Publications by authors named "M McCowan"

In Māori and Pacific adults, the CREBRF rs373863828 minor (A) allele is associated with increased body mass index (BMI) but reduced incidence of type-2 and gestational diabetes mellitus. In this prospective cohort study of Māori and Pacific infants, nested within a nutritional intervention trial for pregnant women with obesity and without pregestational diabetes, we investigated whether the rs373863828 A allele is associated with differences in growth and body composition from birth to 12-18 months' corrected age. Infants with and without the variant allele were compared using generalised linear models adjusted for potential confounding by gestation length, sex, ethnicity and parity, and in a secondary analysis, additionally adjusted for gestational diabetes.

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Aim: To report the utilisation of healthcare and family planning methods by participants in the Healthy Mums and Babies (HUMBA) trial at 12 months postpartum.

Methods: Surveys on access to 1) healthcare, and 2) family planning methods were completed 1 year following birth by a sample of multi-ethnic women with obesity in South Auckland, New Zealand.

Results: One hundred and twenty-seven out of two hundred and thirty (55.

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Background: Peer-based exercise interventions that cultivate new opportunities for support with a fellow cancer survivor may result in increased exercise volume. It is not clear whether adding qualified exercise professional (QEP) support to peer-based interventions improves health outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine whether breast cancer survivor (BCS) dyads who receive 10 weekly sessions of virtually delivered QEP support have improved outcomes compared to BCS dyads who do not receive QEP support.

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Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) counteracts pressor effects of angiotensin II (ANG II) in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) in normotensive rats, but this mechanism is absent in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) due to a lack of MIF in PVN neurons. Since endogenous ANG II in the PVN modulates stress reactivity, we tested the hypothesis that replacement of MIF in PVN neurons would reduce baseline blood pressure and inhibit stress-induced increases in blood pressure and plasma corticosterone in adult male SHRs. Radiotelemetry transmitters were implanted to measure blood pressure, and then an adeno-associated viral vector expressing either enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP) or MIF was injected bilaterally into the PVN.

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Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression increases in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) in response to hypertensive stimuli including stress and hyperosmolarity. However, it is unclear whether BDNF in the PVN contributes to increases in blood pressure (BP). We tested the hypothesis that increased BDNF levels within the PVN would elevate baseline BP and heart rate (HR) and cardiovascular stress responses by altering central angiotensin signaling.

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