Impaired head circumference growth and behavioural problems in childhood: Longitudinal findings from the MINA-Brazil birth cohort.

Background: Previous evidence on the relation between early head circumference (HC) growth and behavioural outcomes in preschoolers has been inconsistent.

Objective: We aimed to investigate whether HC growth from birth to 5 years of age was related to internalising or externalising behavioural problems at 5 years of age in a sex-specific manner.

Methods: Among 303 girls and 318 boys from the MINA-Brazil birth cohort, we examined the associations between changes in HC from birth to 5 years of age and internalising and externalising behaviour problem scores at 5 years according to the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for parents.

Sisvan food intake markers from six to 23 months: critical analysis and validation.

Objective: To explore the internal structure and analyze evidence of measurement invariance of the Sisvan form of food intake markers of the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (Sisvan) for children aged six to 23 months.

Methods: Sisvan microdata from 2015 to 2019 were used. After analyzing sample adequacy, exploratory factor analysis was carried out considering factor loadings (≥ 0.

Exploring the Nexus between Food Systems and the Global Syndemic among Children under Five Years of Age through the Complex Systems Approach.

The intricate relationship between food systems and health outcomes, known as the food-nutrition-health nexus, intersects with environmental concerns. However, there's still a literature gap in evaluating food systems alongside the global syndemic using the complex systems theory, especially concerning vulnerable populations like children. This research aimed to design a system dynamics model to advance a theoretical understanding of the connections between food systems and the global syndemic, particularly focusing on their impacts on children under five years of age.

Insufficient Answer During the Public Health Emergency: A Lesson from the Persistence of Food Insecurity in Low-Income Communities.

Cohort study in deprived communities to investigate the persistence of food insecurity (FI) during the COVID-19 was conducted. Sample were derived from a list of mobile phone numbers provided by community leaders and local nonprofit organizations. Temporal trends and prevalence ratios of FI persistence, categorized as "never," "occasional FI," "consistent FI," were calculated.

Prevalence and correlates of childhood anemia in the MINA-Brazil birth cohort study.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the prevalence and predictors of childhood anemia in an Amazonian population-based birth cohort study.

Methods: Prevalence of maternal anemia was estimated at delivery (hemoglobin [Hb] concentration < 110 g/L) in women participating in the MINA-Brazil birth cohort study and in their children, examined at ages one, two (Hb < 110 g/L), and five (Hb < 115 g/L). Moreover, ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor, and C-reactive protein concentrations were measured in mothers at delivery and in their 1- and 2-year-old children to estimate the prevalence of iron deficiency and its contribution to anemia, while adjusting for potential confounders by multiple Poisson regression analysis (adjusted relative risk [RRa]).

Birth-to-childhood tracking of linear growth and weight gain in the MINA-Brazil Study.

Objective: To investigate birth-to-childhood tracking of linear growth and weight gain across the distribution of length/height and weight for age z-scores and according to household wealth.

Methods: Data from 614 children from the MINA-Brazil Study with repeated anthropometric measurements at birth and up to age five years were used. Z-scores were calculated for length/height (HAZ) and weight (WAZ) according to international standards.

Prevalence and predictors of breastfeeding in the MINA-Brazil cohort.

Objective: To describe the prevalence and factors associated with exclusive (EBF) and continued breastfeeding (BF) practices among Amazonian children.

Methods: Data from 1,143 mother-child pairs recorded on the Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition in Acre (MINA-Brazil) birth cohort were used. Information on EBF and BF was collected after childbirth (July 2015-June 2016) and during the follow-up visits at 1 and 6 months postpartum, 1, 2, and 5 years of age.

Adolescent pregnancy in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil: socioeconomic characteristics, prenatal and obstetric care.

The present study aimed to investigate the socioeconomic and obstetric characteristics of adolescent mothers and the complications they cause to maternal and neonatal health. This baseline data analysis of the MINA-Brazil birth cohort was conducted in the municipality of Cruzeiro do Sul, state of Acre, Brazil. The chi-square test was used to compare characteristics of adolescent and adult postpartum women, and multiple Poisson regression models with robust variance were used to assess associated factors.

Food and Nutrition Surveillance System markers predict diet quality.

Objective: To investigate the performance of food consumption markers of the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (Sisvan) in assessing the overall dietary quality.

Methods: The study was carried out based on the reproduction of responses to markers in 24-hour recall data from 46,164 individuals aged ≥ 10 years, from the 2017-2018 Household Budget Survey (POF). Seven Sisvan markers were evaluated, and two scores were calculated for each participant, based on the sum of the number of healthy food markers (beans, fruits, and vegetables, ranging from 0 to 3) and unhealthy (hamburgers/sausages, sweetened beverages, instant noodles/salt snacks/crackers, stuffed cookies/sweets/candies, ranging from 0 to 4) consumed.

Improved estimates of foetal growth are associated with perinatal outcomes: A latent modelling approach in a population-based birth cohort.

Background: We aimed to estimate latent foetal growth conditions and explore their determinants among maternal characteristics and ultrasound biometric parameters. We additionally investigated the influence of foetal growth conditions on perinatal variables.

Methods: We used data from live-born singletons in the Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition in Acre, Brazil (MINA-Brazil Study) population-based birth cohort.

Sisvan food intake markers: structure and measurement invariance in Brazil.

Objective: To characterize the internal structure of the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (Sisvan) form of food intake markers for individuals over 2 years of age and to investigate measurement invariance between Brazilian macro-regions, life stages and over the years.

Methods: A parallel analysis with factor estimation was carried out, complemented with exploratory factor analysis using all Sisvan records with valid responses in the country in 2015 (n = 298,253). Only the first record per individual was considered.

Exposure to ultra-processed foods during pregnancy and ultrasound fetal growth parameters.

Periconceptional maternal ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption impairs embryonic growth. Impacts of exposure to UPF on distinct components of fetal growth in late pregnancy are unknown. We investigated the influence of frequency of UPF consumption during pregnancy on fetal head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC) and femur length (FL).

Food intake markers in Sisvan: temporal trends in coverage and integration with e-SUS APS, Brazil 2015-2019.

The aim of the present study was to estimate the population coverage of recording food intake markers in Brazil's Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (Sisvan) and mean annual percent change (APC) in coverage according to the system used for data entry (e-SUS APS and Sisvan Web). We conducted an ecological time series study of the period 2015-2019. The data were stratified into region and age group.

Maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index, gestational weight gain and child weight during the first 2 years of life in an Amazonian birth cohort.

Background: In socially vulnerable populations, evidence is needed regarding the role of maternal nutritional status on child weight during the first 2 years of life.

Objectives: We aimed to assess the association of pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) with offspring BMI-for-age z-scores (BAZs) during the first 2 years of life.

Methods: A population-based birth cohort study was conducted with 900 mother-child pairs.

Self-efficacy among health professionals to manage therapeutic groups of patients with obesity: Scale development and validity evidences.

Health professionals have to be confident to manage therapeutic groups of patients with obesity considering the potential of such approach to organize and provide health care. This study aimed to validate the scale of self-efficacy among health professionals to manage therapeutic groups of patients with obesity. Items were developed by an interprofessional group based on theoretical references on humanized healthcare.

SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and COVID-19 among 5 years-old Amazonian children and their association with poverty and food insecurity.

Background: The epidemiology of childhood SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19-related illness remains little studied in high-transmission tropical settings, partly due to the less severe clinical manifestations typically developed by children and the limited availability of diagnostic tests. To address this knowledge gap, we investigate the prevalence and predictors of SARS-CoV-2 infection (either symptomatic or not) and disease in 5 years-old Amazonian children.

Methodology/principal Findings: We retrospectively estimated SARS-CoV-2 attack rates and the proportion of infections leading to COVID-19-related illness among 660 participants in a population-based birth cohort study in the Juruá Valley, Amazonian Brazil.

Vitamin D insufficiency, excessive weight gain, and insulin resistance during pregnancy.

Background And Aims: Vitamin D insufficiency has been related to metabolic complications during pregnancy, including insulin resistance. There is evidence that excessive weight gain can negatively influence 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations. We aimed to investigate the association of vitamin D insufficiency during pregnancy (25(OH)D < 75 nmol/L in the second and third trimesters) with insulin resistance, and explore whether excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) could modify such relationship.

Leisure-time physical activity in Amazonian pregnant women and offspring birth weight: A prospective cohort study.

Compelling evidence supports the current international recommendation of at least 150 min/week of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) during pregnancy. However, the potential relationship between LTPA and birth weight (BW) remains unclear in low- and middle-income countries. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between LTPA during pregnancy and offspring BW in an Amazonian population.

Predictors of 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations during pregnancy: A longitudinal analysis in the Brazilian Amazon.

Objectives: To determine predictors of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations (25, 50, and 75 percentiles) in the third trimester of pregnancy.

Subjects/methods: Data on sociodemographic, obstetric, lifestyle and pregnancy characteristics, including serum 25(OH)D and retinol, were collected among 448 pregnant women who participated in the Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition in Acre, Brazil (MINA-Brazil Study) in Cruzeiro do Sul, Brazilian Amazon (latitude 7°S). Simultaneous-quantile regression was fitted to prospectively assess predictors at the 25, 50 and 75 percentiles of 25(OH)D concentrations.

Prenatal care and preterm birth in the Western Brazilian Amazon: A population-based study.

Brazil is among the top ten countries in preterm delivery worldwide. This study assesses the factors associated with preterm birth in the Western Brazilian Amazon. A population-based cross-sectional study was held between July 2015 to June 2016 in Cruzeiro do Sul, Brazilian Amazon.

[Blood pressure levels and associated factors among pregnant women of the MINA-Brazil Study].

The scope of this study was to investigate the factors associated with blood pressure levels among pregnant women participating in the MINA-Brazil Study, registered in the Family Health Strategy in Cruzeiro do Sul in the Western Brazilian Amazon. Multiple linear regression models were used, adopting a level of significance of 5%. The majority of pregnant participants were less than 24 years of age, 44% were primigravidae, and 59.

Agreement between antenatal gestational age by ultrasound and clinical records at birth: A prospective cohort in the Brazilian Amazon.

This study aimed to assess agreement between antenatal estimates of gestational age by ultrasound and clinical records at birth in the Brazilian Amazon. Ultrasound examinations were scheduled during the second trimester for 578 pregnant women prospectively screened at primary health care units, following a standardized protocol for image quality control. A multistage algorithm was used to assess the best estimate of gestational age during the antenatal period, considering reliability of last menstrual period (LMP) and acceptable differences in relation to ultrasound estimates derived from fetal biparietal diameter and femur length.

Signs and strategies to deal with food insecurity and consumption of ultra-processed foods among Amazonian mothers.

Although food insecurity configures a public health issue in developing countries going through nutrition transition, there is still lack of evidence on how it is affected by social determinants and its relationship with ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption. Using qualitative methods, we investigated the experience of food (in)security among mothers living in the Brazilian Amazon area, identifying aspects of food insecurity promoting UPF consumption. In-depth interviews were performed with 40 women and inductive content analysis was used.