Cardiovascular disease hospitalizations among women who undergo fertility treatment.

Research Question: Are women who receive fertility treatment at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) hospitalization compared with women who do not?

Design: A retrospective cohort study of all women registered for fertility treatment at Monash IVF between 1998 and 2014. This cohort was linked to the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset, which contains records of all hospital admissions in the Australian state of Victoria. Age- and Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage (IRSD)-adjusted relative risks of CVD hospitalization for women who did or did not undergo fertility treatment were determined using Poisson regression.

Cross-sectional associations between neighborhood characteristics, cognition and dementia risk factor burden in middle-aged and older Australians.

Dementia disproportionately affects individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those living in areas of lower neighborhood-level socioeconomic status. It is important to understand whether there are specific neighborhood characteristics associated with dementia risk factors and cognition which may inform dementia risk reduction interventions. We sought to examine whether greenspace, walkability, and crime associated with the cumulative burden of modifiable dementia risk factors and cognition.

The association between sleep duration and muscle sympathetic nerve activity.

Purpose: Sleep duration is associated with risk of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. It is thought that shorter sleep increases sympathetic activity. However, most studies are based on acute experimental sleep deprivation that have produced conflicting results.

The treatment of sleep dysfunction to improve cognitive function: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Objective: This meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluates if treating sleep disturbances improves cognitive function over at least 12 weeks.

Methods: Multiple data sources were searched until November 1, 2021. RCTs were included if they examined the effect of an intervention (behavioral or medical) on sleep and cognition in an adult sample with sleep disturbances and had an intervention duration and follow-up of at least 12 weeks.

Long term all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality among women who undergo fertility treatment.

Objectives: To compare age-adjusted all-cause and CVD mortality, relative to the general female population, for women registered for fertility treatment who received it and those who did not.

Design: Prospective cohort study; analysis of Monash IVF clinical registries data, 1975-2018, linked with National Death Index mortality data.

Participants: All women who registered for fertility treatment at Monash IVF (Melbourne, Victoria), 1 January 1975 - 1 January 2014, followed until 31 December 2018.

Improved sleep efficiency is associated with reduced cardio-metabolic risk: Findings from the MODERN trial.

Poor sleep increases cardio-metabolic risk, but limited information on the impact of sleep for the improvement of cardio-metabolic health exists. This analysis examined the impact of sleep on a health and lifestyle modification programme to reduce cardio-metabolic disease risk factors. Secondary analysis of the MODERN randomised controlled trial to reduce cardio-metabolic risk was undertaken at baseline and 24-month follow-up.

Prone sleeping affects cardiovascular control in preterm infants in NICU.

Background: Prone sleeping is used in preterm infants undergoing intensive care to improve respiratory function, but evidence suggests that this position may compromise autonomic cardiovascular control. To test this hypothesis, this study assessed the effects of the prone sleeping position on cardiovascular control in preterm infants undergoing intensive care treatment during early postnatal life.

Methods: Fifty-six preterm infants, divided into extremely preterm (gestational age (GA) 24-28 weeks, n = 23) and very preterm (GA 29-34 weeks, n = 33) groups, were studied weekly for 3 weeks in prone and supine positions, during quiet and active sleep.

Sleep quantity and quality and cardiometabolic risk factors in Indigenous Australians.

Poor sleep is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Indigenous Australians have 1.3 times higher risk of CVD compared to non-indigenous Australians.

When does prone sleeping improve cardiorespiratory status in preterm infants in the NICU?

Study Objectives: Preterm infants undergoing intensive care are often placed prone to improve respiratory function. Current clinical guidelines recommend preterm infants are slept supine from 32 weeks' postmenstrual age, regardless of gestational age at birth. However, respiratory function is also related to gestational and chronological ages and is affected by sleep state.

Effects of Prone Sleeping on Cerebral Oxygenation in Preterm Infants.

Objective: To determine the effect of prone sleeping on cerebral oxygenation in preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Study Design: Preterm infants, divided into extremely preterm (gestational age 24-28 weeks; n = 23) and very preterm (gestational age 29-34 weeks; n = 33) groups, were studied weekly until discharge in prone and supine positions during active and quiet sleep. Cerebral tissue oxygenation index (TOI) and arterial oxygen saturation (SaO) were recorded.

Comparison of the longitudinal effects of persistent periodic breathing and apnoea on cerebral oxygenation in term- and preterm-born infants.

Key Points: Periodic breathing and apnoea were more common in preterm compared to age-matched term-born infants across the first 6 months after term-corrected age. Periodic breathing decreased with age in both term and preterm infants. Apnoea duration was not different between groups; however, the decline in apnoea index with postnatal age observed in the term infants was not seen in the preterm infants.

Being Born Too Small and Too Early May Alter Sleep in Childhood.

Study Objectives: Fetal growth restriction (FGR) occurs in up to 10% of pregnancies and is associated with increased risk of prematurity and neurodevelopmental impairment. FGR also alters sleep-state distribution in utero and maturation in infancy. Currently, limited data on the long-term associations of FGR and childhood sleep exist.

Prone sleeping position in infancy: Implications for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular function.

Advances in neonatal care have improved the survival rates of preterm infants, however, the likelihood of brain injury and neurodevelopmental disability remains a significant problem. Whilst the etiology of preterm brain injury is complex, impairments in the cardio- and cerebro-vascular function have been implicated. During infancy, sleep is vital for brain development.

Effects of foetal growth restriction and preterm birth on cardiac morphology and function during infancy.

Aim: To investigate the effects of foetal growth restriction (FGR) and prematurity on cardiac morphology and function in infancy. We hypothesised that FGR and prematurity would both alter cardiac development.

Methods: Cardiac morphology and function were evaluated in 24 preterm FGR infants (p-FGR) and 23 preterm and 19 term appropriately grown for gestational age infants (p-AGA and t-AGA, respectively) by conventional echocardiography and Tissue Doppler Imaging.

The effect of sex and prematurity on the cardiovascular baroreflex response in sheep.

What is the central question of this study? Late preterm infants are often assumed to escape long-term morbidities known to impact earlier preterm offspring. Is this true for the cardiovascular system? What is the main finding and its importance? We show that late preterm birth is a risk factor for cardiovascular dysfunction in early adulthood and is influenced by sex. Early signs of cardiovascular dysfunction might predispose to heart disease in adulthood.

EEG power spectrum maturation in preterm fetal growth restricted infants.

Power spectral analysis of the electroencephalogram (EEG) is a non-invasive method to examine infant brain maturation. Preterm fetal growth restricted (p-FGR) neonates display an altered EEG power spectrum compared to appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) peers, suggesting delayed brain maturation. Longitudinal studies investigating EEG power spectrum maturation in p-FGR infants are lacking, however.

Sleep: A Window Into Autonomic Control in Children Born Preterm and Growth Restricted.

Study Objectives: Preterm birth and fetal growth restriction (FGR) are both associated with risk of hypertension in adulthood. Mechanisms leading to this pathology are unclear. In children aged 5-12 years, who were born preterm and FGR, we used sleep as a tool to assess autonomic control with assessment of cardiovascular structure and function.

Fetal-growth-restricted preterm infants display compromised autonomic cardiovascular control on the first postnatal day but not during infancy.

BackgroundFetal growth restriction (FGR) is associated with increased perinatal mortality and long-term cardiovascular and neurodevelopmental sequelae. We hypothesized that FGR impacts on the development of autonomic heart rate and blood pressure control, contributing to unfavorable short- and long-term outcomes following FGR.MethodsWe studied 25 preterm FGR and 22 preterm and 19 term appropriate for gestational age (AGA) infants.

Discrimination of sleep states using continuous cerebral bedside monitoring (amplitude-integrated electroencephalography) compared to polysomnography in infants.

Aim: Limited two-channel electroencephalography (EEG) and amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG) monitorings are being increasingly used; however, these measurements have not been compared with polysomnographic monitoring, the gold standard for determining infant sleep states. We aimed to determine the accuracy of two-channel EEG and aEEG recordings in defining sleep states and wakefulness in term infants compared to polysomnographic monitoring.

Methods: Sleep was assessed in eight healthy term born infants (mean: 34 ± 3 days), using simultaneous polysomnography (Compumedics S-Series) and a two-channel EEG monitor (Brainz BRM2).

Intrauterine growth restriction: impact on cardiovascular development and function throughout infancy.

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) refers to the situation where a fetus does not grow according to its genetic growth potential. One of the main causes of IUGR is uteroplacental vascular insufficiency. Under these circumstances of chronic oxygen and nutrient deprivation, the growth-restricted fetus often displays typical circulatory changes, which in part represent adaptations to the suboptimal intrauterine environment.

Dummy/pacifier use in preterm infants increases blood pressure and improves heart rate control.

Background: Preterm infants are at increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Use of a dummy/pacifier is thought to be protective against SIDS; accordingly, we assessed the effects of dummy/pacifier use on blood pressure, cerebral oxygenation, and heart rate control over the first 6 mo of life after term corrected age (CA) when SIDS risk is greatest.

Methods: Thirty-five preterm infants were studied longitudinally at 2-4 wk, 2-3 mo, and 5-6 mo CA.

Effects of intrauterine growth restriction on sleep and the cardiovascular system: The use of melatonin as a potential therapy?

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) complicates 5-10% of pregnancies and is associated with increased risk of preterm birth, mortality and neurodevelopmental delay. The development of sleep and cardiovascular control are closely coupled and IUGR is known to alter this development. In the long-term, IUGR is associated with altered sleep and an increased risk of hypertension in adulthood.