Established diet quality indices are not universally associated with body composition in young adult women.

Objective: To determine which established diet quality indices best predict weight-related outcomes in young women.

Design: In this cross-sectional analysis, we collected dietary information using the Harvard FFQ and measured body fat percentage (BF%) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. We used FFQ data to derive five diet quality indices: Recommended Food Score (RFS), Healthy Eating Index 2015 (HEI-2015), Alternate Healthy Eating Index 2010 (AHEI-2010), alternate Mediterranean Diet Score (aMED) and Healthy Plant-Based Diet Index (HPDI).

Barriers to Exclusive Breastfeeding Among Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in the United States.

Objective: To identify differences in breastfeeding-related knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and experiences between women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and women without GDM.

Design: Cross-sectional and prospective cohort study.

Setting: Secondary analysis of data from the U.

Premenstrual Symptom Patterns and Behavioral Risk Factors in Young Women: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Approximately 80% of reproductive age women experience physical or emotional symptoms before onset of menses. Of these women, ∼20% experience symptoms severe enough to interfere with social functioning and life activities, and meet clinical criteria for premenstrual syndrome (PMS). More than 100 different symptoms are associated with PMS.

Impact of Vitamin A and Carotenoids on the Risk of Tuberculosis Progression.

Background: Low and deficient levels of vitamin A are common in low- and middle-income countries where tuberculosis burden is high. We assessed the impact of baseline levels of vitamin A and carotenoids on tuberculosis disease risk.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study nested within a longitudinal cohort of household contacts (HHCs) of pulmonary tuberculosis case patients in Lima, Peru.

Recreational Physical Activity and Premenstrual Syndrome in Young Adult Women: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: It is estimated that up to 75% of premenopausal women experience at least one premenstrual symptom and 8-20% meet clinical criteria for premenstrual syndrome. Premenstrual syndrome substantially reduces quality of life for many women of reproductive age, with pharmaceutical treatments having limited efficacy and substantial side effects. Physical activity has been recommended as a method of reducing menstrual symptom severity.

Association of Premenstrual Syndrome with Blood Pressure in Young Adult Women.

Objective: The prevalence of hypertension in premenopausal women is increasing. There is substantial need for novel strategies to identify women who would benefit from increased screening and early interventions. Several mechanisms likely contributing to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) are also involved in hypertension, including renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system dysfunction and micronutrient deficiencies.

A cross sectional study of anemia and iron deficiency as risk factors for arsenic-induced skin lesions in Bangladeshi women.

Background: In the Ganges Delta, chronic arsenic poisoning is a health concern affecting millions of people who rely on groundwater as their potable water source. The prevalence of anemia is also high in this region, particularly among women. Moreover, arsenic is known to affect heme synthesis and erythrocytes and the risk of arsenic-induced skin lesions appears to differ by sex.

Effects of Pomegranate Juice on Hormonal Biomarkers of Breast Cancer Risk.

Pomegranate is a rich source of polyphenols. Laboratory studies suggest polyphenols may exert breast cancer preventive effects through modulation of endogenous sex hormone levels. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of pomegranate juice consumption on serum levels of estradiol, estrone, testosterone, androstenedione, and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG).

Correlation of urine and plasma cytokine levels among reproductive-aged women.

Background: Inflammation is implicated in many adverse health conditions, and recent interest has focused on the effects of chronic low-grade inflammation in generally healthy populations. Cytokines measured in plasma or serum are commonly used as biomarkers of systemic levels of inflammation. Measurement of cytokines in urine may offer a simpler and less invasive alternative, although the degree to which levels of cytokines correlate in plasma and urine among healthy individuals is unknown.

Obesity is associated with increased red blood cell folate despite lower dietary intakes and serum concentrations.

Background: Folates are essential cofactors in metabolic pathways that facilitate biological methylation and nucleotide synthesis, and therefore have widespread effects on health and diseases. Although obesity is prevalent worldwide, few studies have investigated how obesity interacts with folate status.

Objective: Based on data from the NHANES, this study aims to examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and obesity-related metabolic factors with blood folate status.

Second stage of labor and intraventricular hemorrhage in early preterm infants in the vertex presentation.

Objective: To investigate the association between exposure to second stage of labor and duration of second stage, and risk of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) among infants delivered <30 weeks of gestation.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study among 158 singleton vertex deliveries (97 vaginal and 61 cesarean). Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the risk of IVH related to second stage.

Intake of selected minerals and risk of premenstrual syndrome.

Iron, potassium, zinc, and other minerals might impact the development of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) through multiple mechanisms, but few studies have evaluated these relations. We conducted a case-control study nested within the prospective Nurses' Health Study II (1991-2001). Participants were free from PMS at baseline.

Vitamin E and adiponectin: proposed mechanism for vitamin E-induced improvement in insulin sensitivity.

Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes have been treated with the PPARγ agonists thiazolidinediones, or TZDs, since the 1990s. One mechanism by which these drugs may work is through PPARγ-mediated upregulation of adiponectin, an endogenous adipokine that has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity. Interestingly, α- and γ-tocopherol, two vitamin E vitamers, have structural similarities to the TZDs and have also been linked to enhanced insulin sensitivity.

Dietary B vitamin intake and incident premenstrual syndrome.

Background: Thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, folate, and vitamin B-12 are required to synthesize neurotransmitters that are potentially involved in the pathophysiology of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

Objective: The objective was to evaluate whether B vitamin intake from food sources and supplements is associated with the initial development of PMS.

Design: We conducted a case-control study nested within the Nurses' Health Study II cohort.

The association of lean mass and fat mass with peak bone mass in young premenopausal women.

Total body mass is a major determinant of bone mass, but studies of the relative contributions of lean mass (LM) and fat mass (FM) to bone mass have yielded conflicting results. This is likely because of the use of bone measures that are not adequately adjusted for body size and, therefore, not appropriate for analyses related to body composition, which is also correlated with body size. We examined the relationship between body composition and peak bone mass in premenopausal women aged 18-30 yr using both size-dependent and size-adjusted measures of bone density and body composition, as well as statistical models adjusted for size-related factors.

Dietary vitamin D intake, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels and premenstrual syndrome in a college-aged population.

High dietary intake of vitamin D may reduce the risk of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), perhaps by affecting calcium levels, cyclic sex steroid hormone fluctuations, and/or neurotransmitter function. Only a small number of previous studies have evaluated this relationship and none have focused on young women. We assessed this relationship in a cross-sectional analysis within the UMass Vitamin D Status Study.

Serum folate and DDT isomers and metabolites are inversely associated in Chinese women: a cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Vitamin nutritional status may influence some xenobiotic metabolism or vice versa.

Methods: This analysis examines the relationship between B-vitamin concentrations and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (DDT) isomers and metabolites in healthy women. Serum pp'DDT, pp'DDE, pp'DDD, op'DDT, op'DDE, and serum folate, cysteine, and vitamins B6 and B12 were measured in 296 nonsmoking female textile workers (21-34 yr) in Anhui, China.

Pomegranate and breast cancer: possible mechanisms of prevention.

Several mechanistic studies in cell culture and mouse models suggest possible estrogen receptor-mediated and non-estrogen receptor-mediated benefits of pomegranate juice with respect to breast cancer risk. These studies demonstrate that various constituents of pomegranates can inhibit aromatase and 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzymes or have antiestrogenic activity. Additional large, well-controlled human studies are warranted to elucidate the effects of pomegranate juice intake on serum hormone levels.

Vitamin D and tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis is highly prevalent worldwide, accounting for nearly two million deaths annually. Vitamin D influences the immune response to tuberculosis, and vitamin D deficiency has been associated with increased tuberculosis risk in different populations. Genetic variability may influence host susceptibility to developing active tuberculosis and treatment response.

Can folate intake reduce arsenic toxicity?

Arsenic-contaminated groundwater is a global environmental health concern. Inorganic arsenic is a known carcinogen, and epidemiologic studies suggest that persons with impaired arsenic metabolism are at increased risk for certain cancers, including skin and bladder carcinoma. Arsenic metabolism involves methylation to monomethylarsonic acid and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) by a folate-dependent process.

Preconception B-vitamin and homocysteine status, conception, and early pregnancy loss.

Maternal vitamin status contributes to clinical spontaneous abortion, but the role of B-vitamin and homocysteine status in subclinical early pregnancy loss is unknown. Three-hundred sixty-four textile workers from Anqing, China, who conceived at least once during prospective observation (1996-1998), provided daily urine specimens for up to 1 year, and urinary human chorionic gonadotropin was assayed to detect conception and early pregnancy loss. Homocysteine, folate, and vitamins B6 and B12 were measured in preconception plasma.

Preconception hemoglobin and ferritin concentrations are associated with pregnancy outcome in a prospective cohort of Chinese women.

Prenatal anemia and iron deficiency are associated with adverse birth outcomes, but no previous studies have examined the relation between preconception anemia, iron deficiency, and pregnancy outcome in healthy women. We measured hemoglobin (Hb), ferritin, transferrin receptor (TfR), and vitamins B-6, B-12, and folate concentrations before pregnancy in 405 Chinese women (median time from sample collection to gestation end = 316 d). Both mild (95 View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hypertensive patients from two rural Chinese counties respond differently to benazepril: the Anhui Hypertension Health Care Study.

Purpose: Essential hypertension, as a complex disorder with unknown etiology cause, is a major public health problem worldwide. Patients need constant drug therapy to maintain their blood pressure in a normal range. However, the current facts suggest that the treatment is not optimized in a large number of patients, and as a result they are at risk for compliance resulting in uncontrolled blood pressure.

beta(3) Adrenergic receptor polymorphism and obesity-related phenotypes in hypertensive patients.

Objectives: Obesity is a complex trait that is affected by both environmental and genetic risk factors. The beta(3) adrenergic receptor (ADRB3) is expressed in adipose tissue and plays a role in energy metabolism. A missense mutation on codon 64 of this gene (W64R) is associated with receptor malfunction.

Low preconception body mass index is associated with birth outcome in a prospective cohort of Chinese women.

Low maternal prepregnancy BMI is associated with adverse birth outcomes, but the BMI at which risk increases is not well defined. We assessed whether the relationship between prepregnancy BMI and birth outcomes is influenced by the extent to which mothers were underweight in a prospective study in Anhui, China. The women (n = 575) were 20-34 y old, married, nulliparous and nonsmokers.