Long-term health outcomes in adolescents with obesity treated with faecal microbiota transplantation: 4-year follow-up.

Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been explored as a potential treatment for obesity, but its long-term effects on metabolic health remain unclear. Here, we report 4-year follow-up findings from a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial assessing FMT in adolescents with obesity (ACTRN12615001351505, Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry). This unblinded follow-up study evaluated 63% (55/87) of the original participants (27 FMT, 28 placebo).

Infant body composition in a randomised trial of a maternal nutritional supplement during preconception and pregnancy.

Background: In a multinational randomized controlled trial, we previously showed that maternal supplementation with myo-inositol, probiotics, and micronutrients was associated with reduced incidence of rapid infant weight gain and high body mass index (BMI) at two years among offspring. It was unclear whether these differences in weight gain and body mass were due to reduced adiposity. Therefore, we aimed to determine whether there were any differences in body composition.

Rates, Risk Factors, and Progression of Diabetic Retinopathy in Children with Type 1 Diabetes: A 15-Year Retrospective Study from a Regional Center in New Zealand.

Aims: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the primary microvascular complication associated with diabetes. Evidence on DR prevalence among children in New Zealand is scarce. We examined DR rates and associated risk factors in youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D) aged <16 years receiving care from a regional diabetes service in January 2006-December 2020.

Association of Maternal PM Exposure with Preterm Birth and Low Birth Weight: A Large-Scale Cohort Study in Northern Thailand (2016-2022).

Air pollution exposure has been increasingly linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the effects of PM exposure throughout pregnancy on preterm birth, low birth weight (LBW), and small for gestational age (SGA). We analyzed a cohort of 16,965 pregnant women living in northern Thailand between 2016 and 2022.

Iodine and other factors associated with fertility outcome following oil-soluble contrast medium hysterosalpingography: a prospective cohort study.

Objective: To examine factors associated with fertility following hysterosalpingography (HSG) using an oil-soluble contrast medium (OSCM).

Design: In a prospective cohort study on 196 women undergoing OSCM HSG, we showed that iodine excess was almost universal (98%) and mild subclinical hypothyroidism was frequent (38%). Here, we report the analyses of secondary outcomes examining factors associated with the likelihood of pregnancy following the HSG.

Changes in weight status of caregivers of children and adolescents enrolled in a community-based healthy lifestyle programme: Five-year follow-up.

Whānau Pakari is a family-centred healthy lifestyle programme for children/adolescents with overweight/obesity in New Zealand. This secondary analysis from our randomised trial within the clinical service assessed 5-year BMI changes in accompanying caregivers (n = 23), mostly mothers. Overall, baseline and 5-year caregivers' BMI were similar (32.

Associations between maternal overweight/obesity during pregnancy and body composition in young adult offspring.

Background: Maternal obesity is associated with an increased risk of large-for-gestational-age births and childhood obesity. However, evidence on its potential associations with long-term offspring body composition remains limited. This prospective cohort study examined associations between maternal body mass index (BMI) during pregnancy and body composition in the young adult offspring.

A nutritional supplement during preconception and pregnancy increases human milk vitamin D but not B-vitamin concentrations.

Background & Aims: Optimal maternal vitamin status during pregnancy and lactation is essential to support maternal and infant health. For instance, vitamin D is involved in infant bone development, and B-vitamins are involved in various metabolic processes, including energy production. Through a double-blind randomised controlled trial, we investigated the effects of maternal supplementation from preconception throughout pregnancy until birth on human milk (HM) concentrations of vitamin D and B-vitamins.

A Multisource Process Evaluation of a Community-Based Healthy Lifestyle Programme for Child and Adolescent Obesity.

Whānau Pakari is a healthy lifestyle assessment and intervention programme for children and adolescents with obesity in Taranaki (Aotearoa/New Zealand), which, in this region, replaced the nationally funded Green Prescription Active Families (GRxAF) programme. We compared national referral rates from the GRxAF programme (age 5-15 years) and the B4 School Check (B4SC, a national preschool health and development assessment) with referral rates in Taranaki from Whānau Pakari. We retrospectively analysed 5 years of clinical data (2010-2015), comparing referral rates before, during, and after the Whānau Pakari clinical trial, which was embedded within the programme.

Protocol for the Gut Bugs in Autism Trial: a double-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial of faecal microbiome transfer for the treatment of gastrointestinal symptoms in autistic adolescents and adults.

Introduction: Autism (formally autism spectrum disorder) encompasses a group of complex neurodevelopmental conditions, characterised by differences in communication and social interactions. Co-occurring chronic gastrointestinal symptoms are common among autistic individuals and can adversely affect their quality of life. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of oral encapsulated faecal microbiome transfer (FMT) in improving gastrointestinal symptoms and well-being among autistic adolescents and adults.

Impact of preconception and antenatal supplementation with myo-inositol, probiotics, and micronutrients on offspring BMI and weight gain over the first 2 years.

Background: Nutritional intervention preconception and throughout pregnancy has been proposed as an approach to promoting healthy postnatal weight gain in the offspring but few randomised trials have examined this.

Methods: Measurements of weight and length were obtained at multiple time points from birth to 2 years among 576 offspring of women randomised to receive preconception and antenatally either a supplement containing myo-inositol, probiotics, and additional micronutrients (intervention) or a standard micronutrient supplement (control). We examined the influence on age- and sex-standardised BMI at 2 years (WHO standards, adjusting for study site, sex, maternal parity, smoking and pre-pregnancy BMI, and gestational age), together with the change in weight, length, BMI from birth, and weight gain trajectories using latent class growth analysis.

A COVID-19 Silver Lining-Decline in Antibiotic Resistance in Ischemic Leg Ulcers during the Pandemic: A 6-Year Retrospective Study from a Regional Tertiary Hospital (2017-2022).

Antibiotic resistance (AR) associated with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) poses additional challenges for the management of ischemic leg ulcers, increasing the likelihood of severe outcomes. This study assessed AR prevalence in bacteria isolated from CLTI-associated leg ulcers before (1 January 2017-10 March 2020; = 69) and during (11 March 2020-31 December 2022; = 59) the COVID-19 pandemic from patients admitted with positive wound cultures to a regional hospital in Chiang Mai (Thailand). There was a marked reduction in AR rates from 78% pre-pandemic to 42% during the pandemic ( < 0.

A nutritional supplement taken during preconception and pregnancy influences human milk macronutrients in women with overweight/obesity and gestational diabetes mellitus.

Rational: Maternal overweight/obesity and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are associated with an increased risk of their offspring developing overweight/obesity or type 2 diabetes later in life. However, the impacts of maternal overweight/obesity and dysglycemia on human milk (HM) macronutrient composition are not well understood.

Objective: Through a double-blind randomised controlled trial, we investigated the effects of maternal supplementation from preconception throughout pregnancy until birth on HM macronutrient concentrations, in association with maternal and infant factors including maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and GDM status.

Feasibility study on a longer side-alternating vibration therapy protocol (15 min per session) in children and adolescents with mild cerebral palsy.

Objective: Previous studies on side-alternating vibration therapy (sVT) have usually used a 9 min intervention protocol. We performed a feasibility study aimed at assessing the safety, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of a longer sVT protocol (15 min per session) in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods: Fifteen participants aged 5.

Prediction of fat-free mass in young children using bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy.

Background: Bioimpedance devices are practical for measuring body composition in preschool children, but their application is limited by the lack of validated equations.

Objectives: To develop and validate fat-free mass (FFM) bioimpedance prediction equations among New Zealand 3.5-year olds, with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as the reference method.

An open-label pilot trial of faecal microbiome transfer to restore the gut microbiome in anorexia nervosa: protocol.

Introduction: Individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) harbour distinct gut microbiomes compared with healthy individuals, which are sufficient to induce weight loss and anxiety-like behaviours when transplanted into germ-free mice. We hypothesise that faecal microbiome transfer (FMT) from healthy donors would help restore the gut microbiome of individuals with AN, which in turn, may aid patient recovery.

Methods: We aim to conduct an open-label pilot study in 20 females aged 16-32 years in Auckland, New Zealand who meet the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) criteria for AN and have a body mass index 13-19 kg/m.

Influences of age and gender on operative risks following carotid endarterectomy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: This review aims to undertake a comprehensive review of the literature and investigate associations of age and gender on 30 days post carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and up to 5 years post CEA stroke, death, and combined stroke and death.

Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: Three main electronic databases including the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and Embase were searched from their inception to July 2022.

The need to nurture Aotearoa New Zealand's healthcare workforce.

This commentary examines the ethical significance of recently published research demonstrating the extent to which healthcare workers experienced stress and increased challenges in the workplace due to inadequate access to personal protective equipment (PPE) during the first COVID-19 surge in Aotearoa New Zealand. The inadequate state of New Zealand's PPE stockpile and distribution system at the beginning of the pandemic was a critical signal, a "canary in the coalmine", of broader challenges facing the New Zealand healthcare system, particularly for healthcare worker safety and wellbeing. As New Zealand reforms its health system with the aim of improving access to and equity of care, an opportunity exists to apply critical lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic about the need to prioritise the wellbeing of the healthcare workers we are dependent upon to deliver that care.

Vibration Therapy as an Early Intervention for Children Aged 2-4 Years with Cerebral Palsy: A Feasibility Study.

To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of vibration therapy (VT) in preschool children with cerebral palsy (CP) and obtain preliminary data on its potential effectiveness. Nine children aged 2.5-4.

The effect of a preconception and antenatal nutritional supplement on children's BMI and weight gain over the first 2 years of life: findings from the NiPPeR randomised controlled trial.

Background: Nutritional intervention before and throughout pregnancy might promote healthy infant weight gain; however, clinical evidence is scarce. Therefore, we examined whether preconception and antenatal supplementation would affect the body size and growth of children in the first 2 years of life.

Methods: Women were recruited from the community before conception in the UK, Singapore, and New Zealand, and randomly allocated to either the intervention (myo-inositol, probiotics, and additional micronutrients) or control group (standard micronutrient supplement) with stratification by site and ethnicity.

The impact of prolonged, maternal iodine exposure in early gestation on neonatal thyroid function.

Context: Hysterosalpingography (HSG) using oil-soluble contrast medium (OSCM) improves pregnancy rates but results in severe and persistent iodine excess, potentially impacting the fetus and neonate.

Objective: To determine the incidence of thyroid dysfunction in newborns conceived within six months of OSCM HSG.

Design: Offspring study of a prospective cohort of women who underwent OSCM HSG.