Dietary patterns during pregnancy and health-related quality of life: The Japan Environment and Children's Study.

BACKGROUND: Limited research exists on how dietary pattern (DP) influences pregnant women's health-related quality of life (HRQOL). This study aimed to identify DPs in a cohort of 92,448 pregnant Japanese women using fixed data from the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS) to investigate the associations of DP with HRQOL. METHODS: During the first trimester, DPs were assessed using the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), and HRQOL was assessed using the 8-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-8). DPs such as Western, Japanese and Unbalanced DP were identified through principal component analysis (PCA). Multivariable logistic model analysis was used to assess the associations between DP and HRQOL as good or poor. RESULTS: We found a significant association between poor mental HRQOL in the univariate analysis for the Western DP (p = 0.014). However, this association was not significant in the multivariate analysis adjusted for basic confounders (p = 0.078). Western DP was not highly associated with poor physical HRQOL (from low-medium to high levels of intake; adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.87-0.88, all p≤0.001, when comparing highest to lowest intake levels). A high intake of the Japanese DP was significantly associated with poor mental HRQOL and physical HRQOL (adjusted OR 1.20, p<0.0001 and adjusted OR 1.12, p = 0.005, respectively). A medium-high intake of the Unbalanced DP was not highly associated with poor physical HRQOL (adjusted OR 0.93, p = 0.048) but with poor mental HRQOL (adjusted OR 1.29, p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: This is the first known prospective study to establish an association between DP and HRQOL in pregnant women. We hope that our findings will help in the field of nutritional science.

Analysis of non-respondent pregnant women who were registered in the Japan Environment and Children's Study: a longitudinal cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: Non-response to questionnaires in a longitudinal study reduces the effective sample size and introduces bias. We identified the characteristics of non-respondent pregnant women, and compared them with respondents in the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS) during the gestational period. DESIGN: This was a questionnaire-based, longitudinal cohort study. SETTING: Questionnaires were provided by research coordinators to mothers at prenatal examinations (at obstetrics clinics) or by mail. Mothers were measured twice: during the first trimester and during the second/third trimester. PARTICIPANTS: Data were collected from the 10 129 participating mothers of the 10 288 children surveyed in the 2011 baseline JECS. We excluded responses from mothers who had a miscarriage or stillbirth; therefore, we analysed data from 9649 participants. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Data concerning demographics, medical history, health characteristics, health-related behaviour and environmental exposure were collected via self-administered questionnaires. The response status of participants' partners and contact with their obstetrician were also examined. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine factors related to non-response. RESULTS: Response was associated with living with one's mother-in-law (ORs: 0.47, 95% CIs: 0.24 to 0.85), positive participation of participants' partner (OR: 0.25, 95% CI: 0.17 to 0.35) and multiple visits to the obstetrician (OR: 0.02, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.03). Participants who had a medical history of allergic rhinitis, had body pain or drank alcohol had higher odds of responding (ORs: 0.68, 0.96 and 0.36, 95% CIs: 0.48 to 0.95 and 0.95 to 0.98 and 0.16 to 0.72, respectively); those exposed to secondary smoke had lower odds of responding (OR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.12 to 2.23). CONCLUSIONS: The non-response rate decreased when participants reported health-related behaviour or characteristics. Obtaining the understanding of people around each participant might help increase response rates.

Changes in the association between postpartum depression and mother-infant bonding by parity: Longitudinal results from the Japan Environment and Children's Study.

The results of several epidemiological studies have shown a moderate association between postpartum depression (PPD) and mother-infant bonding (MIB); however, associations and changes that longitudinally considered parity were not reported. We investigated the possible association between PPD and MIB at one month after birth, in addition, the changes of these indices by parity. From a dataset comprising 103,099 maternal registrations in The Japan Environment and Children's Study, the present study analyzed complete data on questionnaires for 76,363 women who participated once (cross-sectional group) and 3753 women who participated twice (follow-up subgroup). Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores and the Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale-Japan (MIBS-J) scores were obtained one month after delivery. We identified the two factors of the MIBS-J, "lack of maternal feeling (LMF)" and "anxiety about caregiving (AC)" through confirmatory factor analysis. Associations between total EPDS and each factor of MIBS-J were evaluated using multiple regression analyses after adjusting for potential confounders. Total EPDS and both factors (LMF and AC) were positively related in the cross-sectional group (fully adjusted ß = 0.26 and 0.39 for LMF and AC, respectively), in the follow-up subgroup at first participation (0.24 and 0.40, respectively) and at the second participation (0.25 and 0.39, respectively). Multiple regression analyses revealed a robust, moderate relationship between postpartum depression and mother-infant bonding. PPD and MIB scores were shown to decrease from the first child to the second in the follow-up subgroup. Consequently, interventions which would increase a mother's child care experience and expertise would prevent PPD and improve MIB.

Neuropsychological Characteristics and Their Association with Higher-Level Functional Capacity in Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Little is known about the relationship between cognitive functions and higher-level functional capacity (e.g. intellectual activity, social role, and social participation) in Parkinson's disease (PD). The purpose of this study was to clarify neuropsychological characteristics and their association with higher-level functional capacity in PD patients. METHODS: Participants were 31 PD patients and 23 demographically matched healthy controls. Neuropsychological tests were conducted. One year later, a questionnaire survey evaluated higher-level functional capacity in daily living. RESULTS: The PD group scored significantly lower than the control group in all cognitive domains, particularly executive function and processing. Executive function, processing speed, language, and memory were significantly correlated with higher-level functional capacity in PD patients. Stepwise regression showed that only executive function (Trail Making Test-B), together with disease severity (HY stage), predicted the higher-level functional capacity. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide evidence of a relationship between executive function and higher-level functional capacity in patients with PD.

Developmental changes in the corpus callosum from infancy to early adulthood: a structural magnetic resonance imaging study.

Previous research has reported on the development trajectory of the corpus callosum morphology. However, there have been only a few studies that have included data on infants. The goal of the present study was to examine the morphology of the corpus callosum in healthy participants of both sexes, from infancy to early adulthood. We sought to characterize normal development of the corpus callosum and possible sex differences in development. We performed a morphometric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of 114 healthy individuals, aged 1 month to 25 years old, measuring the size of the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum was segmented into seven subareas of the rostrum, genu, rostral body, anterior midbody, posterior midbody, isthmus and splenium. Locally weighted regression analysis (LOESS) indicated significant non-linear age-related changes regardless of sex, particularly during the first few years of life. After this increase, curve slopes gradually became flat during adolescence and adulthood in both sexes. Age of local maximum for each subarea of the corpus callosum differed across the sexes. Ratios of total corpus callosum and genu, posterior midbody, as well as splenium to the whole brain were significantly higher in females compared with males. The present results demonstrate that the developmental trajectory of the corpus callosum during early life in healthy individuals is non-linear and dynamic. This pattern resembles that found for the cerebral cortex, further suggesting that this period plays a very important role in neural and functional development. In addition, developmental trajectories and changes in growth do show some sex differences.

Normal development of human brain white matter from infancy to early adulthood: a diffusion tensor imaging study.

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which measures the magnitude of anisotropy of water diffusion in white matter, has recently been used to visualize and quantify parameters of neural tracts connecting brain regions. In order to investigate the developmental changes and sex and hemispheric differences of neural fibers in normal white matter, we used DTI to examine 52 healthy humans ranging in age from 2 months to 25 years. We extracted the following tracts of interest (TOIs) using the region of interest method: the corpus callosum (CC), cingulum hippocampus (CGH), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). We measured fractional anisotropy (FA), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD). Approximate values and changes in growth rates of all DTI parameters at each age were calculated and analyzed using LOESS (locally weighted scatterplot smoothing). We found that for all TOIs, FA increased with age, whereas ADC, AD and RD values decreased with age. The turning point of growth rates was at approximately 6 years. FA in the CC was greater than that in the SLF, ILF and CGH. Moreover, FA, ADC and AD of the splenium of the CC (sCC) were greater than in the genu of the CC (gCC), whereas the RD of the sCC was lower than the RD of the gCC. The FA of right-hemisphere TOIs was significantly greater than that of left-hemisphere TOIs. In infants, growth rates of both FA and RD were larger than those of AD. Our data show that developmental patterns differ by TOIs and myelination along with the development of white matter, which can be mainly expressed as an increase in FA together with a decrease in RD. These findings clarify the long-term normal developmental characteristics of white matter microstructure from infancy to early adulthood.

Antioxidant activity of chemical components from sage (Salvia officinalis L.) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) measured by the oil stability index method.

A new abietane diterpenoid, 12-O-methyl carnosol (2), was isolated from the leaves of sage (Salvia officinalis L.), together with 11 abietane diterpenoids, 3 apianane terpenoids, 1 anthraquinone, and 8 flavonoids. Antioxidant activity of these compounds along with 4 flavonoids isolated from thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) was evaluated by the oil stability index method using a model substrate oil including methyl linoleate in silicone oil at 90 degrees C. Carnosol, rosmanol, epirosmanol, isorosmanol, galdosol, and carnosic acid exhibited remarkably strong activity, which was comparable to that of alpha-tocopherol. The activity of miltirone, atuntzensin A, luteolin, 7-O-methyl luteolin, and eupafolin was comparable to that of butylated hydroxytoluene. The activity of these compounds was mainly due to the presence of ortho-dihydroxy groups. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity of these compounds showed the similar result.