Influences of Parenting Education on Development of Obesity Among Young Children.

OBJECTIVE: This project aimed to prevent obesity in high-risk infants using community health workers.ßto provide mothers with culturally appropriate nutrition and health education. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial enrolled mothers prenatally and infants at birth. Mothers were Spanish-speaking WIC participants with obesity. Trained, Spanish-fluent, community health workers visited homes of intervention mothers to encourage breastfeeding, and promote delayed introduction of solid foods, adequate sleep, limited screen time, and active play. A blinded research assistant collected data at the home. Outcomes were weight-for-length and BMI-z scores, obesity at age 3.ßyears and percent time obese during follow-up. Data were analyzed using multiple variable regression. RESULTS: Of 177 children enrolled at birth, 108 were followed to age 30...36.ßmonths. At the final visit, 24% of children were obese. Obese status at age 3.ßdid not differ between intervention and control (P.ß=.ß.32). Using BMI-z at the final visit, we observed a significant interaction between education and breastfeeding (P.ß=.ß.01). Time spent while obese from birth until age 30...36.ßmonths, by multiple variable analysis, did not show significant differences between intervention and control, but breastfed children experienced significantly less time obese than formula fed (P.ß=.ß.03). Formula-fed children in the control group, spent 29.8% of time obese, while breastfed infants in the intervention group spent 11.9% of time obese. CONCLUSIONS: The educational intervention did not prevent obesity at age 3.ßyears. However, time spent obese from birth to age 3.ßyears was best in breastfed children living in homes regularly visited by community health workers.

Calories, Caffeine and the Onset of Obesity in Young Children.

OBJECTIVE: High calorie foods and beverages, which often contain caffeine, contribute to child overweight/obesity. We evaluated the results of an educational intervention to promote healthy growth in very young children. Secondarily, we used detailed diet data to explore the association of nutrient intake with the early development of overweight and obesity. METHODS: Mothers were obese Latina women, enrolled prenatally, and their infants. Specially trained community health workers provided breastfeeding support and nutrition education during 10 home visits, birth to 24 months. At follow-up, age 18 to 36 months, we measured growth and completed detailed diet recalls (1-7 recall days/child). RESULTS: Of 174 infants randomized, 106 children were followed for 24 to 36 months. The educational intervention did not prevent overweight/obesity. Forty-two percent of children became overweight or obese. Fifty-eight percent of children consumed caffeine on at least 1 recall day. Mean intake was 0.48 mg/kg/day. Caffeine correlated with higher consumption of calories, and added sugar and decreased intake of protein, fiber and dairy. Compared with days without caffeine, on days when caffeine was consumed, children ingested 121 more calories and 3.8 gm less protein. Children frequently consumed less than the recommended daily intake of key nutrients such as fiber, vegetables, whole fruit, and vitamins. CONCLUSIONS: Caffeine was a marker for increased intake of calories and decreased intake of key nutrients. When discussing dietary intake in early childhood, practitioners should screen for nutrient deficiency in young children and recommend limiting the intake of caffeinated foods and beverages.

BCR/ABL1 Transcripts in Healthy Individuals: A Comparative Analysis Between First-Degree Relatives of Patients with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia and Subjects without Antecedents of the Disease.

BCR/ABL1 transcripts, the molecular hallmarks of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), have been detected in peripheral blood from healthy individuals. Although CML is a sporadic disease, familial occurrence has been reported. This raises the question of whether there is a hereditary factor related to the etiology of CML. Our aim is to compare the BCR/ABL1 e13a2 and e14a2 transcript frequency in healthy first-degree relatives of families with CML versus individuals from families without CML antecedents. Ninety-eight healthy individuals, sorted into two groups, were studied: a group consisting of 46 first-degree relatives from families having a CML affected, and another with 52 healthy individuals from families without CML antecedents. BCR/ABL1 e13a2 and e14a2 transcripts were detected in mRNA isolated from peripheral blood leukocytes. We observed 28 of 98 individuals positive for at least one BCR/ABL1 transcript: e14a2 was detected in 22, e13a2 in 4, and co-expression was observed in 2 subjects. The positivity rate in relatives of CML cases was 33%, whereas individuals without CML antecedents had a 25% positivity rate, showing no statistical difference. Our results corroborate the presence of e13a2 and e14a2 BCR/ABL1 transcripts in the peripheral blood of healthy individuals, but has not a found familial factor related to the etiology of this rearrangement.

Randomized Controlled Trial to Prevent Infant Overweight in a High-Risk Population.

OBJECTIVES: Infants are at risk of overweight. Infant overweight predisposes child, adolescent, and adult to obesity. We hypothesized that parent education, initiated prenatally and provided in the home, would reduce the incidence of infant overweight at age 12 months. METHODS: Pregnant obese Latina women were recruited at Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and randomized to intervention versus control. Intervention subjects received home visits by trained Spanish-fluent community health workers who provided counseling on infant growth, breastfeeding, nutrition, child development, sleep, physical activity, and safety. Promotoras did not visit the control subjects. A research assistant collected outcome data on all subjects. RESULTS: Compared to controls, parent education did not reduce infant overweight. Infant overweight developed rapidly and was present in 46% of infants by age 6 months. Infants overweight at 6 months were likely to be overweight at age 12 months (r = 0.60, P < .0001). Overweight was more common in formula-fed infants at ages 6 months (P < .06) and 12 months (P = .005). Breastfeeding was less common in families with employed mothers (P = .02) and unemployed fathers (P < .01), but the father living with the mother at the time of the prenatal visit predicted successful breastfeeding at infant age 2 months (P < .003). Compared to formula feeding, overweight at age 12 months was 2.7 times less likely for infants breastfed for ≥2 months (P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: The lack of success of the intervention may be explained in part by a high cesarean section rate in the intervention group, food and employment insecurity, and confounding by WIC breastfeeding promotion, which was available to all mothers. Breastfeeding was the most important mediator of infant overweight. The study supports efforts by WIC to vigorously promote breastfeeding.

1,2:3,4-Diepoxybutane Induces Multipolar Mitosis in Cultured Human Lymphocytes.

1,3-Butadiene, a colorless gas regularly used in the production of plastics, thermoplastic resins, and styrene-butadiene rubber, poses an increased leukemia mortality risk to workers in this field. 1,3-Butadiene is also produced by incomplete combustion of motor fuels or by tobacco smoking. It is absorbed principally through the respiratory system and metabolized by several enzymes rendering 1,2:3,4-diepoxybutane (DEB), which has the highest genotoxic potency of all metabolites of 1,3-butadiene. DEB is considered a carcinogen mainly due to its high potential as clastogen, which induces structural chromosome aberrations such as sister chromatid exchanges, chromosomal breaks, and micronuclei. Due to its clastogenic effect, DEB is one of the most used agents for diagnostic studies of Fanconi anemia, a recessively inherited disease related to mutations affecting several genes involved in a common DNA repair pathway. When performing Fanconi anemia diagnostic tests in our laboratory, we have observed occasional multipolar mitosis (MM) in lymphocyte cultures exposed to 0.1 µg/ml of DEB and harvested in the absence of any mitotic spindle inhibitor. Although previous studies reported an aneugenic effect (i.e. it induces aneuploidy) of DEB, no mechanism was suggested to explain such observations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether exposure to 0.1 µg/ml of DEB is significantly associated with the occurrence of MM. We blindly assessed the frequency of MM in lymphocyte cultures from 10 nonsmoking healthy individuals. Two series of 3 cultures were performed from each sample under different conditions: A, without DEB; B, with 0.1 µg/ml of DEB, and C, with 25 µM of mitomycin C as positive control. Cultures exposed to DEB showed higher frequencies of MM (23 of 2,000 cells) than did the unexposed ones (3 of 2,000 cells).

Y-SNP haplogroups related to the Yqh+ heteromorphism in the Mexican northwestern population.

Morphological variation of the Y chromosome has been observed in different populations. This variation is mostly related to the heteromorphic Yq12 band, which is composed of a variable block of constitutive heterochromatin. The Yqh+ heteromorphism has a worldwide frequency of 2.85% and is considered clinically innocuous. The aim of this study was to identify the ancestry of the Yqh+ heteromorphism present in individuals from western Mexico. For this purpose, 17 Y-chromosome single nucleotide polymorphisms were analysed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction and SNaPshot assays. In 28 Yqh+ males, only five haplogroups were observed; with a haplogroup diversity of 0.4841 ± 0.1094, which was less than that observed in a study of unselected Mexican mestizo population. Differences were specifically conferred by the high frequencies of haplogroups R1b1 and P*(xQ,R), and by the absence of the Amerindian haplogroup Q (Q*(xQ1a3a) plus Q1a3a) from the Yqh+ group. This study suggests a post-1492 incorporation for Yqh+ chromosomes into the Mexican northwestern population.

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