GLP-1R Polymorphisms Modify the Relationship Between Exposure to Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Offspring BMI Growth: The EPOCH Study.

Objective: Exposure to maternal gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with childhood BMI. Among youth, we explored whether three different glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor gene (GLP-1R) polymorphisms modified the associations between 1) GDM and BMI trajectories and 2) GDM and markers of glucose-insulin homeostasis.

Research Design And Methods: For 464 participants from the Exploring Perinatal Outcomes Among Children (EPOCH) study, microarray genotyping was performed during childhood (∼10 years).

GLP-1R Gene Polymorphisms and Metabolic Traits During Childhood and Adolescence: The EPOCH Study.

Context: This is the first study to examine the association between variants of the glucagon-like-peptide-1 receptor gene (GLP-1R) and metabolic characteristics among youth.

Objective: We explored separate associations of 3 GLP-1R polymorphisms (rs10305420, rs6923761, and rs1042044) with body mass index (BMI) trajectories and markers of glucose-insulin homeostasis.

Methods: Mixed models examined associations between GLP-1R polymorphisms and trajectories of BMI.

The predictive utility of the in utero exposome for childhood adiposity in independent and integrated frameworks.

Objectives: To assess the predictive potential of the in utero exposome in relation to childhood adiposity as indicated by body mass index z-scores (BMIz) and the fourth versus first quartile of % fat mass (FM) at median age of 4.6 years.

Methods: We leveraged data on clinical risk factors for childhood obesity during the perinatal period, along with cord blood per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and cord blood DNA methylation, in 268 mother-offspring pairs.

A better performing algorithm for identification of implausible growth data from longitudinal pediatric medical records.

Tracking trajectories of body size in children provides insight into chronic disease risk. One measure of pediatric body size is body mass index (BMI), a function of height and weight. Errors in measuring height or weight may lead to incorrect assessment of BMI.

Using Power Analysis to Choose the Unit of Randomization, Outcome, and Approach for Subgroup Analysis for a Multilevel Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial to Reduce Disparities in Cardiovascular Health.

We give examples of three features in the design of randomized controlled clinical trials which can increase power and thus decrease sample size and costs. We consider an example multilevel trial with several levels of clustering. For a fixed number of independent sampling units, we show that power can vary widely with the choice of the level of randomization.

Epigenetic age acceleration is associated with speed of pubertal growth but not age of pubertal onset.

Using data from a longitudinal cohort of children, we examined whether epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) was associated with pubertal growth and whether these associations were mediated by adiposity. We examined associations between EAA at approximately 10 years of age with pubertal growth metrics, including age at peak height velocity (PHV), PHV, and sex steroid levels and whether these associations were mediated by measures of adiposity including body mass index (BMI) and MRI-assessed visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT). Children (n = 135) with accelerated EAA had higher PHV (β 0.

Prenatal Exposure to Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (2009-2014) and Vaccine Antibody Titers of Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella in Children Four to Eight Years Old from the Healthy Start Cohort.

Background: Prenatal exposures to certain poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are associated with reduced humoral responses to some childhood immunizations.

Objective: We estimated associations between prenatal PFAS exposure and child antibody titers for measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), and varicella after immunization.

Methods: We measured serum antibody titers of 145 children (4-8 y old) enrolled in the Healthy Start cohort in Colorado, whose mothers had PFAS quantified mid-pregnancy (2009-2014).

Associations of infant feeding practices with abdominal and hepatic fat measures in childhood in the longitudinal Healthy Start Study.

Background: Infant feeding patterns have been linked with obesity risk in childhood, but associations with precise measures of body fat distribution are unclear.

Objective: We examined associations of infant feeding practices with abdominal fat and hepatic fat trajectories in childhood.

Methods: This study included 356 children in the Healthy Start Study, a prospective prebirth cohort in Colorado.

Diabetes Study of Children of Diverse Ethnicity and Race: Study design.

Aims: Determining diabetes type in children has become increasingly difficult due to an overlap in typical characteristics between type 1 diabetes (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). The Diabetes Study in Children of Diverse Ethnicity and Race (DISCOVER) programme is a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported multicenter, prospective, observational study that enrols children and adolescents with non-secondary diabetes. The primary aim of the study was to develop improved models to differentiate between T1D and T2D in diverse youth.

Infant effortful control predicts BMI trajectories from infancy to adolescence.

Background: Effortful control, or the regulation of thoughts and behaviour, is a potential target for preventing childhood obesity.

Objectives: To assess effortful control in infancy through late childhood as a predictor of repeated measures of body mass index (BMI) from infancy through adolescence, and to examine whether sex moderates the associations.

Methods: Maternal report of offspring effortful control and measurements of child BMI were obtained at 7 and 8 time points respectively from 191 gestational parent/child dyads from infancy through adolescence.

Exposure to Gestational Diabetes and BMI Trajectories Through Adolescence: The Exploring Perinatal Outcomes Among Children Study.

Context: Previous studies have shown that exposure to maternal gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with increased offspring body mass index (BMI) and risk for overweight or obesity.

Objective: This study aimed to explore differences in BMI trajectories among youth exposed or not exposed to maternal GDM and understand whether these associations differ across life stages.

Methods: Data from 403 mother/child dyads (76 exposed; 327 not exposed) participating in the longitudinal Exploring Perinatal Outcomes among Children (EPOCH) study in Colorado were used.

Association of Maternal BMI and Rapid Infant Weight Gain With Childhood Body Size and Composition.

Objectives: Maternal prepregnancy BMI (ppBMI) and an infant's rapid weight gain (RWG) are each associated with increased risk for childhood obesity. We hypothesized that ppBMI and RWG interact to further raise childhood obesity risk.

Methods: Mother-infant dyads (n = 414) from the Healthy Start Study, an observational prebirth cohort, were included.

Exploring Racial and Ethnic Differences in Arterial Stiffness Among Youth and Young Adults With Type 1 Diabetes.

Background We examined arterial stiffness in individuals with type 1 diabetes, and explored whether differences between Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black (NHB), and non-Hispanic White (NHW) individuals were attributable to modifiable clinical and social factors. Methods and Results Participants (n=1162; 22% Hispanic, 18% NHB, and 60% NHW) completed 2 to 3 research visits from ≈10 months to ≈11 years post type 1 diabetes diagnosis (mean ages of ≈9 to ≈20 years, respectively) providing data on socioeconomic factors, type 1 diabetes characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors, health behaviors, quality of clinical care, and perception of clinical care. Arterial stiffness (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity [PWV], m/s) was measured at ≈20 years of age.

Adverse and Benevolent Childhood Experiences Predict Prenatal Sleep Quality.

The objective of the study was to investigate whether adverse and benevolent childhood experiences were associated with trajectories of sleep quality throughout pregnancy. The study was conducted at obstetrics and gynecology clinics in the Rocky Mountain region of the USA. The participants of the study were pregnant individuals ( = 164).

Power and sample size analysis for longitudinal mixed models of health in populations exposed to environmental contaminants: a tutorial.

Background: When evaluating the impact of environmental exposures on human health, study designs often include a series of repeated measurements. The goal is to determine whether populations have different trajectories of the environmental exposure over time. Power analyses for longitudinal mixed models require multiple inputs, including clinically significant differences, standard deviations, and correlations of measurements.

Effects of a community gardening intervention on diet, physical activity, and anthropometry outcomes in the USA (CAPS): an observer-blind, randomised controlled trial.

Background: Unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and social disconnection are important modifiable risk factors for non-communicable and other chronic diseases, which might be alleviated through nature-based community interventions. We tested whether a community gardening intervention could reduce these common health risks in an adult population that is diverse in terms of age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.

Methods: In this observer-blind, randomised, controlled trial, we recruited individuals who were on Denver Urban Garden waiting lists for community gardens in Denver and Aurora (CO, USA), aged 18 years or older, and had not gardened in the past 2 years.

Gestational diabetes mellitus, epigenetic age and offspring metabolism.

Aims: No reports examine the relationship between in-utero exposure to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), offspring epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), and offspring insulin sensitivity.

Methods: Using data from a cohort study, we examined associations between GDM in-utero exposure and offspring EAA at approximately 10 years of age, using separate regression models adjusting for offspring chronological age and sex. We also examined associations between EAA with updated homeostasis model assessment of insulin sensitivity and secretion (HOMA2-S and HOMA2-β) measured at approximately 10 and 16 years of age, using mixed linear regression models accounting for repeated measures after adjustment for offspring chronological age and sex.

Body composition trajectories from birth to 5 years and hepatic fat in early childhood.

Background: Adiposity is an established risk factor for pediatric nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but little is known about the influence of body composition patterns earlier in life on NAFLD risk.

Objectives: We aimed to examine associations of body composition at birth and body composition trajectories from birth to early childhood with hepatic fat in early childhood.

Methods: Data were from the longitudinal Healthy Start Study in Colorado.

Sex steroids and adiposity in a prospective observational cohort of youth.

Objective: Adiposity, particularly visceral adipose tissue (VAT), predicts adverse cardiovascular risk factor profiles in children as well as adults. Although endogenous sex steroids likely influence VAT in adults, such an association has not been established in youth. The association between childhood and adolescent sex steroids with adiposity, specifically VAT, was examined before and after adjustment for other hormone changes.

Adherence to index-based dietary patterns in childhood and BMI trajectory during the transition to adolescence: the EPOCH study.

Background: In the United States, one in five adolescents are obese. Index-based dietary patterns are measures of the overall diet that have the potential to serve as valuable obesity risk stratification tools. However, little is known about the association between adherence to index-based dietary patterns in childhood and BMI during the transition from childhood to adolescence.

Genetic Risk Score for Type 2 Diabetes and Traits Related to Glucose-Insulin Homeostasis in Youth: The Exploring Perinatal Outcomes Among Children (EPOCH) Study.

Objective: The metabolic phenotype of youth-onset type 2 diabetes (T2D) differs from that of adult-onset T2D, but little is known about genetic contributions. We aimed to evaluate the association between a T2D genetic risk score (GRS) and traits related to glucose-insulin homeostasis among healthy youth.

Research Design And Methods: We used data from 356 youth (mean age 16.

A comparison of the remote food photography method and the automated self-administered 24-h dietary assessment tool for measuring full-day dietary intake among school-age children.

The limitations of self-report measures of dietary intake are well-known. Novel, technology-based measures of dietary intake may provide a more accurate, less burdensome alternative to existing tools. The first objective of this study was to compare participant burden for two technology-based measures of dietary intake among school-age children: the Automated-Self-Administered 24-hour Dietary Assessment Tool-2018 (ASA24-2018) and the Remote Food Photography Method (RFPM).

Neonatal Adiposity and Childhood Obesity.

Objectives: To explore the longitudinal association of neonatal adiposity (fat mass percentage) with BMI trajectories and childhood overweight and obesity from ages 2 to 6 years.

Methods: We studied 979 children from the Healthy Start cohort. Air displacement plethysmography was used to estimate fat mass percentage.