Sex-specific relationships between gray matter volume and executive function in young children with and without prenatal alcohol exposure.

Sex differences in brain volume are well established across ages however, limited research has investigated if sex differences in brain structure associate with early cognitive outcomes. Moreover, associations among sex, brain structure, and cognition in individuals with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), the most common known cause of developmental delay in North America, are unclear. Here, we investigated associations between executive function (measured by the BRIEF or BRIEF-P Global Executive Composite (GEC) and the Statue subtest of the NEPSY-II) and volumes of 36 gray matter regions in a longitudinal MRI sample of 169 young children (N=37; 534 total scans) aged 2-8 years.

Maternal exposure to trace elements and perfluoroalkyl acids and their associations with alterations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Environmental exposures to trace elements and perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) could alter hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function during pregnancy. Concentrations of trace elements measured in maternal red blood cells and PFAAs measured in maternal plasma, as well as maternal salivary cortisol were quantified from second trimester samples in 243 women from the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) cohort. Regression analyses examine associations between trace elements and PFAAs, and cortisol awakening response (CAR), daytime cortisol and diurnal cortisol slope.

Are Children's Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviours at 5 Years Predicted by Maternal Perinatal Depression Trajectory Profiles?

Mothers' depressive symptoms are associated with their children's internalizing and externalizing behavioural problems. Because mothers' depressive symptoms can vary across the prenatal and postnatal periods, considering their trajectories is important when predicting children's behavioural problems. The purposes of this study were to: (1) identify profiles of mothers characterized by their prenatal and postnatal (up to 3 years postpartum) depressive symptom trajectories and (2) examine the associations between maternal depressive symptom profile trajectories and preschool children's internalizing and externalizing behavioural problems at 5 years of age.

Associations between white matter asymmetry and communication skills in children with prenatal alcohol exposure.

Background: Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) occurs in ~10 % of pregnancies and can cause behavioral and neurological deficits, including alterations to white matter pathways involved in language processing. Language and communication skills are generally left-lateralized in the brain, and this asymmetry is associated with better performance in typically developing individuals, while alterations to this association are found in children with language challenges. However, the degree of asymmetry and its relationship with language skills remain poorly understood in children with PAE.

Using machine learning to investigate the influence of the prenatal chemical exposome on neurodevelopment of young children.

Research investigating the prenatal chemical exposome and child neurodevelopment has typically focused on a limited number of chemical exposures and controlled for sociodemographic factors and maternal mental health. Emerging machine learning approaches may facilitate more comprehensive examinations of the contributions of chemical exposures, sociodemographic factors, and maternal mental health to child neurodevelopment. A machine learning pipeline that utilized feature selection and ranking was applied to investigate which common prenatal chemical exposures and sociodemographic factors best predict neurodevelopmental outcomes in young children.

Sex-specific white matter alterations in children exposed to high pregestational BMI.

Objective: This study investigated whether exposure to high pregestational BMI (≥ 25 kg/m) is associated with alterations in white matter microstructure in early childhood, explored sex-specific effects, and examined associations with cognitive performance.

Methods: A total of 90 children from the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) cohort underwent diffusion tensor imaging between ages 2 and 7 years. Data were processed using ExploreDTI to obtain mean fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD).

Non-pharmacological interventions for perinatal depression and anxiety among adolescent mothers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Perinatal depression and anxiety are the most common mental health disorders among pregnant and postpartum adolescents. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions exist for perinatal depression and anxiety; however, there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions in adolescent mothers.

Aim: To identify, evaluate, and summarize the available evidence on the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for the prevention and treatment of perinatal depression and anxiety in adolescent mothers.

Phonological decoding ability is associated with fiber density of the left arcuate fasciculus longitudinally across reading development.

Numerous studies have linked reading ability to white matter microstructure using diffusion tensor imaging, but findings have been inconsistent and lack specificity. Fiber-specific diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) models offer enhanced precision in measuring specific microstructural features, but they have not yet been applied to examine associations between reading ability and white matter microstructure development as children learn to read. We applied constrained spherical deconvolution (CSD) and fiber-specific modelling to characterize developmental changes in fiber density of key white matter tracts of the reading network, and investigated associations between tract-wise fiber density and children's phonological decoding abilities.

Transdiagnostic Predictors of Health-Related Quality of Life in Children with Autism and Epilepsy: A Cross-Sectional Study.

: Our understanding of the transdiagnostic factors that influence health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in individuals with neurodivergent conditions is very sparse and highly siloed by diagnosis labels. Research on transdiagnostic predictors of HRQOL across neurodevelopmental conditions is needed to enable care models that address shared needs of neurodivergent individuals beyond diagnostic boundaries. Our objective was to identify transdiagnostic factors associated with HRQOL in children with autism, epilepsy, or comorbid autism/epilepsy.

Impact of age-related changes in buccal epithelial cells on pediatric epigenetic biomarker research.

Cheek swabs, heterogeneous samples consisting primarily of buccal epithelial cells, are widely used in pediatric DNA methylation studies and biomarker creation. However, the decrease in buccal proportion with age in adults remains unexamined in childhood. We analyzed cheek swabs from 4626 typically developing children 2-months to 20-years-old.

Maternal concentrations of perfluoroalkyl sulfonates and alterations in white matter microstructure in the developing brains of young children.

Background: Maternal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been linked to child neurodevelopmental difficulties. Neuroimaging research has linked these neurodevelopmental difficulties to white matter microstructure alterations, but the effects of PFAS on children's white matter microstructure remains unclear. We investigated associations between maternal blood concentrations of six common perfluoroalkyl sulfonates and white matter alterations in young children using longitudinal neuroimaging data.

Proposed Physiological Mechanisms Underlying the Association between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Mental Health Conditions: A Narrative Review.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs; e.g., physical abuse) can impact lifelong mental health both directly and intergenerationally, with effects transmitted from the parent to the child.

Sex-Specific Associations between Prenatal Exposure to Bisphenols and Phthalates and Infant Epigenetic Age Acceleration.

We examined whether prenatal exposure to two classes of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) was associated with infant epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), a DNA methylation biomarker of aging. Participants included 224 maternal-infant pairs from a Canadian pregnancy cohort study. Two bisphenols and 12 phthalate metabolites were measured in maternal second trimester urines.

Early Life Surgency, but not Effortful Control or Negative Affectivity, Is a Mediating Variable Between Maternal Pre-Pregnancy Body Mass Index and Childhood Obesity Risk.

Maternal gestational obesity is related to risk of obesity in the child. This risk may be in part mediated by altered child temperament, which can affect mother-child interactions, including feeding and soothing behaviors that affect obesity risk. Our objective was to examine the association between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and child zBMI and determine if child temperament, specifically positive Affectivity/Surgency, mediates this association.

Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI influences the associations between bisphenol and phthalate exposures and maternal weight changes and fat accumulation.

Background: Bisphenols and phthalates are two classes of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) thought to influence weight and adiposity. Limited research has investigated their influence on maternal weight changes, and no prior work has examined maternal fat mass. We examined the associations between exposure to these chemicals during pregnancy and multiple maternal weight and fat mass outcomes.

Intrapartum antibiotic use is associated with higher child body mass index (BMI) z-score at 4 years of age.

Early life antibiotic exposure may increase obesity risk. We investigated if prenatal, intrapartum, or childhood antibiotic use is associated with child zBMI score at 4 yrs of age. We included data from the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study, a prospective cohort study, on maternal and child antibiotic exposure and clinic measures of height and weight at age 4 (n = 408).

Prenatal Vitamin B12 and Children's Brain Development and Cognitive, Language and Motor Outcomes: A Scoping Review.

Adequate maternal nutrient intake of vitamin B12 is critical to fetal brain development and subsequent neurodevelopmental outcomes. We conducted a scoping review to map the current state of knowledge from human epidemiological studies on the associations between maternal vitamin B12 during pregnancy and children's brain, cognitive, language, and motor development to identify gaps in the literature and suggest directions for future research. PubMed and OVID MEDLINE were searched.

Maternal exposure to bisphenols, phthalates, perfluoroalkyl acids, and trace elements and their associations with gestational diabetes mellitus in the APrON cohort.

The increasing global prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has been hypothesized to be associated with maternal exposure to environmental chemicals. Here, among 420 women participating in the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) cohort study, we examined associations between GDM and second trimester blood or urine concentrations of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs): bisphenol-A (BPA), bisphenol-S (BPS), twelve phthalate metabolites, eight perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), and eleven trace elements. Fifteen (3.

Risk Factors for Perinatal Arterial Ischemic Stroke: A Machine Learning Approach.

Background And Objectives: Perinatal arterial ischemic stroke (PAIS) is a focal vascular brain injury presumed to occur between the fetal period and the first 28 days of life. It is the leading cause of hemiparetic cerebral palsy. Multiple maternal, intrapartum, delivery, and fetal factors have been associated with PAIS, but studies are limited by modest sample sizes and complex interactions between factors.

Risk Factors for Term-Born Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy: A Case-Control Study.

Background: To identify if a predetermined set of potential risk factors are associated with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (SDCP) in term-born children.

Methods: This is a case-control study with cases (n = 134) extracted from the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Registry (CCPR) and controls (n = 1950) from the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study. Our primary variable was the SDCP phenotype in term-born children.