Improving outcomes for very preterm babies in England: does place of birth matter? Findings from OPTI-PREM, a national cohort study.

Objective: Babies born between 27 and 31 weeks of gestation contribute substantially towards infant mortality and morbidity. In England, their care is delivered in maternity services colocated with highly specialised neonatal intensive care units (NICU) or less specialised local neonatal units (LNU). We investigated whether birth setting offered survival and/or morbidity advantages to inform National Health Service delivery.

Higher cost of gluten-free products compared to gluten-containing equivalents is mainly attributed to staple foods.

The high cost of gluten-free products (GFPs) is being discussed as a potential barrier to adherence to a gluten-free diet, rendering monitoring of their pricing an ongoing demand in a market subject to continuous fluctuations. The current study aimed to assess the current pricing status of GFPs in the Greek retail market, with a focus on differences between staple and non-staple foods. The retail price and packaging weight of all available GFPs and their gluten-containing (GCPs) counterparts of a GFP-shopping basket (formulated based on the results of a preceding online survey) were recorded by visiting one store of the five most popular reported supermarket chains.

Ultra-processed Food Intake During Pregnancy and its Impact on Maternal Diet Quality and Weight Change: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies.

Purpose Of Review: Adequate and balanced nutrition during pregnancy is essential for both the mother's and fetus's health. The increased dietary intake of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and their significant share in the diet negatively affects diet quality and gestational weight gain during pregnancy. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the association of UPFs consumption with diet quality and gestational weight change among healthy pregnant women, using data from observational studies (PROSPERO Identifier: CRD42023468269) from the last 10 years.

Associations between Meal Patterns and Risk of Overweight/Obesity in Children and Adolescents in Western Countries: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies and Randomised Controlled Trials.

Childhood overweight/obesity (OV/OB) is a major public health problem in Western countries, often accompanied with comorbidities (e.g., hypertension and insulin resistance) (i.

Micronutrient intake and telomere length: findings from the UK Biobank.

Purpose: To investigate whether micronutrient intake from food as well as the regular uptake of specific vitamins and/or minerals are associated with leucocyte telomere length (LTL).

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using data from 422,693 UK Biobank participants aged from 40 to 69 years old, during 2006-2010. LTL was measured as the ratio of telomere repeat number to a single-copy gene and was log-transformed and z-standardized (z-LTL).

Associations between unilateral amblyopia in childhood and cardiometabolic disorders in adult life: a cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of the UK Biobank.

Background: Amblyopia is a common neurodevelopmental condition and leading cause of childhood visual impairment. Given the known association between neurodevelopmental impairment and cardiometabolic dysfunction in later life, we investigated whether children with amblyopia have increased risk of cardiometabolic disorders in adult life.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of 126,399 United Kingdom Biobank cohort participants who underwent ocular examination.

Trends in the long-term impact of childhood visual impairment on health and social outcomes in the UK: a cross-cohort study across three decades of disability-related legislation and policy implementation.

Background: Childhood vision impairment (VI) can adversely impact health and social outcomes and limit life chances. We investigated whether its adverse impacts into adult life changed during a period in which legislation, policy and services to address inequalities relating to disability were implemented.

Methods: Cross-cohort study comprising 14 247 participants from the 1946, 1958 and 1970 British birth cohorts (BC).

Evaluating the clinical effectiveness of the NHS Health Check programme: a prospective analysis in the Genetics and Vascular Health Check (GENVASC) study.

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the clinical effectiveness of the national cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention programme-National Health Service Health Check (NHSHC) in reduction of CVD risk.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: 147 primary care practices in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire in England, UK.

The AFLETES Study: Atrial Fibrillation in Veteran Athletes and the Risk of Stroke.

Objectives: Endurance athletes are at an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) when compared with the general population. However, the risk of stroke in athletes with AF is unknown.

Design And Setting: We aimed to assess this risk using an international online survey.

Development and validation of a prognostic nomogram for overall and disease-specific survival in patients with sarcomatoid urothelial carcinoma.

Introduction: Sarcomatoid urothelial carcinoma (SUC) is a rare and aggressive variant of bladder cancer with limited data guiding prognosis. In this study, we present the first prognostic nomograms in the literature for 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS), for patients with SUC derived from the surveillance, epidemiology and end results database (SEER).

Materials And Methods: Patients with SUC were identified by using the ICD-10 topography codes C67.

Dietary Patterns and Practices and Leucocyte Telomere Length: Findings from the UK Biobank.

Background: Shorter telomere length (TL) is associated with risk of several age-related diseases and decreased life span, but the extent to which dietary patterns and practices associate with TL is uncertain.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association of dietary patterns and practices and leucocyte TL (LTL).

Design: This was a cross-sectional study.

Methods for Constructing Normalised Reference Scores: An Application for Assessing Child Development at 24 Months of Age.

The use of the lambda-mu-sigma (LMS) method for estimating centiles and producing reference ranges has received much interest in clinical practice, especially for assessing growth in childhood. However, this method may not be directly applicable where measures are based on a score calculated from question response categories that is bounded within finite intervals, for example, in psychometrics. In such cases, the main assumption of normality of the conditional distribution of the transformed response measurement is violated due to the presence of ceiling (and floor) effects, leading to biased fitted centiles when derived using the common LMS method.

Machine learning in sudden cardiac death risk prediction: a systematic review.

Aims: Most patients who receive implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) for primary prevention do not receive therapy during the lifespan of the ICD, whilst up to 50% of sudden cardiac death (SCD) occur in individuals who are considered low risk by conventional criteria. Machine learning offers a novel approach to risk stratification for ICD assignment.

Methods And Results: Systematic search was performed in MEDLINE, Embase, Emcare, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, OpenGrey, MedrXiv, arXiv, Scopus, and Web of Science.

The integrin ligand SVEP1 regulates GPCR-mediated vasoconstriction via integrins α9β1 and α4β1.

Background And Purpose: Vascular tone is regulated by the relative contractile state of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Several integrins directly modulate VSMC contraction by regulating calcium influx through L-type voltage-gated Ca channels (VGCCs). Genetic variants in ITGA9, which encodes the α9 subunit of integrin α9β1, and SVEP1, a ligand for integrin α9β1, associate with elevated blood pressure; however, neither SVEP1 nor integrin α9β1 has reported roles in vasoregulation.

Modifiable traits, healthy behaviours, and leukocyte telomere length: a population-based study in UK Biobank.

Background: Telomere length is associated with risk of several age-related diseases and cancers. We aimed to investigate the extent to which telomere length might be modifiable through lifestyle and behaviour, and whether such modification has any clinical consequences.

Methods: In this population-based study, we included participants from UK Biobank who had leukocyte telomere length (LTL) measurement, ethnicity, and white blood cell count data.

Timing of invasive strategy in non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Aims: The optimal timing of an invasive strategy (IS) in non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) is controversial. Recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and long-term follow-up data have yet to be included in a contemporary meta-analysis.

Methods And Results: A systematic review of RCTs that compared an early IS vs.

Association of shorter leucocyte telomere length with risk of frailty.

Background: Frailty is a multidimensional syndrome of decline that affects multiple systems and predisposes to adverse health outcomes. Although chronological age is the major risk factor, inter-individual variation in risk is not fully understood. Leucocyte telomere length (LTL), a proposed marker of biological age, has been associated with risk of many diseases.

Measurement and initial characterization of leukocyte telomere length in 474,074 participants in UK Biobank.

Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a proposed marker of biological age. Here we report the measurement and initial characterization of LTL in 474,074 participants in UK Biobank. We confirm that older age and male sex associate with shorter LTL, with women on average ~7 years younger in 'biological age' than men.

Temporal trends in frequency, type and severity of myopia and associations with key environmental risk factors in the UK: Findings from the UK Biobank Study.

This study investigated temporal trends in the epidemiology of primary myopia and associations with key environmental risk factors in a UK population. Data were collected at recruitment (non-cycloplegic autorefraction, year of birth, sex, ethnicity, highest educational attainment, reason and age of first wearing glasses and history of eye disease) from 107,442 UK Biobank study participants aged 40 to 69 years, born between 1939 and 1970. Myopia was defined as mean spherical equivalent (MSE) ≤-1 dioptre (D).

Impact of Persisting Amblyopia on Socioeconomic, Health, and Well-Being Outcomes in Adult Life: Findings From the UK Biobank.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate associations between persisting amblyopia into adulthood and its "real-life" impacts and inform the current debate about the value of childhood vision screening programs.

Methods: Associations between persisting amblyopia and diverse socioeconomic, health, and well-being outcomes were investigated in multivariable-adjusted (sex, age, ethnicity, deprivation) regression models, with 126 400 participants (aged 40-70 years) of the UK Biobank with complete ophthalmic data. Analysis by age group (cohort 1, 60-70 years; cohort 2, 50-59 years; cohort 3, 40-49 years) assessed temporal trends.