Rural-urban disparities in cardiovascular disease mortality vary by poverty level and region.

Purpose: To examine rural and urban disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) death rates by poverty level and region.

Methods: Using 2021 county-level population and mortality data for CVD deaths listed as the underlying cause among adults aged 35-64 years, we calculated age-standardized CVD death rates and rate ratios (RR) for 4 categories of counties: high-poverty rural, high-poverty urban, low-poverty rural, and low-poverty urban (referent). Results are presented nationally and by US Census region.

Pediatric Lipid Screening Prevalence Using Nationwide Electronic Medical Records.

Importance: Universal screening to identify unfavorable lipid levels is recommended for US children aged 9 to 11 years and adolescents aged 17 to 21 years (hereafter, young adults); however, screening benefits in these individuals have been questioned. Current use of lipid screening and prevalence of elevated lipid measurements among US youths is not well understood.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of ambulatory pediatric lipid screening and elevated or abnormal lipid measurements among US screened youths by patient characteristic and test type.

Prevalence of Self-Reported Hypertension and Antihypertensive Medication Use Among Adults - United States, 2017-2021.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. It increases with age and is highest among non-Hispanic Black or African American persons, men, persons aged ≥65 years, those of lower socioeconomic status, and those who live in the southern United States. Hypertension affects approximately one half of U.

Trends in Lipid-Lowering Prescriptions: Increasing Use of Guideline-Concordant Pharmacotherapies, U.S., 2017‒2022.

Introduction: Almost one third of U.S. adults have elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, increasing their risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Characteristics and treatment of hospitalized pregnant women with COVID-19.

Background: Pregnant women less frequently receive COVID-19 vaccination and are at increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes from COVID-19.

Objective: This study aimed to first, describe the vaccination status, treatment, and outcomes of hospitalized, symptomatic pregnant women with COVID-19, and second, estimate whether treatment differs by pregnancy status among treatment-eligible (ie, requiring supplemental oxygen per National Institutes of Health guidelines at the time of the study) women.

Study Design: From January to November 2021, the COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network completed medical chart abstraction for a probability sample of 2715 hospitalized women aged 15 to 49 years with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Associations of maternal diet and nutritional status with offspring hepatic steatosis in the Avon longitudinal study of parents and children.

Background: Priming for cardiometabolic diseases, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is hypothesized to begin in utero. The primary objective of this study is to determine whether there is an association between maternal nutritional status and offspring NAFLD.

Methods: Data come from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) in the UK.

Associations between Free Sugar and Sugary Beverage Intake in Early Childhood and Adult NAFLD in a Population-Based UK Cohort.

(1) Background: High sugar intake is prevalent among children and is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The purpose of this study is to determine if a high intake of free sugars and sugary beverages (SB) in childhood is associated with NAFLD in adulthood; (2) Methods: At 24 years, 3095 participants were assessed for severe hepatic steatosis (controlled attenuation parameter >280 dB/m) and had dietary data collected via a food frequency questionnaire at age three years. Multiple logistic regression models adjusted for total energy intake, potential confounders, and a mediator (offspring body mass index (BMI) at 24 years); (3) Results: Per quintile increase of free sugar intake association with severe hepatic steatosis at 24 years after adjusting for total energy was odds ratio (OR):1.

Longitudinal associations of total and trunk fat in childhood and adolescence and risk of hepatic steatosis at 24 years.

Background: The importance of body fat distribution in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is unclear.

Objective: To examine whether total and truncal fat deposition patterns in childhood/adolescence are associated with NAFLD risk at 24 years.

Methods: Data were from 1657 participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

ALT Trends through Childhood and Adolescence Associated with Hepatic Steatosis at 24 Years: A Population-Based UK Cohort Study.

(1) Background: Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is used to screen for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children; however, the optimal age to commence screening is not determined. Our objective was to describe whether ALT trends from 9-24 years were associated with hepatic steatosis at 24 years in a population-based UK cohort. (2) Methods: The sample included 1156 participants who were assessed for hepatic steatosis at 24 years and had at least two ALT measurements at 9, 15, 17, and/or 24 years.

Prevalence of NAFLD in Guatemala following exposure to a protein-energy nutrition intervention in early life.

Introduction And Objectives: The global prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is approximately 25%, with Hispanic populations at greatest risk. We describe the prevalence of NAFLD in a cohort of Guatemalan adults and examine whether exposure to a protein-energy supplement from conception to two years is associated with lower prevalence of NAFLD.

Materials And Methods: From 1969 to 1977, four villages in Guatemala were cluster-randomized to receive a protein-energy supplement (Atole) or a no-protein, low-energy beverage (Fresco).

Effect of a Low Free Sugar Diet vs Usual Diet on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Adolescent Boys: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Pediatric guidelines for the management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) recommend a healthy diet as treatment. Reduction of sugary foods and beverages is a plausible but unproven treatment.

Objective: To determine the effects of a diet low in free sugars (those sugars added to foods and beverages and occurring naturally in fruit juices) in adolescent boys with NAFLD.

Development and Utility of a Birth Defects Surveillance Toolkit.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 303,000 neonates die within their first month of age every year globally as a result of a birth defect. Neural tube defects, serious birth defects of the brain and spine, are among the most common and severe of these birth defects. Since some low- and middle-income countries lack comprehensive, accurate data documenting the burden of these defects, providing technical assistance to help build birth defects surveillance programs can accelerate the collection of data needed to demonstrate this burden and advance prevention initiatives.

Carbohydrates and diet patterns in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in children and adolescents.

Purpose Of Review: The primary treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children is lifestyle change, including a healthier diet. However, there are no agreed upon expert recommendations for a specific diet in the prevention or treatment of NAFLD. In this study, we review studies published between 2015 and 2017 contributing to further understanding of the role of diet in the development and progression of NAFLD, particularly those addressing sugars and dietary patterns.

Describing the Prevalence of Neural Tube Defects Worldwide: A Systematic Literature Review.

Background: Folate-sensitive neural tube defects (NTDs) are an important, preventable cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. There is a need to describe the current global burden of NTDs and identify gaps in available NTD data.

Methods And Findings: We conducted a systematic review and searched multiple databases for NTD prevalence estimates and abstracted data from peer-reviewed literature, birth defects surveillance registries, and reports published between January 1990 and July 2014 that had greater than 5,000 births and were not solely based on mortality data.

Building capacity for birth defects surveillance in Africa: Implementation of an intermediate birth defects surveillance workshop.

Each year around the world, it is estimated that 300,000 neonates are born with a neural tube defect. Many countries, however, are still lacking comprehensive birth defects surveillance registries. Comprehensive birth defects surveillance systems can help countries understand the magnitude and distribution of the problem.

The effects of maternal weight and age on pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in Haiti.

Objective: Patient data from Maison de Naissance (MN), a rural maternity clinic in Haiti, were analyzed to determine the prevalence of pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders and the extent to which maternal weight and age are associated with these disorders in the MN population.

Methods: A case-control study design was used with cases defined as pregnant women who were presented at MN with pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders (pregnancy-induced hypertension, pre-eclampsia or eclampsia) and controls defined as those women who delivered babies at MN and were not diagnosed with a pregnancy-related hypertensive disorder. The final cohort size was 622 controls and 67 cases.