Longitudinal analysis of lifestyle risk factors, nutrition status, and drivers of food choice among urban migrants in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and Almaty, Kazakhstan: a formative study.

Objective: To quantify and compare concurrent within-person trends in lifestyle risks, nutrition status, and drivers of food choice among urban migrants in Central Asia.

Design: We collected panel data on household structure, drivers of food choice, nutrition knowledge, and diverse measures of nutrition status and lifestyle risk from urban migrants at 0, 3, 6, and 9 months using harmonized methodology in two cities. Trends were analyzed using mixed-effects models and qualitatively compared within and between cities.

Vitamin D supplements for fracture prevention in schoolchildren in Mongolia: analysis of secondary outcomes from a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Vitamin D supplementation has been shown to increase total hip areal bone mineral density in healthy children and adolescents. We aimed to investigate whether supplementing schoolchildren living in Mongolia with weekly vitamin D for 3 years affected fracture risk.

Methods: We did a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial across 18 public schools in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Maternal vitamin D intakes during pregnancy and child health outcome.

We conducted a follow up of the children in Mongolia whose mothers received one of the three doses of vitamin D (600, 2000, or 4000 IU daily) during pregnancy as part of the randomized, double-blind, clinical trial of vitamin D supplementation to determine their impact on child health to two years. In the parental trial, 119 pregnant women were assigned to 600 IU/day, 121 were assigned 2000 IU/day, and 120 were assigned 4000 IU/day starting at 12-16 weeks' gestation and continuing throughout pregnancy. At baseline, maternal serum 25(OH)D concentrations were similar across arms; 91 % were 50 nmol/l.

Influence of vitamin D supplementation on fracture risk, bone mineral density and bone biochemistry in Mongolian schoolchildren: multicenter double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Randomized controlled trials (RCT) of vitamin D supplementation to reduce fracture risk in children are lacking.

Methods: We conducted a Phase 3 RCT of weekly oral supplementation with 14,000 IU vitamin D for 3 years in Mongolian schoolchildren aged 6-13 years. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentrations and the proportion of participants reporting ≥1 fracture were secondary outcomes for the main trial.

Changes in Vascular Function from Preconception to Postpartum Among Mongolian Women.

Pregnancy is associated with physiological changes to meet the metabolic demands of the growing fetus. To understand adverse pregnancy outcomes it is important to establish vascular changes throughout pregnancy. We examined longitudinal changes in vascular measurements from prepregnancy through postpartum.

Vitamin D, respiratory infections, and chronic disease: Review of meta-analyses and randomized clinical trials.

Background: Observational studies have suggested associations of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) with respiratory tract infections, impaired bone health, and myriad chronic diseases.

Objective: To assess potential causal relationships between vitamin D supplementation and a reduced risk of these conditions, a review of the evidence across available meta-analyses of randomized control trials (RCTs) and RCTs was performed.

Method: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched from their inception to March 2021.

Vitamin D Supplements for Prevention of Tuberculosis Infection and Disease.

Background: Vitamin D metabolites support innate immune responses to . Data from phase 3, randomized, controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation to prevent tuberculosis infection are lacking.

Methods: We randomly assigned children who had negative results for infection according to the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube assay (QFT) to receive a weekly oral dose of either 14,000 IU of vitamin D or placebo for 3 years.

Maternal Pregnancy Hormone Concentrations in Countries with Very Low and High Breast Cancer Risk.

Background: Breast cancer rates in Asia are much lower than in Europe and North America. Within Asia, rates are lower in Mongolia than in neighboring countries. Variation in pregnancy exposure to endogenous hormone concentrations may explain the differences, but data are lacking.

Comparison of seasonal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations among pregnant women in Mongolia and Boston.

Adequate vitamin D status during pregnancy is important for developing fetal bone strength and density and may play a role in preventing a range of skeletal and non-skeletal diseases in both mothers and children. We previously identified Mongolian women of reproductive age to have the lowest vitamin D levels yet observed in any population globally, which renders this population uniquely important in vitamin D research. In this study, we measured the seasonal distribution of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration in 390 healthy third trimester pregnant women living in urban and rural Mongolia using DiaSorin LIAISON and compared this distribution to that of 206 third trimester women living in Boston, USA.

Prevalence of pregnancy hypertensive disorders in Mongolia.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of preeclampsia in a contemporary population of Mongolian women living in urban and rural areas. We determined the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis based on established diagnostic criteria and assessed whether local diagnostic criteria were similar to those used in the US.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study of urban and nomadic pregnant women recruited in Ulaanbaatar (n=136) and rural provinces (n=85).

Preeclampsia and Vascular Function: A Window to Future Cardiovascular Disease Risk.

Preeclampsia affects ∼3%-7% of all pregnancies and is the third leading cause of maternal mortality globally. Growing evidence indicates that preeclampsia results from vascular dysfunction, which also increases the risk for future cardiovascular events. Until recently, preeclampsia was considered a disorder limited to pregnancy, which fully resolved with the delivery of the placenta; however, it is now clear that women with a history of preeclampsia have approximately double the risk of future cardiovascular events compared to women with normotensive pregnancies.

Seasonal ambient air pollution correlates strongly with spontaneous abortion in Mongolia.

Background: Air pollution is a major health challenge worldwide and has previously been strongly associated with adverse reproductive health. This study aimed to examine the association between spontaneous abortion and seasonal variation of air pollutants in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Methods: Monthly average O3, SO2, NO2, CO, PM10 and PM2.

Commercial cows' milk has uterotrophic activity on the uteri of young ovariectomized rats and immature rats.

Cows' milk contains considerable quantities of estrogens, mainly in the form of estrone sulfate (ES). To determine whether the commercial milk has any biologically significant hormonal effects, 2 series of uterotrophic tests were performed, 1 with young ovariectomized rats and the other with sexually immature rats. Thirty-six rats were used for each test.