A holistic lifestyle mobile health intervention for the prevention of type 2 diabetes and common mental disorders in Asian women with a history of gestational diabetes: a randomised control trial with 3-year follow-up protocol.

Background: Women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are 12-fold more likely to develop type 2 diabetes (T2D) 4-6 years after delivery than women without GDM. Similarly, GDM is associated with the development of common mental disorders (CMDs) (e.g.

A machine-learning exploration of the exposome from preconception in early childhood atopic eczema, rhinitis and wheeze development.

Background: Most previous research on the environmental epidemiology of childhood atopic eczema, rhinitis and wheeze is limited in the scope of risk factors studied. Our study adopted a machine learning approach to explore the role of the exposome starting already in the preconception phase.

Methods: We performed a combined analysis of two multi-ethnic Asian birth cohorts, the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) and the Singapore PREconception Study of long Term maternal and child Outcomes (S-PRESTO) cohorts.

Cross-sectional and prospective associations between children's 24-h time use and their health-related quality of life: a compositional isotemporal substitution approach.

Background: Promoting active, balanced lifestyles among children may be an important approach to optimising their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, the relationships between children's movement behaviours and HRQoL remain unclear.

Methods: We examined the associations between movement behaviours (sleep, inactivity, light and moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity) assessed using accelerometers at ages 8 and 10 years and self-reported HRQoL scores (overall, and physical and emotional well-being, self-esteem, relationship with family and friends, and school functioning domains) at age 10 years among 370 children in a local birth cohort using compositional isotemporal substitution techniques.

A holistic approach to preventing type 2 diabetes in Asian women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus: a feasibility study and pilot randomized controlled trial.

Background: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) exposes women to future risk of Type 2 Diabetes. Previous studies focused on diet and physical activity, less emphasis was given to tackle intertwined risk factors such as sleep and stress. Knowledge remains scarce in multi-ethnic Asian communities.

Physical discipline as a normative childhood experience in Singapore.

Background: The cultural normativeness theory posits that specific parenting behaviors can be interpreted as displays of appropriate parenting in contexts where they are deemed normative. Previous studies suggest high acceptance of physical discipline in Singapore, where strict parenting could be interpreted as care for the child. However, there is a lack of studies on the local prevalence and implications of physical discipline.

Sensitive LC-MS/MS method for the temporal profiling of bile acids, fatty acids and branched-chain alpha-keto acids in maternal plasma during pregnancy and cord blood plasma at delivery.

Background And Aims: There are significant changes to the maternal inflammatory profile across pregnancy. Recent studies suggest that perturbations in maternal gut microbial and dietary-derived plasma metabolites over the course of pregnancy mediate inflammation through a complex interplay of immunomodulatory effects. Despite this body of evidence, there is currently no analytical method that is suitable for the simultaneous profiling of these metabolites within human plasma.

Resistance Training Increases White Matter Density in Frail Elderly Women.

We aimed to investigate the effects of maternal obesity on brain structure and metabolism in frail women, and their reversibility in response to exercise. We recruited 37 frail elderly women (20 offspring of lean/normal-weight mothers (OLM) and 17 offspring of obese/overweight mothers (OOM)) and nine non-frail controls to undergo magnetic resonance and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), positron emission tomography with Fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (PET), and cognitive function tests (CERAD). Frail women were studied before and after a 4-month resistance training, and controls were studied once.

Associations Between Maternal Distress During Early Life Periods and Offspring Respiratory Infections and Allergic Outcomes.

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that maternal distress is a risk factor for development of respiratory infections and allergic diseases in the offspring. We aim to evaluate the link between maternal distress during critical periods in early life, namely the preconception, pregnancy and postnatal periods, and development of respiratory infections and allergic diseases in the offspring from the Singapore PREconception Study of long Term maternal and child Outcomes (S-PRESTO) cohort.

Methods: Maternal perceived distress was evaluated using validated questionnaires including Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) administered during three time periods: preconception (three months apart at four timepoints), pregnancy (during each trimester) and postnatal (3 and 6 months post-delivery).

Associations Between Eczema and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in Children.

Background: Epidemiological studies suggest a link between eczema and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but underlying mechanisms have not been examined.

Objective: We aim to investigate the association between eczema and subsequent ADHD symptoms in the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes cohort and explore the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines and gut microbiome.

Methods: The modified International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire and Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV were administered to assess reported eczema within the first 18 months and presence of ADHD symptoms at 54 months, respectively.

Early Life Influences on Hearing in Adulthood: a Systematic Review and Two-Step Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: Adverse prenatal and early childhood development may increase susceptibility of hearing loss in adulthood. The objective was to assess whether indices of early development are associated with adult-onset hearing loss in adults ≥18 years.

Design: In a systematic review and meta-analysis, four electronic databases were searched for studies reporting associations between indices of early development (birth weight and adult height) and adult-onset hearing loss in adults ≥18 years.

Tracking of dietary patterns between pregnancy and 6 years post-pregnancy in a multiethnic Asian cohort: the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) study.

Purpose: Few studies have described adherence to dietary patterns over time in women of childbearing age. This study aims to describe, examine the stability and changes in dietary patterns between pregnancy and 6 years post-pregnancy and the sociodemographic and lifestyle factors influencing the adherence over time.

Methods: During pregnancy and at 6 years post-pregnancy, 24-h recalls and food frequency questionnaires were collected, respectively, from 709 women.

Analyses of child cardiometabolic phenotype following assisted reproductive technologies using a pragmatic trial emulation approach.

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are increasingly used, however little is known about the long-term health of ART-conceived offspring. Weak selection of comparison groups and poorly characterized mechanisms impede current understanding. In a prospective cohort (Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes; GUSTO; Clinical Trials ID: NCT01174875) including 83 ART-conceived and 1095 spontaneously-conceived singletons, we estimate effects of ART on anthropometry, blood pressure, serum metabolic biomarkers, and cord tissue DNA methylation by emulating a pragmatic trial supported by machine learning-based estimators.

Comparative epidemiology of gestational diabetes in ethnic Chinese from Shanghai birth cohort and growing up in Singapore towards healthy outcomes cohort.

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has been associated with adverse health outcomes for mothers and offspring. Prevalence of GDM differs by country/region due to ethnicity, lifestyle and diagnostic criteria. We compared GDM rates and risk factors in two Asian cohorts using the 1999 WHO and the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) criteria.

Role of maternal tryptophan metabolism in allergic diseases in the offspring.

Background: Nicotinamide (vitamin B3) is a metabolite of tryptophan and dietary precursor of enzymes involved in many regulatory processes, which may influence fetal immune development.

Objective: We examined whether maternal plasma concentrations of nicotinamide, tryptophan or nine related tryptophan metabolites during pregnancy were associated with the risk of development of infant eczema, wheeze, rhinitis or allergic sensitization.

Methods: In the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) study, we analysed the associations between maternal plasma levels of nicotinamide, tryptophan and tryptophan metabolites at 26-28 weeks of gestation and allergic outcomes collected through interviewer-administered questionnaires at multiple time-points and skin prick testing to egg, milk, peanut and mites at age 18 months.

Cohort profile: Singapore Preconception Study of Long-Term Maternal and Child Outcomes (S-PRESTO).

The Singapore Preconception Study of Long-Term Maternal and Child Outcomes (S-PRESTO) is a preconception, longitudinal cohort study that aims to study the effects of nutrition, lifestyle, and maternal mood prior to and during pregnancy on the epigenome of the offspring and clinically important outcomes including duration of gestation, fetal growth, metabolic and neural phenotypes in the offspring. Between February 2015 and October 2017, the S-PRESTO study recruited 1039 Chinese, Malay or Indian (or any combinations thereof) women aged 18-45 years and who intended to get pregnant and deliver in Singapore, resulting in 1032 unique participants and 373 children born in the cohort. The participants were followed up for 3 visits during the preconception phase and censored at 12 months of follow up if pregnancy was not achieved (N = 557 censored).

Birth weight modifies the association between a healthy Nordic diet and office blood pressure in old age.

A healthy diet reduces risk for high blood pressure. A small body size at birth increases risk for high blood pressure. Our aim was to study whether birth weight modifies the association between a healthy Nordic diet, characterized by high intake of Nordic vegetables, fruits, and berries, whole-grain rye, oat, and barley, and rapeseed oil, and blood pressure.

Developmental Origins of Health and Disease: Impact of environmental dust exposure in modulating microbiome and its association with non-communicable diseases.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including obesity, diabetes, and allergy are chronic, multi-factorial conditions that are affected by both genetic and environmental factors. Over the last decade, the microbiome has emerged as a possible contributor to the pathogenesis of NCDs. Microbiome profiles were altered in patients with NCDs, and shift in microbial communities was associated with improvement in these health conditions.

Longitudinal assessment of antibiotic resistance gene profiles in gut microbiomes of infants at risk of eczema.

Background: While there is increasing knowledge about the gut microbiome, the factors influencing and the significance of the gut resistome are still not well understood. Infant gut commensals risk transferring multidrug-resistant antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) to pathogenic bacteria. The rapid spread of multidrug-resistant pathogenic bacteria is a worldwide public health concern.

The impact of educational attainment on the occurrence of gestational diabetes mellitus in two successive pregnancies of Finnish primiparous women: a population-based cohort study.

Aims: To assess the impact of educational attainment on the occurrence and recurrence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in two successive pregnancies in primiparous women.

Methods: This is a population-based observational cohort study including all 2347 Finnish women without previously diagnosed diabetes, aged ≥ 20 years from the city of Vantaa, Finland, who gave birth to their first and second child between 2009 and 2015. National registries provided data on study participants.