Food Insecurity in Pregnancy, Receipt of Food Assistance, and Perinatal Complications.

Importance: Food insecurity is a growing public health concern, but its association with perinatal complications remains unclear.

Objective: To examine whether food insecurity in pregnancy was associated with the risk of perinatal complications and determine whether these potential associations differed by receipt of food assistance.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study used data from a pregnancy survey conducted between June 22, 2020, and September 9, 2022, at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, an integrated health care system serving a diverse population of 4.

Prioritizing Variables for Observational Study Design using the Joint Variable Importance Plot.

Observational studies of treatment effects require adjustment for confounding variables. However, causal inference methods typically cannot deliver perfect adjustment on all measured baseline variables, and there is often ambiguity about which variables should be prioritized. Standard prioritization methods based on treatment imbalance alone neglect variables' relationships with the outcome.

Prenatal vitamin C and fish oil supplement use are associated with human milk microbiota composition in the Canadian CHILD Cohort Study.

Maternal diet may modulate human milk microbiota, but the effects of nutritional supplements are unknown. We examined the associations of prenatal diet and supplement use with milk microbiota composition. Mothers reported prenatal diet intake and supplement use using self-administered food frequency and standardised questionnaires, respectively.

Neighborhood Food Access in Early Life and Trajectories of Child Body Mass Index and Obesity.

Importance: Limited access to healthy foods, resulting from residence in neighborhoods with low food access, is a public health concern. The contribution of this exposure in early life to child obesity remains uncertain.

Objective: To examine associations of neighborhood food access during pregnancy or early childhood with child body mass index (BMI) and obesity risk.

In utero metabolomic signatures of refined grain intake and risk of gestational diabetes: A metabolome-wide association study.

Background: Epidemiologic evidence has linked refined grain intake to a higher risk of gestational diabetes (GDM), but the biological underpinnings remain unclear.

Objectives: We aimed to identify and validate refined grain-related metabolomic biomarkers for GDM risk.

Methods: In a metabolome-wide association study of 91 cases with GDM and 180 matched controls without GDM (discovery set) nested in the prospective Pregnancy Environment and Lifestyle Study (PETALS), refined grain intake during preconception and early pregnancy and serum untargeted metabolomics were assessed at gestational weeks 10-13.

Glycemic Control Trajectories and Risk of Perinatal Complications Among Individuals With Gestational Diabetes.

Importance: Glycemic control is the cornerstone of gestational diabetes management. Glycemic control trajectories account for differences in longitudinal patterns throughout pregnancy; however, studies on glycemic control trajectories are scarce.

Objective: To examine whether glycemic control trajectories from gestational diabetes diagnosis to delivery were associated with differential risk of perinatal complications.

Longitudinal Associations of Plasma Phospholipid Fatty Acids in Pregnancy with Neonatal Anthropometry: Results from the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies-Singleton Cohort.

Despite increasing interest in the health effects of polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs), their roles in fetal and neonatal growth remain understudied. Within the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies—Singleton Cohort, we prospectively investigated the associations of individual and subclasses of plasma phospholipid PUFAs at gestational weeks (GW) 10−14, 15−26, 23−31, and 33−39 with neonatal anthropometric measures as surrogates for fetal growth among 107 women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and 214 non-GDM controls. Multivariable weighted linear regression models estimated the associations between plasma phospholipid PUFAs and neonatal anthropometric measures.

Determinants of nutritional status during the first 1000 days of life in Lebanon: Sex of the child matters.

Background: The first 1000 days of life support child growth and long-term health, but few studies address this period in Lebanon and the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

Objective: To examine the determinants of nutritional status among Lebanese children ≤2 years old by child's sex.

Methods: We analysed data from a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of 466 mother-child dyads.

The Gut Microbiota: A Promising Target in the Relation between Complementary Feeding and Child Undernutrition.

Child undernutrition is a major public health challenge that is persistent and disproportionately prevalent in low- and middle-income countries. Undernourished children face adverse health, economic, and social consequences that can be intergenerational. The first 1000 days of life, from conception until the child's second birthday, constitute the period of greatest vulnerability to undernutrition.

Validity and Reproducibility of a Culture-Specific Food Frequency Questionnaire in Lebanon.

This study aims to assess the validity and reproducibility of a culture-specific semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for Lebanese adults. The 94-item FFQ captures intake of traditional Mediterranean dishes and Western food, reflective of current Lebanese nutrition transition. Among 107 participants (18-65 years), the FFQ was administered at baseline (FFQ-1) and one year thereafter (FFQ-2); 2-3 24-h recalls (24-HRs)/season were collected for a total of 8-12 over four seasons.

Exclusive breastfeeding during the 40-day rest period and at six months in Lebanon: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first 6 months of life with well-established benefits to the mother and child. The traditional practice of the 40-day rest period helps establish and maintain exclusive breastfeeding. This study aims to estimate the prevalence and examine the factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding at 40 days and at 6 months in Lebanon.

Gender equity in planning, development and management of human resources for health: a scoping review.

Background: Gender equity remains a challenge across various labor markets with the health market being no exception. Despite the increased influx of women into health professions, horizontal and vertical occupational gender inequities persist.

Main Body: The objective of this scoping review is to map the studies on gender equity in healthcare systems in terms of workforce planning, development, and management, as well as to identify the barriers and facilitators for integrating gender equity into healthcare systems.

Understanding CAM Use in Lebanon: Findings from a National Survey.

The main objective of this study was to identify predictors of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) use in Lebanon. Data for this study were drawn from a national survey conducted among Lebanese adults (n=1500). A modified version of the Social Behavioral Model (SBM) was used to understand CAM use in the study population.

A scoping review of reporting 'Ethical Research Practices' in research conducted among refugees and war-affected populations in the Arab world.

Background: Ethical research conduct is a cornerstone of research practice particularly when research participants include vulnerable populations. This study mapped the extent of reporting ethical research practices in studies conducted among refugees and war-affected populations in the Arab World, and assessed variations by time, country of study, and study characteristics.

Methods: An electronic search of eight databases resulted in 5668 unique records published between 2000 and 2013.