Associations between Prepartum and Postpartum Maternal Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety and Stress Related to COVID-19 Pandemic and Childhood Sensory Avoidance: Results from Conception Study.

Background: Prepartum and postpartum maternal symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression are likely to influence the child's sensory processing through hormonal alterations and an influence on mother-child interactions.

Objective: We investigated the associations between maternal prepartum and postpartum symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic and childhood sensory avoidance at 18 months.

Methods: Longitudinal data from 409 participants followed during the COVID-19 pandemic were used.

Maternal Mental Health in Pregnancy and Its Impact on Children's Cognitive Development at 18 Months, during the COVID-19 Pandemic (CONCEPTION Study).

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the mental health of pregnant persons.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the impact of maternal mental health and antidepressant use on children's cognitive development.

Methods: We followed a cohort of children born during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The impact of prenatal maternal mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic on birth outcomes: two nested case-control studies within the CONCEPTION cohort.

Objective: Assess the association between prenatal mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and preterm birth (PTB; delivery < 37 weeks gestation) and low birth weight (LBW; < 2500 g).

Methods: Pregnant individuals, > 18 years, were recruited in Canada and provided data through a web-based questionnaire. We analyzed data on persons recruited between 06/2020 and 08/2021 who completed questionnaires while pregnant and 2 months post-partum.

SARS-CoV-2 vaccine uptake and reasons for hesitancy among Canadian pregnant people: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Several vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have been developed and approved at an unparalleled speed. Given that SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are recommended to pregnant people, our aim was to quantify vaccination uptake, and describe vaccination hesitancy and behavioural attitudes surrounding SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in pregnancy in Canada.

Methods: The CONCEPTION study is an ongoing international study started in June 2020, evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health of pregnant people and their children.

Medically assisted reproduction and the risk of being born small and very small for gestational age: Assessing prematurity status as an effect modifier.

Over the last decade, the use of medically assisted reproduction (MAR) has steadily increased but controversy remains with regards to its risks. We aimed to quantify the risk of being born small for gestational age (SGA) and very SGA (VSGA) associated with MARs overall and by type, namely ovarian stimulators (OS) and assisted reproductive technology (ART). We conducted a cohort study within the Quebec Pregnancy Cohort.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Maternal Mental Health during Pregnancy: A Comparison between Canada and China within the CONCEPTION Cohort.

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal mental health has been described in Canada and China but no study has compared the two countries using the same standardized and validated instruments. In this study, we aimed to evaluate and compare the impact of COVID-19 public health policies on maternal mental health between Canada and China, as we hypothesize that geographical factors and different COVID-19 policies are likely to influence maternal mental health. Pregnant persons >18 years old were recruited in Canada and China using a web-based strategy.

The Canadian Mother-Child Cohort Active Surveillance Initiative (CAMCCO): Comparisons between Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

Background: Given that pregnant women taking medications are excluded from clinical trials, real-world evidence is essential. We aimed to build a Canadian Mother-Child Cohort Active Surveillance Initiative (CAMCCO) and compare frequency of prematurity, low-birth-weight (LBW), major malformations, multiplicity, and gestational medication use across four provinces.

Methods: CAMCCO is a collaborative research infrastructure that uses real-world data from large provincial health care databases in Canada; developed with standardized methods to similarly construct population-based pregnancy/child cohorts with longitudinal follow-up by linking administrative/hospital/birth databases.

Is in-utero exposure to cannabis associated with the risk of attention deficit with or without hyperactivity disorder? A cohort study within the Quebec Pregnancy Cohort.

Importance And Objective: Prenatal cannabis effect on attention deficit with or without hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) remains to be determined. Our aim is to quantify the impact of in-utero exposure to cannabis on the risk of ADHD.

Design: Cohort study.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Maternal Mental Health Differently Depending on Pregnancy Status and Trimester of Gestation.

Introduction: We aimed to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal mental health, stratifying on pregnancy status, trimester of gestation, and pandemic period/wave. Methods: Pregnant persons and persons who delivered in Canada during the pandemic, >18 years, were recruited, and data were collected using a web-based strategy. The current analysis includes data on persons enrolled between 06/2020−08/2021.

Sleep-disordered breathing in high-risk pregnancies is associated with elevated arterial stiffness and increased risk for preeclampsia.

Background: Impaired vascular function is a central feature of pathologic processes preceding the onset of preeclampsia. Arterial stiffness, a composite indicator of vascular health and an important vascular biomarker, has been found to be increased throughout pregnancy in those who develop preeclampsia and at the time of preeclampsia diagnosis. Although sleep-disordered breathing in pregnancy has been associated with increased risk for preeclampsia, it is unknown if sleep-disordered breathing is associated with elevated arterial stiffness in pregnancy.

Prevalence and duration of prescribed opioid use during pregnancy: a cohort study from the Quebec Pregnancy Cohort.

Background: Recent studies show a rapid growth among pregnant women using high potency opioids for common pain management during their pregnancy. No study has examined the duration of treatment among strong opioid users and weak opioid users during pregnancy. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of prescribed opioid use during pregnancy, in Quebec; and to compare the duration of opioid treatment between strong opioid users and weak opioid users.

A longitudinal analysis of arterial stiffness and wave reflection in preeclampsia: Identification of changepoints.

Purpose: Preeclampsia (PrE) is a leading complication of pregnancy characterized by vascular dysfunction. Characterizing the longitudinal changes in vascular function prior to PrE onset is critical to the identification of optimal timepoints for vascular assessment and the development of effective early screening strategies.

Methods: In this prospective longitudinal study of women with singleton high-risk pregnancies, arterial stiffness and wave reflection parameters were assessed using applanation tonometry at 10-13 weeks' gestation and repeated every 4 weeks throughout pregnancy.

Medically assisted reproduction and the risk of preterm birth: a case-control study using data from the Quebec Pregnancy Cohort.

Background: The use of fertility treatments has been growing over the past decade, but these treatments are not without risk. We aimed to quantify the risk of preterm birth associated with the use of ovarian stimulators (OS) and assisted reproductive technologies (ART) overall and by type of fertility treatment.

Methods: We conducted a case-control analysis of data from the Quebec Pregnancy Cohort.

Comparative safety and effectiveness of inhaled bronchodilators and corticosteroids for treating asthma-COPD overlap: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To determine the safety and effectiveness of current pharmacotherapies consisting of long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) and/or inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in patients with asthma-COPD overlap.

Data Sources: A systematic search was conducted using the PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases up to June 2018.

Study Selections: Only studies comparing the safety and effectiveness of LABA and/or ICS in patients with asthma-COPD overlap were included.

New evidence for concern over the risk of birth defects from medications for nausea and vomitting of pregnancy.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to quantify the risk of major congenital malformations (MCM) associated with first-trimester exposure to antiemetics.

Study Design And Setting: Using the Quebec Pregnancy Cohort (1998-2015), first-trimester doxylamine-pyridoxine, metoclopramide, and ondansetron exposures were assessed for their association with MCM. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate odds ratios (OR), adjusting for potential confounders (aOR).

Associations between low- and high-dose oral fluconazole and pregnancy outcomes: 3 nested case-control studies.

Background: While topical azoles are the first-line treatment for fungal infections, oral fluconazole is frequently used during pregnancy. We aimed to assess the effect of exposure to low and high doses of fluconazole during pregnancy on the occurrence of spontaneous abortions, major congenital malformations and stillbirths.

Methods: Within the Quebec Pregnancy Cohort (1998-2015), we identified women exposed to low- (≤ 150 mg) and high-dose (> 150 mg) fluconazole, and women who were not exposed.

Can We Rely on Pharmacy Claims Databases to Ascertain Maternal Use of Medications during Pregnancy?

Background: Administrative databases are increasingly used to measure drug exposure in perinatal pharmacoepidemiology. We aimed to estimate the concordance between records of prescriptions filled in pharmacies and self-reported drug use during pregnancy.

Methods: Data on self-reported medication use were collected at each trimester of pregnancy among a sub-sample from the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists Antidepressants in Pregnancy Cohort.

Circulating adiponectin levels in relation to carotid atherosclerotic plaque presence, ischemic stroke risk, and mortality: A systematic review and meta-analyses.

Background: Low circulating levels of adiponectin, an anti-inflammatory and vasculoprotective adipokine, are associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and atherosclerotic disease. Presence of unstable plaques in the carotid artery is a known etiological factor causing ischemic strokes. Herein, we systematically reviewed the association between circulating adiponectin and progression of carotid atherosclerotic disease, particularly evaluating the occurrence of (1) carotid atherosclerotic plaques, (2) ischemic stroke, and (3) mortality in subjects who suffered a previous ischemic stroke.

Circulating adiponectin and carotid intima-media thickness: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Adiponectin (APN) is an adipokine with insulin-sensitizing, anti-inflammatory, and vasculoprotective properties. Hypoadiponectinemia has been linked with disease states, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) is a strong and independent predictor of both coronary and cerebrovascular events, and has been used as a surrogate marker of subclinical atherosclerosis.

Plaque echodensity and textural features are associated with histologic carotid plaque instability.

Background: Carotid plaque echodensity and texture features predict cerebrovascular symptomatology. Our purpose was to determine the association of echodensity and textural features obtained from a digital image analysis (DIA) program with histologic features of plaque instability as well as to identify the specific morphologic characteristics of unstable plaques.

Methods: Patients scheduled to undergo carotid endarterectomy were recruited and underwent carotid ultrasound imaging.

Feasibility of a clinical trial to assess the effect of dietary calcium v. supplemental calcium on vascular and bone markers in healthy postmenopausal women.

Whether supplemental Ca has similar effects to dietary Ca on vascular and bone markers is unknown. The present trial investigated the feasibility of applying dietary and supplemental interventions in a randomised-controlled trial (RCT) aiming to estimate the effect of supplemental Ca as compared with dietary Ca on vascular and bone markers in postmenopausal women. In total, thirteen participants were randomised to a Ca supplement group (CaSuppl) (750 mg Ca from CaCO3+450 mg Ca from food+20 µg vitamin D supplement) or a Ca diet group (CaDiet) (1200 mg Ca from food+10 µg vitamin D supplement).

Hypertension as a risk factor for ischemic stroke in women.

Women have a high lifetime risk of stroke, and hypertension (HTN) is a major stroke risk factor. We conducted a literature review of studies evaluating blood pressure (BP) and ischemic stroke risk in women; 18 studies were identified. The stroke risk increases in a graded manner with BP levels above 115/75 mm Hg.