Publications by authors named "Karmaus W"

Aim: We aim to assess association of DNA methylation (DNAm) at birth with total immunoglobulin E (IgE) trajectories from birth to late adolescence and whether such association is ethnicity-specific.

Methods: We examined the association of total IgE trajectories from birth to late adolescence with DNAm at birth in two independent birth cohorts, the Isle of wight birth cohort (IOWBC) in UK ( = 796; White) and the maternal and infant cohort study (MICS) in Taiwan ( = 60; Asian). Biological pathways and methylation quantitative trait loci (methQTL) for associated Cytosine-phosphate-Guanine sites were studied.

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Background: Despite a large number of primary research studies, and systematic and narrative reviews, there is no consensus on the impact of fasting during Ramadan while pregnant on pregnancy and birth outcomes. Currently, there is no evidence-based guideline for Muslim women regarding Ramadan fasting during pregnancy and clinicians cannot provide firm recommendations.

Objectives: To review the current evidence regarding the impact of Ramadan fasting during pregnancy on pregnancy and birth outcomes.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Children born via cesarean delivery have a greater risk of various health issues compared to those born vaginally, but the exact reasons are still not fully understood.
  • - A meta-analysis involving over 12,000 participants found six specific DNA methylation markers in newborns linked to cesarean delivery, but these markers did not persist into childhood.
  • - The study indicates that cesarean delivery affects certain blood cell proportions at birth, but further research is necessary to understand its long-term impacts on child health.
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The increase in wildfires and bushfires due to climate change means that more people, including pregnant women and their fetuses will be exposed to landscape fire smoke. Although there is evidence to suggest that pregnancy landscape fire exposure is associated with lower birth weight, preterm birth and pregnancy loss, there is a lack of information on many other perinatal outcomes, as well as information on subsequent respiratory outcomes in children. Furthermore, due to the generally short term (hours/days) and intermittent nature of landscape fire smoke exposure, the knowledge to date has largely relied on natural experiments and ecological studies which can be subject to misclassification of exposure and a lack of precision.

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Early patterning of DNA methylation (DNAm) may play an important role in later disease development. To better understand intergenerational epigenetic inheritance, we investigated the correlation between DNAm in blood in mother-newborn and in father-newborn pairs in the Isle of Wight (IoW) birth cohort. For parent-newborn pairs (n = 48), offspring DNAm was measured in cord blood and the parent's DNAm in whole blood.

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Background: The association between sensitization to specific aeroallergens and outcomes in patients with asthma is well researched; however, the association between childhood-onset wheeze/asthma and sensitization to various aeroallergens and food allergens in the general pediatric population remains poorly understood.

Objective: We sought to investigate the association between sensitization to common aeroallergens and food allergens with wheeze and type 2 (T2) inflammation in the general pediatric population.

Methods: Specific IgEs against 9 aeroallergens and 4 food allergens were measured in the prospective Hokkaido birth cohort of 428 school-age children (age ∼10 years).

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Background: Associations between psoriasis and allergic diseases (asthma, rhinitis, and eczema) in children have been reported in a limited number of studies, and the association between psoriasis and multimorbidity (co-occurrence) of allergic diseases remains unclear. Hence, this study aimed to assess the association between psoriasis and the co-occurrence of asthma, rhinitis, and eczema in adolescents.

Methods: This school-based cross-sectional study enrolled adolescents (n = 3,864) aged 11-14 years.

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Higher birth order is associated with altered risk of many disease states. Changes in placentation and exposures to in utero growth factors with successive pregnancies may impact later life disease risk via persistent DNA methylation alterations. We investigated birth order with Illumina DNA methylation array data in each of 16 birth cohorts (8164 newborns) with European, African, and Latino ancestries from the Pregnancy and Childhood Epigenetics Consortium.

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Background: Rhinovirus (RV) positive bronchiolitis episodes in infancy confer a higher risk to develop asthma in later childhood with associated lung function impairments. We aimed to investigate the association between the type of virus causing a bronchiolitis hospitalization episode and lung ventilation inhomogeneities at preschool age.

Methods: Infants hospitalized with a clinical diagnosis of moderate (ward admission) or severe (pediatric intensive care ward admission) bronchiolitis were prospectively followed-up at preschool age to assess nitrogen (N ) multiple breath washout (MBW).

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Background: Exhaled nitric oxide is a marker of airway inflammation. Air pollution induces airway inflammation and oxidative stress. Little is known about the impact of air pollution on exhaled nitric oxide in young infants.

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Article Synopsis
  • Seasonal variations at birth can influence DNA methylation, which may affect health outcomes over a person’s lifetime.
  • A study involving multiple cohorts discovered specific DNA methylation patterns linked to different birth seasons, revealing 26 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) at birth and 32 in childhood.
  • Results suggested that geographic latitude plays a role in these associations, linking certain genes to conditions like schizophrenia and asthma, particularly in infants born in higher latitudes (≥50°N).
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Maternal smoking in pregnancy (MSP) affects the offspring's DNA methylation (DNAm). There is a lack of knowledge regarding individual differences in susceptibility to exposure to MSP. Glutathione S-transferase () genes are involved in protection against harmful oxidants such as those found in cigarette smoke.

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Objective: To date, epigenetic studies identified differential DNA methylation (DNAm) related to gestational-body mass index (BMI) in offspring at birth. This study investigated whether the identified DNAm in offspring were also associated with BMI trajectories from infancy to age 26 years.

Methods: Data of 794 participants from Isle of Wight birth cohort in UK were investigated to study association between BMI trajectories and DNAm related to gestational-BMI at birth.

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The role of metabolites, nutrients, and toxins (MNTs) in sera at the end of pregnancy and of their association with offspring respiratory and allergic disorders is underexplored. Untargeted approaches detecting a variety of compounds, known and unknown, are limited. In this cohort study, we first aimed at discovering associations of MNTs in grandmaternal (F0) serum with asthma, immunoglobulin E, skin prick tests, exhaled nitric oxide, and lung function parameters in their parental (F1) offspring.

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Background: Fucoxanthin, a marine xanthophyll carotenoid, has been shown to exert beneficial health effects. Cell-based and animal-based experimental studies have shown that fucoxanthin has the potential to mitigate eczema symptoms. Hence, we sought to assess whether fucoxanthinol 3-arachidate, a fucoxanthin metabolite, measured in maternal serum at birth is associated with eczema development during early childhood.

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Background: Epidemiologic studies have reported inconsistent associations between vitamin D and eczema. This study sought to assess whether sex and obesity status could modify the association between vitamin D and eczema.

Methods: A cross-sectional study enrolled 763 adolescents in Kuwait.

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Background: The mother-child inheritance of DNA methylation (DNAm) variations could contribute to the inheritance of disease susceptibility across generations. However, no study has investigated patterns of mother-child associations in DNAm at the genome-wide scale. It remains unknown whether there are sex differences in mother-child DNAm associations.

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Article Synopsis
  • Eczema is a prevalent skin condition in children, particularly noted in adolescents in Kuwait, but there is limited research on its epidemiology in this region.
  • A study involving 3,864 adolescents aged 11-14 in Kuwait aimed to assess eczema prevalence, severity, and its impact on sleep disturbances, especially in relation to antihistamine usage.
  • Results showed a 20.5% prevalence of current itchy rash and 10.2% for eczema, with a significant number experiencing sleep issues due to itching, correlating with increased antihistamine use.
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Background: Epidemiologic studies have reported associations of sibship size and position of the child in the sibship with multiple health outcomes, including adiposity and diabetes. However, little is known about sibling effects on lipids. Hence, this study sought to evaluate associations of the number of total, older, and younger siblings with lipid profile among adolescents.

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Background: Body mass index (BMI) has been shown to be associated with lung function. Recent findings showed that DNA methylation (DNAm) variation is likely to be a consequence of changes in BMI. However, whether DNAm mediates the association of BMI with lung function is unknown.

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  • Research shows that children exhibit sex-specific differences in disease prevalence, onset age, and susceptibility, potentially linked to DNA methylation variations.
  • A meta-analysis of 8438 newborns and 4268 older children found significant differences in DNA methylation at nearly 47,000 CpG sites, with males generally showing lower methylation than females.
  • The study identified additional methylation sites related to conditions like cancer and psychiatric disorders, emphasizing the role of DNA methylation in understanding health disparities between sexes.
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Acetaminophen is used by nearly two-thirds of pregnant women. Although considered safe, studies have demonstrated associations between prenatal acetaminophen use and adverse health outcomes in offspring. Since DNA methylation (DNAm) at birth may act as an early indicator of later health, assessments on whether DNAm of newborns is associated with gestational acetaminophen use or its metabolites are needed.

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Background: Age of pubertal onset is associated with lung function in adulthood. However, the underlying role of epigenetics as a mediator of this association remains unknown.

Methods: DNA methylation (DNAm) in peripheral blood was measured at age 18 years in the Isle of Wight birth cohort (IOWBC) along with data on age of pubertal events, forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV) at 26 years.

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