A culturally tailored personaliseD nutrition intErvention in South ASIan women at risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (DESI-GDM): a randomised controlled trial protocol.

INTRODUCTION: South Asians are more likely to develop gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) than white Europeans. Diet and lifestyle modifications may prevent GDM and reduce undesirable outcomes in both the mother and offspring. Our study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness and participant acceptability of a culturally tailored, personalised nutrition intervention on the glucose area under the curve (AUC) after a 2-hour 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in pregnant women of South Asian ancestry with GDM risk factors. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A total of 190 South Asian pregnant women with at least 2 of the following GDM risk factors-prepregnancy body mass index>23, age>29, poor-quality diet, family history of type 2 diabetes in a first-degree relative or GDM in a previous pregnancy will be enrolled during gestational weeks 12-18, and randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to: (1) usual care, plus weekly text messages to encourage walking and paper handouts or (2) a personalised nutrition plan developed and delivered by a culturally congruent dietitian and health coach; and FitBit to track steps. The intervention lasts 6-16 weeks, depending on week of recruitment. The primary outcome is the glucose AUC from a three-sample 75 g OGTT 24-28 weeks' gestation. The secondary outcome is GDM diagnosis, based on Born-in-Bradford criteria (fasting glucose>5.2 mmol/L or 2 hours post load>7.2 mmol/L). ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has been approved by the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board (HiREB #10942). Findings will be disseminated among academics and policy-makers through scientific publications along with community-orientated strategies. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03607799.

The association of maternal sugary beverage consumption during pregnancy and the early years with childhood sugary beverage consumption.

OBJECTIVES: A woman's food choices during pregnancy may be associated with her offspring's food choices. Several studies support an association between childhood sugary beverage (SB) consumption and poor cardiometabolic health. This study aimed to assess the association of maternal SB consumption during pregnancy and later, with her offspring's SB consumption in early infancy and childhood. METHODS: A total of 1945 women and 1595 children participating in 3 Canadian studies reported SB consumption during pregnancy, at 2 years of age, and/or at school age (5 to 8 years old). Mother and offspring SB intakes were self-reported by mothers. Multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted within each cohort and cohort data were combined using fixed effect meta-analyses. RESULTS: Maternal SB consumption during pregnancy was associated with higher offspring SB consumption at 2 years of age (standardized ß = 0.19 predicted change in the number of standard deviations of offspring SB intake for an increase of 1 standard deviation in maternal serving [95% CI: 0.16 to 0.22]). Concurrent maternal SB consumption was associated with higher offspring SB intake when children were aged 5 to 8 years (standardized ß= 0.25 [95% CI: 0.10 to 0.40]). CONCLUSION: Maternal SB consumption during pregnancy is associated with a marginally higher SB intake among their offspring at age 2, and concurrent maternal consumption is associated with a higher SB intake among school-aged offspring (5 to 8 years old). Future interventions tailored for pregnancy and early childrearing years to reduce SB intakes of mothers may reduce young children's SB intake.

RéSUMé: OBJECTIFS: Il peut y avoir un lien entre les choix alimentaires d'une femme pendant la grossesse et ceux de son enfant. Plusieurs études font état d'une association entre la consommation de boissons sucrées (BS) durant l'enfance et la mauvaise santé cardiométabolique. Notre étude visait à évaluer l'association entre la consommation de BS des mères pendant et après la grossesse et la consommation de BS de leurs enfants durant la petite enfance et l'enfance. MéTHODE: En tout, 1 945 femmes et 1 595 enfants participant à 3 études canadiennes ont fait état de leur consommation de BS pendant la grossesse, à l'âge de 2 ans et/ou à l'âge scolaire (5 à 8 ans). La consommation de BS des mères et des enfants a été déclarée par les mères. Des analyses de régression linéaire multivariée ont été menées dans chaque cohorte, et les données des cohortes ont été combinées à l'aide de méta-analyses à effets fixes. RéSULTATS: La consommation maternelle de BS pendant la grossesse était associée à une consommation de BS plus élevée chez les enfants à l'âge de 2 ans (le coefficient ß standardisé = 0,19 prédisait le changement du nombre d'écart-types de consommation de BS chez les enfants pour chaque hausse de 1 écart-type de la portion maternelle [IC de 95 % : 0,16 à 0,22]). La consommation maternelle concomitante de BS était associée à une consommation de BS plus élevée chez les enfants lorsqu'ils étaient âgés de 5 à 8 ans (coefficient ß standardisé = 0,25 [IC de 95 % : 0,10 à 0,40]). CONCLUSION: La consommation maternelle de BS pendant la grossesse est associée à une consommation de BS marginalement plus élevée chez l'enfant à l'âge de 2 ans, et la consommation maternelle concomitante est associée à une consommation de BS plus élevée chez l'enfant d'âge scolaire (5 à 8 ans). De futures interventions visant à réduire la consommation de BS des mères pendant la grossesse et durant les premières années où elles élèvent leurs enfants pourraient réduire la consommation de BS des jeunes enfants.

Perceptions of COVID-19 risk, vaccine access and confidence: a qualitative description of South Asians in Canada.

OBJECTIVES: In the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020), South Asians living in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and Greater Vancouver area (GVA) experienced specific barriers to accessing SARS-CoV-2 testing and reliable health information. However, between June 2021 and February 2022, the proportion of people having received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose was higher among this group (96%) than among individuals who were not visible minorities (93%). A better understanding of successful approaches and the challenges experienced by those who remain unvaccinated among this highly vaccinated group may improve public health outreach in subsequent waves of the current pandemic or for future pandemic planning. Using qualitative methods, we sought to explore the perceptions of COVID-19 risk, vaccine access, uptake and confidence among South Asians living in Canada. DESIGN: Semistructured interviews conducted with 25 participants analysed using thematic analysis. Throughout this process, we held frequent discussions with members of the study's advisory group to guide data collection (community engagement, recruitment and data analysis). SETTING: Communities of the GTHA and GVA with interviews conducted virtually over Zoom or telephone. PARTICIPANTS: 25 participants (15 from Ontario and 10 from British Columbia) were interviewed between July 2021 and January 2022. 10 individuals were community members, 9 were advocacy group leaders and 6 were public health staff. RESULTS: Access to and confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine was impacted by individual risk perceptions; sources of trusted information (ethnic and non-ethnic); impact of COVID-19 and the pandemic on individuals, families and society; and experiences with COVID-19 mandates and policies (including temporal and generational differences). Approaches that include community-level awareness and tailored outreach (language and cultural context) were considered successful. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding factors and developing strategies that build vaccine confidence and improve access can guide approaches that increase vaccine acceptance in the current and future pandemics.Visual abstract can be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iXdnJj9ssc3hXCllZxP0QA9DhHH-7uwB/view.

Seropositivity and risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection in a South Asian community in Ontario: a cross-sectional analysis of a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the South Asian community in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was identified as having risk factors for exposure and specific barriers to accessing testing and reliable health information, rendering them particularly vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We sought to investigate the burden of SARS-CoV-2 infection among South Asian people in the GTA, and to characterize the demographic characteristics, risk perceptions and trusted sources of health information in this group. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis from the baseline assessment of participants in a prospective cohort study. Participants from the GTA were enrolled from Apr. 14 to July 28, 2021. Seropositivity for antispike and antinucleocapsid antibodies was determined from dried blood spots, and estimates of seropositivity were age and sex standardized to the South Asian population in Ontario. Demographic characteristics, risk perceptions and sources of COVID-19 information were collected via questionnaire and reported descriptively. RESULTS: Among the 916 South Asian participants enrolled (mean age 41 yr), the age- and sex-standardized seropositivity was 23.6% (95% confidence interval 20.8%-26.4%). Of the 693 respondents to the questionnaire, 228 (32.9%) identified as essential workers, and 125 (19.1%) reported living in a multigenerational household. A total of 288 (49.4%) perceived that they were at high COVID-19 risk owing to their geographic location, and 149 (34.3%) owing to their type of employment. The top 3 most trusted sources of information related to COVID-19 included health care providers and public health, traditional media sources and social media. INTERPRETATION: By the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, about one-quarter of a sample of South Asian individuals in Ontario had serologic evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. Insight into factors that put certain populations at risk can help future pandemic planning and disease control efforts.