Child, Caregiver, and Household Factors Associated With Children's Dietary Diversity During the Complementary Feeding Period.

Objective: To assess dietary diversity among foods offered to infants and toddlers in the US and to identify child, caregiver, and household characteristics associated with patterns of diversity in children's dietary exposures during the complementary feeding period.

Design: Cross-sectional survey of complementary feeding practices.

Setting: Participants were recruited via Qualtrics in January 2022.

Altered brain function and structure in youth-onset type 2 diabetes.

Objective: Despite the aggressive clinical trajectory of youth-onset type 2 diabetes (Y-T2D) and consistent evidence of cognitive dysfunction and poor brain health in adults with T2D, the impact of Y-T2D on brain function and structure is understudied.

Design: This study aimed to characterize brain function and structure in a cross-sectional sample of young people with Y-T2D and compare these brain attributes to peers with obesity alone (OB) or healthy weight (HW) without T2D.

Methods: Brain structure and function were measured via magnetic resonance imaging.

The Association of Levels of Food Insecurity and Disordered Eating Behaviors Among Youth and Young Adults With Diabetes: The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study.

Objective: To examine the relationship between levels of household food insecurity and disordered eating behaviors (DEB) among youth and young adults with youth-onset type 1 (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Method: We used cross-sectional data from the multicenter SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study (2015-2020). The Household Food Security Survey Module and the Diabetes Eating Problem Survey-Revised (DEPS-R) were utilized to measure household food insecurity and continuous scores for DEB.

Impact of prenatal exposure to delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol on birth size and postnatal growth trajectories.

Background: Prenatal exposure to cannabis (or more specifically, delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol [Δ9-THC]) has been consistently linked to low birthweight. Animal models further show that Δ9-THC is associated with rapid postnatal growth. Whether this association is modified by breastfeeding is unknown.

Complementary food exposure and children's early understanding of food words: the approaching eating through language (APPEAL) study.

Introduction: Language skills, such as the ability to understand words (receptive language), develop during infancy and are built through interactions with the environment, including eating. Exposure to complementary foods also begins in infancy and may play a significant role in language development, especially in understanding of food-related words. However, the relationship between the complementary foods to which a child is exposed and early language acquisition has not been previously studied.

Biomarkers of Neurodegeneration and Alzheimer's Disease Neuropathology in Adolescents and Young Adults with Youth-Onset Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

Adult-onset diabetes increases one's risk of neurodegenerative disease including Alzheimer's disease (AD); however, the risk associated with youth-onset diabetes (Y-DM) remains underexplored. We quantified plasma biomarkers of neurodegeneration and AD in participants with Y-DM from the SEARCH cohort at adolescence and young adulthood (Type 1, n = 25; Type 2, n = 25; 59% female; adolescence, age = 15 y/o [2.6]; adulthood, age = 27.

Maternal education prospectively predicts child neurocognitive function: An environmental influences on child health outcomes study.

A large body of research has established a relation between maternal education and children's neurocognitive functions, such as executive function and language. However, most studies have focused on early childhood and relatively few studies have examined associations with changes in maternal education over time. Consequently, it remains unclear if early maternal education is longitudinally related to neurocognitive functions in children, adolescents, and young adults.

Associations between Prenatal and Postnatal Exposure to Cannabis with Cognition and Behavior at Age 5 Years: The Healthy Start Study.

Background: Prenatal exposure to cannabis may influence childhood cognition and behavior, but the epidemiologic evidence is mixed. Even less is known about the potential impact of secondhand exposure to cannabis during early childhood.

Objective: This study sought to assess whether prenatal and/or postnatal exposure to cannabis was associated with childhood cognition and behavior.

Maternal Diet Quality During Pregnancy and Offspring Hepatic Fat in Early Childhood: The Healthy Start Study.

Background: Overnutrition in utero may increase offspring risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but the specific contribution of maternal diet quality during pregnancy to this association remains understudied in humans.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the associations of maternal diet quality during pregnancy with offspring hepatic fat in early childhood (median: 5 y old, range: 4-8 y old).

Methods: Data were from 278 mother-child pairs in the longitudinal, Colorado-based Healthy Start Study.

Household Food Insecurity and Cognition in Youth and Young Adults with Youth-Onset Diabetes.

Objective: We evaluated the association of household food insecurity (FI) with cognition in youth and young adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) or type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Design: In this cross-sectional study, age-adjusted scores for composite Fluid Cognition, and sub-domain scores for Receptive Language and Inhibitory Control and Attention, were modeled stratified by diabetes-type using linear regression, with FI in the past year as the predictor, controlling for covariates. Tests for processing speed, inhibitory control/attention, working memory, episodic memory, and cognitive flexibility were administered to measure composite Fluid Cognition score.

Diabetes complications and cognitive function in young adults with youth-onset type 1 or type 2 diabetes: the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study.

Aims/hypotheses: People with type 1 (T1D) or type 2 diabetes (T2D) who also have diabetes complications can have pronounced cognitive deficits. It remains unknown, however, whether and how multiple diabetes complications co-occur with cognitive dysfunction, particularly in youth-onset diabetes.

Methods: Using data from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study cohort, a prospective longitudinal cohort, we examined clustering of complications and their underlying clinical factors with performance on cognitive tests in young adults with youth-onset T1D or T2D.

Acceptance of a Novel Food is Related to Caregiver Perceptions of Infant and Toddler Food-related Receptive Language.

Objective: Language development, both what is understood (receptive language) and spoken (expressive language), is considered critical to a child's ability to understand and interact with their environment. However, little research has investigated the role children's early language skills might play in their food acceptance. The objective of this study was to explore the relationships between young children's food-related receptive language (FRL) and food-related expressive language (FEL) and acceptance of novel food.

Fetal Exposure to Cannabis and Childhood Metabolic Outcomes: The Healthy Start Study.

Objective: To assess the impact of fetal exposure to cannabis on adiposity and glucose-insulin traits in early life.

Research Design And Methods: We leveraged a subsample of 103 mother-child pairs from Healthy Start, an ethnically diverse Colorado-based cohort. Twelve cannabinoids/metabolites of cannabis (including Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol) were measured in maternal urine collected at ~27 weeks' gestation.

Infant and Toddler Consumption of Sweetened and Unsweetened Lipid Nutrient Supplements After 2-Week Home Repeated Exposures.

Background: Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS) are designed to address undernutrition during the complementary feeding period. SQ-LNS contains added sugars, but limited research has assessed whether infants' acceptance varies between versions with and without sugars.

Objectives: Our objective was to examine the effects of repeated exposure on children's acceptance of sweetened and unsweetened SQ-LNS.

Cognitive Function in Adolescents and Young Adults With Youth-Onset Type 1 Versus Type 2 Diabetes: The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study.

Objective: Poor cognition has been observed in children and adolescents with youth-onset type 1 (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) compared with control subjects without diabetes. Differences in cognition between youth-onset T1D and T2D, however, are not known. Thus, using data from SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth, a multicenter, observational cohort study, we tested the association between diabetes type and cognitive function in adolescents and young adults with T1D ( = 1,095) or T2D ( = 285).

Early microvascular complications in type 1 and type 2 diabetes: recent developments and updates.

The prevalence of youth-onset diabetes is progressing rapidly worldwide, and poor glycemic control, in combination with prolonged diabetes duration and comorbidities including hypertension, has led to the early development of microvascular complications including diabetic kidney disease, retinopathy, and neuropathy. Pediatric populations with type 1 (T1D) and type 2 (T2D) diabetes are classically underdiagnosed with microvascular complications, and this leads to both undertreatment and insufficient attention to the mitigation of risk factors that could help attenuate further progression of complications and decrease the likelihood for long-term morbidity and mortality. This narrative review aims to present a comprehensive summary of the epidemiology, risk factors, symptoms, screening practices, and treatment options, including future opportunities for treatment advancement, for microvascular complications in youth with T1D and T2D.

In Utero Exposure to Maternal Overweight or Obesity is Associated with Altered Offspring Brain Function in Middle Childhood.

Objective: The impact of in utero exposure to maternal overweight and obesity on offspring metabolic health is well documented. Neurodevelopmental outcomes among these children are, however, less well studied. To address this gap, the current study investigated brain function among 4- to 6-year-old children exposed to maternal overweight or obesity during gestation compared with that of children born to mothers with healthy BMI in pregnancy.

Eating in the absence of hunger in young children is related to brain reward network hyperactivity and reduced functional connectivity in executive control networks.

Background: Recent work has implicated disinhibited eating behaviours (DEB) as a potential pathway toward obesity development in children. However, the underlying neurobiology of disinhibited eating behaviours in young, healthy weight children, prior to obesity development, remains unknown.

Objectives: This study tested the relationship between DEB and intrinsic neuronal activity and connectivity in young children without obesity.

Altered gene expression and metabolism in fetal umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells correspond with differences in 5-month-old infant adiposity gain.

The intrauterine period is a critical time wherein developmental exposure can influence risk for chronic disease including childhood obesity. Using umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (uMSC) from offspring born to normal-weight and obese mothers, we tested the hypothesis that changes in infant body composition over the first 5 months of life correspond with differences in cellular metabolism and transcriptomic profiles at birth. Higher long-chain acylcarnitine concentrations, lipid transport gene expression, and indicators of oxidative stress in uMSC-adipocytes were related to higher adiposity at 5 months of age.

Maternal obesity alters fatty acid oxidation, AMPK activity, and associated DNA methylation in mesenchymal stem cells from human infants.

Objective: Infants born to mothers with obesity have greater adiposity, ectopic fat storage, and are at increased risk for childhood obesity and metabolic disease compared with infants of normal weight mothers, though the cellular mechanisms mediating these effects are unclear.

Methods: We tested the hypothesis that human, umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from infants born to obese (Ob-MSC) versus normal weight (NW-MSC) mothers demonstrate altered fatty acid metabolism consistent with adult obesity. In infant MSCs undergoing myogenesis in vitro, we measured cellular lipid metabolism and AMPK activity, AMPK activation in response to cellular nutrient stress, and MSC DNA methylation and mRNA content of genes related to oxidative metabolism.