHg) impacts thyroid function in pregnancy, and interacts with iodine and selenium status.

Methods: Women in a Swedish birth cohort provided blood and urine samples in early third trimester.

Associations of maternal and infant metabolomes with immune maturation and allergy development at 12 months in the Swedish NICE-cohort.

Allergic diseases are the most common chronic diseases in childrenin the Western world, but little is know about what factors influence immune maturation and allergy development. We therefore aimed to associate infant and maternal metabolomes to T- and B-cell subpopulations and allergy diagnosis. We performed liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry based untargeted metabolomics on blood plasma from mothers (third trimester, n = 605; delivery, n = 558) and from the umbilical cord (n = 366).

Bacterial Carriage of Genes Encoding Fibronectin-Binding Proteins Is Associated with Long-Term Persistence of Staphylococcus aureus in the Nasal and Gut Microbiota of Infants.

Staphylococcus aureus can colonize both the anterior nares and the gastrointestinal tract. However, colonization at these sites in the same individuals has not been studied, and the traits that facilitate colonization and persistence at these sites have not been compared. Samples from the nostrils and feces collected on 9 occasions from 3 days to 3 years of age in 65 infants were cultured; 54 samples yielded S.

Circulating proteins associated with allergy development in infants-an exploratory analysis.

Background: Protein profiles that can predict allergy development in children are lacking and the ideal sampling age is unknown. By applying an exploratory proteomics approach in the prospective FARMFLORA birth cohort, we sought to identify previously unknown circulating proteins in early life that associate to protection or risk for development of allergy up to 8 years of age.

Methods: We analyzed plasma prepared from umbilical cord blood (n = 38) and blood collected at 1 month (n = 42), 4 months (n = 39), 18 months (n = 42), 36 months (n = 42) and 8 years (n = 44) of age.

Umbilical cord blood metabolome differs in relation to delivery mode, birth order and sex, maternal diet and possibly future allergy development in rural children.

Allergy is one of the most common diseases among young children yet all factors that affect development of allergy remain unclear. In a small cohort of 65 children living in the same rural area of south-west Sweden, we have previously found that maternal factors, including prenatal diet, affect childhood allergy risk, suggesting that in utero conditions may be important for allergy development. Here, we studied if metabolites in the umbilical cord blood of newborns may be related to development of childhood allergy, accounting for key perinatal factors such as mode of delivery, birth order and sex.