Behavioral and sociodemographic correlates of sleep duration among children in Samoa.

Objectives: To describe sleep duration, adherence to sleep recommendations, and behavioral and sociodemographic correlates of sleep among Samoan children.

Methods: In a longitudinal cohort study of Samoan children aged 2-9years (n = 481; 50% female), primary caregivers reported usual number of hours of nighttime sleep during 2015, 2017/2018, and 2019/2020 data collection waves. Associations between behavioral and sociodemographic characteristics and sleep duration were assessed using generalized linear and mixed effect regressions.

Shaping childhood obesity: behavioral and environmental risk factors associated with body mass index trajectories between 2 and 9 years in Samoan children.

Background/objective: Pacific children are at high obesity risk, yet the behavioral and environmental factors that contribute to obesity development in this setting remain poorly understood. We assessed associations between childhood risk factors for obesity with body mass index (BMI) trajectories between ages 2-9 years in Samoa.

Subjects/methods: In a prospective cohort of 485 children from 'Upolu, we measured weight and height at ages 2-4 (2015), 3.

Effects of a 6-month dual-task, power-based exercise program on cognitive function, neurological and inflammatory markers in older adults: secondary analysis of a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Functional power-based exercise training can improve physical performance in older adults and cognitive training can improve measures of cognition, but their combined effects on cognition and related risk factors (neurological and inflammatory markers) remains uncertain. This 6-month cluster randomised controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of dual-task functional power training (DT-FPT) on cognition and circulating neurological and inflammatory markers in older adults at increased falls risk, and whether intervention responses varied by apolipoprotein-E (ApoE) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) polymorphisms. Three hundred residents aged ≥ 65 years at increased falls risk residing in 22 independent-living retirement communities, were randomised by village, to DT-FPT (n = 156, 11 villages) involving a multi-component power-based training program performed simultaneously with cognitive and/or motor tasks (45-60 min, 2/week), or a usual care control (CON) group (n = 144, 11 villages).

The milk study protocol: A longitudinal, prospective cohort study of the relationship between human milk metabolic hormone concentration, maternal body composition, and early growth and satiety development in Samoan infants aged 1-4 months.

Background: Current research suggests that energy transfer through human milk influences infant nutritional development and initiates metabolic programming, influencing eating patterns into adulthood. To date, this research has predominantly been conducted among women in high income settings and/or among undernourished women. We will investigate the relationship between maternal body composition, metabolic hormones in human milk, and infant satiety to explore mechanisms of developmental satiety programming and implications for early infant growth and body composition in Samoans; a population at high risk and prevalence for overweight and obesity.

Accelerometer-Based Estimates of Physical Activity and Sedentary Time Among Samoan Adults.

Background: The prevalence of obesity-related cardiometabolic disease in Samoa is among the highest globally. While physical activity is a modifiable risk factor for obesity-related disease, little is known about physical activity levels among adult Samoans. Using wrist-worn accelerometer-based devices, this study aimed to characterize physical activity among Samoan adults.

The development and implementation of the Northern Health lung cancer digital care pathway: a case study in service change.

This case study details the approach utilised to establish an easy to use, accessible and sustainable method for routine collection of Patient Reported Outcome Measures for patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer. We sought to enhance communication with patients and their families, particularly around shared decision making, their quality of life and symptoms, as well as the impacts of their care or treatment. We detail the co-design methodology utilised with consumers and healthcare providers to develop and implement a multi-lingual, fully automated digital care pathway which has been proven to be highly impactful and powerful for both healthcare providers working within the service and consumers enrolled within the digital pathway.

Association between age at menarche and cardiometabolic risk among Samoan adults.

Objectives: Recent studies suggest that early menarche may increase cardiometabolic morbidity and mortality. Yet few studies have examined this association in the Pacific Islands, where obesity prevalence is among the highest globally. We sought to examine associations between age at menarche and cardiometabolic risk in Samoa.

Prevalence of malnutrition among Samoan children aged 5 to 11 years in 2019-2020.

Background: Globally, rapid economic development, urbanisation, and nutrition transitions have led to rising levels of malnutrition in all forms.

Aim: The study objective was to document the prevalence of overweight/obesity, underweight, stunting, and anaemia among Samoan children in 2019-2020.

Subjects And Methods: Children from the "Growing Up" in Samoa study at ages 5-11 years with complete physical assessments were included.

Prediction of fat mass from anthropometry at ages 7 to 9 years in Samoans: a cross-sectional study in the Ola Tuputupua'e cohort.

Background/objective: With increasing obesity prevalence in children globally, accurate and practical methods for quantifying body fat are critical for effective monitoring and prevention, particularly in high-risk settings. No population is at higher risk of obesity than Pacific Islanders, including children living in the independent nation of Samoa. We developed and validated sex-specific prediction models for fat mass in Samoan children.

Accelerometer-based osteogenic indices, moderate-to-vigorous and vigorous physical activity, and bone traits in adolescents.

Objectives: We investigated the associations of accelerometry-derived osteogenic indices (OIs), moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA), and vigorous intensity physical activity (VPA) with peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pCQT) parameters in 99 adolescents aged 10-13 years.

Methods: Bone parameters were assessed at the distal (4%) and shaft (66%) of the tibia using pQCT. Accelerometers were worn on the right hip for 7 consecutive days.

Validity of anthropometric equation-based estimators of fat mass in Samoan adults.

Introduction: In 1999, a set of highly accurate Polynesian-specific equations to estimate adult body fat from non-invasive field measures of age, sex, height, and weight (Equation 1), age, sex, height, weight, and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) resistance (Equation 2), and age, sex, height, weight, and the sum of two skinfold thicknesses (Equation 3) were published. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of the equation-based estimators in a sample of Samoan adults recruited 20 years later between 2017 and 2019.

Methods: Age, sex, height, weight, BIA resistance, skinfold thickness, and fat mass as measured using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) were available for 432 Samoan adults (mean age 50.

The protective effect of rs373863828 on type 2 diabetes does not operate through a body composition pathway in adult Samoans.

Objective: The aim of this study was to understand whether the paradoxical association of missense variant rs373863828 in CREB3 regulatory factor (CREBRF) with higher BMI but lower odds of diabetes is explained by either metabolically favorable body fat distribution or greater fat-free mass.

Methods: This study explored the association of the minor allele with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry-derived body composition in n = 421 Samoans and used path analysis to examine the mediating role of fat and fat-free mass on the relationship between rs373863828 and fasting glucose.

Results: Among females, the rs373863828 minor A allele was associated with greater BMI.

Associations between three diet quality indices, genetic risk and body composition: A prospective cohort study.

Background & Aims: Diet and genetic predisposition to adiposity are independent predictors of body composition, yet few cohort studies have examined the association between overall diet quality indices, genetic risk and body composition. This study examined the prospective association of three diet quality indices and a polygenic risk score (PRS) with trunk fat mass, total fat mass, lean mass and bone mineral content.

Methods: Adults from UK Biobank cohort were included.

Effects of a 6-Month Multifaceted Diet and Exercise Intervention on Cognition in Older Adults at Risk of Cognitive Decline: The PONDER Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Randomized Trial.

Background: Multidomain interventions which incorporate exercise and dietary supplementation to target both cognitive and physical health domains may be an important approach to delay cognitive decline.

Objective: The Protein Omega-3 aNd vitamin D Exercise Research (PONDER) study investigated the effects of a 6-month multifaceted intervention in community-dwelling older adults with subjective memory impairment on cognition (primary outcome), physical function, and body composition with a further 6-month follow up for cognition (secondary outcomes).

Methods: Single-center, community-based, parallel-group, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial involving a 6-month multifaceted intervention with a further follow-up at 12 months.

Is overweight or obesity associated with anemia in children? Follow-up of Samoans in the Ola Tuputupua'e "Growing Up" study.

Objectives: Globally, there is growing evidence of a double burden of malnutrition with obesity coexisting alongside micronutrient deficiencies across the life course. An emergent double burden poses a threat to health during childhood in Samoa: among 2-4-year-olds with overweight/obesity, 42.9% were anemic.

Development of a Parkinson's disease specific falls questionnaire.

Background: Falls are a major health burden for older adults with Parkinson's disease (PD), but there is currently no reliable questionnaire to capture the circumstances and consequences of falls in older adults with PD. This study aimed to develop a PD-specific falls questionnaire and to evaluate its test-retest reliability in older adults with PD.

Methods: A novel PD-specific falls questionnaire (PDF-Q) was developed in two modes (online and paper-based version) and used to assess falls and near-falls events over the past 12-months.

Persistence of anaemia among Samoan preschool age children: a longitudinal study.

Objective: To characterise the prevalence and persistence of anaemia among Samoan children over a 2-3-year period.

Design: Data were from two consecutive waves (2015 and 2017-2018) of the Ola Tuputupua'e 'Growing up' study. Anaemia (Hb < 11·0 or 11·5 g/dl for 2-4 and ≥ 5 years old, respectively) was considered 'transient' when it occurred at only one wave or 'persistent' if it was present at two consecutive waves.

Comparability of The Netherlands Physical Activity Questionnaire with Accelerometer-Measured Physical Activity in Samoan Children: A Retrospective Analysis of Data.

Accurate measurement of physical activity is critical to understand its role in cardiometabolic health and obesity development in children and to monitor trends in behavior and evaluate interventions. An ongoing mixed-longitudinal study of child growth and development in Samoa is collecting physical activity data with both accelerometers and the Netherlands Physical Activity Questionnaire (NPAQ). The aims of our analyses were to (1) describe the response frequency and correlations of individual questions in the NPAQ, (2) develop modified NPAQ scores with selected questions and (3) examine the concordance of modified NPAQ scores with accelerometer outcomes among children aged 2-4 years.

Body size and composition of Samoan toddlers aged 18-25 months in 2019.

Background: The " (Beginning of Life)" study is a prospective birth cohort of  = 160 Samoan mother-infant dyads established in 2017-2018. A primary study aim is to explore how a missense variant at rs373863828 impacts growth in early life, given its association with increased body size but lower risk of diabetes in adult Samoans. Here, we examine body size and composition by genotype among toddlers aged 18.

C-reactive protein in adult Samoans: Population variation and physiological correlates.

Objectives: C-reactive protein (CRP) has been associated with adiposity and cardiometabolic disease risk in many populations but remains remarkably understudied in Pacific Islander populations. Here, we provide the first examination of correlates of CRP in adult Samoans (n = 108, ages 35-55 years) to test the hypotheses that CRP exhibits sex-dependent associations with measures of BMI, adiposity, and cardiometabolic disease risks.

Methods: We analyzed associations between measures of adiposity (total fat mass, visceral fat mass, percent total body fat), body mass index (BMI), cardiometabolic risks, behaviors, demographics, and CRP.

Discovery Genome-Wide Association Study of Body Composition in 4,386 Adults From the UK Biobank's Pilot Imaging Enhancement Study.

Body composition (fat, skeletal muscle and bone mass) is an important determinant of overall health and risk of endocrine disorders such as type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis. Although diet and physical activity are strongly implicated, body composition is also heritable. We conducted a discovery genome-wide association study on 31 phenotypes from the three-compartment body composition model (fat, lean and bone mass) in a set of 4 386 individuals (n = 2 109 males, n = 2 294 females) from the UK Biobank pilot imaging enhancement program that underwent a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan for assessment of body composition and genetic screening.

The skeletal maturity of Australian children aged 10-13 years in 2016.

Skeletal maturity can be used as a biological indicator of the tempo of growth in children and adolescents. We present a description of skeletal maturity from a cohort of white Australian children and describe variation in skeletal maturity based on child age. Participants ( = 71; age 10.