Associations of gestational anxiety and depression with neonatal hair steroid levels.

Objective: To investigate the association prenatal maternal depression and anxiety may have on the levels of neonatal hair steroids (i.e. cortisol, cortisone, and the cortisol/cortisone ratio) at birth.

Fear of Childbirth Impairs Breastfeeding Success Independent of Mode of Birth.

The good qualities of breastfeeding are well known. The aim of this study was to closely examine the impact of specific maternal, prenatal, obstetric, and early neonatal factors on the success of breastfeeding. We used data from the Kuopio Birth Cohort study and analyzed 2,521 online questionnaires, which were answered by women 1 year after giving birth.

Maternal caffeine intake during pregnancy and the risk of delivering a small for gestational age baby: Kuopio Birth Cohort.

Purpose: High caffeine intake during pregnancy is associated with restricted fetal growth. We aimed to evaluate the association between maternal caffeine intake during early and late pregnancy and the risk of delivering a small for gestational age (SGA) baby.

Methods: Kuopio Birth Cohort (KuBiCo) is a prospective cohort study including women whose pregnancies and deliveries were treated at the prenatal clinics in outpatient healthcare centers and in Kuopio University Hospital, Finland.

Maternal dietary indexes are not linked to early childhood wheezing or atopic eczema.

Background: Several recent studies have investigated the association between maternal diet during pregnancy and wheezing or asthma in children. However, whether a specific dietary pattern during pregnancy protects children from wheezing or atopic diseases remains unclear. This study investigated the association between The Alternative Healthy Eating Index for Pregnancy (AHEI-P), the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII), and the risk for wheezing and atopic eczema in children during the first year of life.

Maternal caffeine, coffee and cola drink intake and the risk of gestational diabetes - Kuopio Birth Cohort.

Aims: Coffee intake is associated with a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes among non-pregnant people. We aimed to investigate the association between caffeine, coffee and cola drink intake in early pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes (GDM).

Methods: Kuopio Birth Cohort (KuBiCo) is a prospective cohort study including pregnant women who were followed at the prenatal clinics in outpatient healthcare centers and gave birth in Kuopio University Hospital, Finland (n=2214).

Comparative steroid profiling of newborn hair and umbilical cord serum highlights the role of fetal adrenals, placenta, and pregnancy outcomes in fetal steroid metabolism.

Previous steroid hormone studies concerning pregnancy and newborns have mainly focused on glucocorticoids; wider steroid profiles have been less commonly investigated. Here, we performed a comparative analysis of 17 steroids from newborn hair and umbilical cord serum at the time of delivery. The study participants (n = 42, 50% girls) were a part of the Kuopio Birth Cohort and represent usual Finnish pregnancies.

Early-life environment and the risk of eczema at 2 years-Meta-analyses of six Finnish birth cohorts.

Background: Urban-related nature exposures are suggested to contribute to the rising prevalence of allergic diseases despite little supporting evidence. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of 12 land cover classes and two greenness indices around homes at birth on the development of doctor-diagnosed eczema by the age of 2 years, and the influence of birth season.

Methods: Data from 5085 children were obtained from six Finnish birth cohorts.

Vulvovaginal yeast infections, gestational diabetes and pregnancy outcome.

Background: The primary aim was to evaluate the association between gestational diabetes and blood glucose levels and vulvovaginal yeast infections in pregnancy. Secondly, we clarified the possible associations between maternal and prenatal factors, and birth outcomes and yeast infections.

Methods: Three thousand nine hundred sixty-five pregnant women of the Kuopio Birth Cohort Study (KuBiCo) reported vulvovaginal yeast infections during pregnancy, via electronic questionnaires.

Viral wheezing in early childhood as a risk factor for asthma in young adulthood: A prospective long-term cohort study.

Background And Aims: There is an increased risk of asthma after viral wheezing episodes in early childhood, but unfortunately, prospective longitudinal data until adulthood are mostly lacking. The aim of this cohort study was to evaluate the risk of asthma in young adulthood after hospitalization for viral wheezing episodes in early childhood.

Methods: The original cohort comprised 100 individuals aged <24 months who were hospitalized for viral wheezing episodes in 1992-1993.

An increased asthma risk continued until young adulthood after early-childhood hospitalisation for wheezing.

Aim: The aim of this cohort study was to evaluate doctor-diagnosed and self-reported asthma in young adults after early-childhood hospitalisation for wheezing.

Methods: In this prospective-controlled follow-up, questionnaires were sent to 95 subjects aged 24-28 years, who had been hospitalised for their first episodes of wheezing under 24 months of age. Fifty-eight cases and 100 controls returned the questionnaires.

A splice site and copy number variant responsible for TTC25-related primary ciliary dyskinesia.

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a genetically heterogeneous disorder of motile cilia. With few exceptions, PCD is an autosomal recessive condition, and there are over 40 genes associated with the condition. We present a case of a newborn female with clinical features of PCD, specifically the Kartagener syndrome phenotype, due to variants in TTC25.

Associations between dog keeping and indoor dust microbiota.

Living with dogs appears to protect against allergic diseases and airway infections, an effect possibly linked with immunomodulation by microbial exposures associated with dogs. The aim of this study was to characterize the influence of dog ownership on house dust microbiota composition. The bacterial and fungal microbiota was characterized with Illumina MiSeq sequencing from floor dust samples collected from homes in a Finnish rural-suburban (LUKAS2, N = 182) birth cohort, and the results were replicated in a German urban (LISA, N = 284) birth cohort.

The impact of postpartum depressive symptoms on self-reported infant health and analgesic consumption at the age of 12 months: A prospective cohort study.

The infants of mothers with elevated depressive symptoms (EDS) postpartum appear to be at increased risk of somatic health problems during their first 12 months of life in low- and lower-middle-income countries. However, in higher-income countries, knowledge of this association is scarce. We sought to examine whether maternal reports of infant health problems, adherence to vaccination schedules and analgesic supply to the infant during the first 12 months of life differ between mothers with and without postpartum EDS.

Long-term health-related quality-of-life data in subjects with a history of wheezing in early childhood.

Wheezing in early childhood has implications for respiratory morbidity in later life. We evaluated respiratory health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in young adults ages 17-20 years with a history of early childhood wheezing. Between 1992 and 1993, 100 children ages < 24 months were treated in the hospital for a lower respiratory tract infection with wheezing, and we followed up this cohort.

Effect of Social Distancing Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Incidence of Viral Respiratory Tract Infections in Children in Finland During Early 2020.

Background: Social distancing measures are used to reduce the spreading of infection. Our aim was to assess the immediate effects of national lockdown orders due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on pediatric emergency room (ER) visits and respiratory tract infections in hospitals and nationwide in Finland.

Methods: This register-based study used hospital patient information systems and the Finnish national infectious disease register.

Dietary fatty acids and risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: Observations from the Washington Heights-Hamilton Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP).

Introduction: High dietary intake of long chain, polyunsaturated fatty acids is associated with lower Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk.

Methods: Washington Heights-Hamilton Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project is a multiethnic, prospective observational study of aging and dementia among elderly (≥ 65 years). Dietary intake was measured using a food frequency questionnaire.

Caffeine content in newborn hair correlates with maternal dietary intake.

Purpose: High-maternal caffeine intake during pregnancy may be harmful for perinatal outcomes and future child health, but the level of fetal cumulative exposure has been difficult to measure thus far. Here, we present maternal dietary caffeine intake during the last trimester and its correlation to caffeine content in newborn hair after birth.

Methods: Maternal third trimester diets and dietary caffeine intake were prospectively collected in Kuopio Birth Cohort (KuBiCo) using a 160-item food frequency questionnaire (n = 2840).

Is the prevalence of psychosis in the very old decreasing? A comparison of 85-year-olds born 22 years apart.

Objective: To elucidate whether there is a decrease of psychotic symptoms in 85-years-olds without dementia and if factors associated with psychotic symptoms have changed, we studied two birth cohorts of 85-year-olds born 22 years apart.

Methods: Every second, 85-year-olds in Gothenburg, Sweden was invited to neuropsychiatric examinations in 1986 to 1987 (participation 63.1%, N = 494) and in 2008 to 2010 (60.

Psychoeducation for bipolar disorder and risk of recurrence and hospitalization - a within-individual analysis using registry data.

Background: The efficacy of psychoeducation for bipolar disorder has been demonstrated in clinical trials, but it is not known if the results translate into effectiveness in routine clinical practice. The aim was to determine the effectiveness of psychoeducation for bipolar disorder in a routine clinical setting.

Method: We identified 2819 patients with at least three registrations in the Swedish Quality Assurance Register for Bipolar Disorder.

Kuopio birth cohort - design of a Finnish joint research effort for identification of environmental and lifestyle risk factors for the wellbeing of the mother and the newborn child.

Background: A Finnish joint research effort Kuopio Birth Cohort (KuBiCo) seeks to evaluate the effects of genetics, epigenetics and different risk factors (medication, nutrition, lifestyle factors and environmental aspects) during pregnancy on the somatic and psychological health status of the mother and the child.

Methods: KuBiCo will ultimately include information on 10,000 mother-child pairs who have given their informed consent to participate in this cohort. Identification of foetal health risk factors that can potentially later manifest as disease requires a repository of relevant biological samples and a flexible open up-to-date data handling system to register, store and analyse biological, clinical and questionnaire-based data.

Occurrence of erythema migrans in children with Lyme neuroborreliosis and the association with clinical characteristics and outcome - a prospective cohort study.

Background: Erythema migrans (EM) is the most common manifestation of Lyme borreliosis (LB), caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. The infection can disseminate into the nervous system and cause Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB), the second most frequent LB manifestation in children. The aim of this prospective cohort study is to describe the occurrence of EM among children with LNB and to evaluate possible differences in clinical characteristics or outcome between LNB patients with and without EM.