Association Between Parental Social Position and Childhood Overweight: Mediation by Lifestyle and BMI Patterns During Pregnancy.

In high-income countries, children born to parents with low socio-economic position (SEP) or with non-Western ethnicity are disproportionally affected by obesity as early as preschool age. We assessed how much of these associations were mediated by parental lifestyle and BMI patterns during pregnancy. We characterised 5-6 years old children with or without overweight from the French Etude Longitudinale Française depuis l'Enfance (ELFE) (n = 8584) and the Dutch Generation R birth cohorts (n = 6511).

Fetal and Infant Growth and the Cardiovascular Stress Response in Adolescence: A Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study in a Pediatric Population-Based Cohort.

Background: Abnormal birth weight and infant weight gain are recognized as risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Exercise testing can detect subtle differences in cardiovascular function not present at rest.

Identifying Key Predictors of Mid-Childhood Obesity in a Population-Based Cohort Study: An Evidence Synthesis and Predictive Modeling Study.

A wide spectrum of predictors of childhood overweight and obesity has been identified over past decades, yet a quantitative overview of multidisciplinary predictors is missing, and the relative importance and their collective contribution to childhood obesity remains unclear. We synthesized evidence from 93 published studies from the Generation R Study, a population-based prospective cohort from early-pregnancy onwards in the Netherlands, to provide a quantitative overview of 210 predictors across preconception and childhood associated with body mass index (BMI) in mid-childhood and selected 59 candidate predictors. Then, we further identified 32 key predictors for either zBMI or weight status using model search algorithms and built prediction models with data from the same cohort.

Predicting obesity at adolescence from an early age in a Dutch observational cohort study: the development and internal validation of a multivariable prediction model.

Background: - Identifying children with a high risk of developing future obesity could enable timely targeted prevention strategies. The study's objective was to develop prediction models that could detect if young children at very early age, from birth to age six, have an increased risk of being obese in early adolescence.

Methods: - We analyzed a subset of data (N = 4,309) from the Generation R study, a population-based prospective cohort study of pregnant women and their children from fetal life to young adulthood in the Netherlands.

Periconception bisphenol and phthalate concentrations in women and men, time to pregnancy, and risk of miscarriage.

Background: Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenols and phthalates might lead to adverse fertility and early pregnancy outcomes.

Methods: This study was embedded in the Generation R Next Study, a population-based cohort study from preconception onwards. Urinary phthalate and bisphenol concentrations were assessed in the preconception period (938 women), defined as the period in which couples were actively trying to conceive, and early pregnancy (1,366 women and 1,202 men, mean gestational age at sampling 8·6 weeks).

Dietary intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids, their food sources and fertility in females and males: a preconception prospective population-based cohort study.

Background: Seafood, nuts, and seeds are key dietary sources of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which may benefit reproductive health.

Objectives: This study aims to investigate associations of periconception dietary intake of PUFA-rich foods and omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs with fecundability and subfertility in females and males.

Methods: Among 830 females and 651 males, participating in a population-based prospective cohort study from preconception onwards, we assessed periconception dietary intake at median 12.

Early-life growth and emotional, behavior and cognitive outcomes in childhood and adolescence in the EU child cohort network: individual participant data meta-analysis of over 109,000 individuals.

Background: Fetal and infant development might be critical for cognitive outcomes and psychopathology later in life. We assessed the associations of birth characteristics and early life growth with behavior and cognitive outcomes from childhood to adolescence.

Methods: We used harmonized data of 109,481 children from 8 European birth cohorts.

Associations of fetal and infant growth with pubertal timing.

Objective: Impaired fetal and infant growth may cause alterations in developmental programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and subsequently pubertal development. We aimed to assess associations between fetal and infant growth and pubertal development.

Design: Population-based prospective birth cohort.

Healthy Lifestyle in the First 1000 Days and Overweight and Obesity Throughout Childhood.

Objectives: Investigate associations of different family healthy lifestyle scores (HLS) during the first 1000 days with childhood overweight and obesity (OWOB).

Methods: Cohort-specific analyses were conducted on participants (n = 25 006) from 4 European birth cohorts (The study on the pre- and early postnatal determinants of child health and development [EDEN], Elfe, France; Generation R, the Netherlands; and Lifeways, Ireland). Three composite HLSs were calculated: a maternal pregnancy HLS based on prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and diet quality, physical activity, smoking status, and alcohol consumption during pregnancy; a parental pregnancy HLS additionally considering paternal BMI and smoking status; and an infancy HLS based on breastfeeding duration, age of solid food introduction, and exposure to passive smoking.

Cord Blood Metabolite Profiles and Childhood Cardio-Metabolic Outcomes in a Population-Based Cohort.

Introduction: Adverse exposures in utero might cause adaptations of cardiovascular and metabolic organ development, predisposing individuals to an adverse cardio-metabolic risk profile from childhood onwards. We hypothesized that adaptations in metabolic pathways underlie these associations and examined associations of metabolite profiles at birth with childhood cardio-metabolic risk factors.

Methods: The study included 763 mother-child pairs participating in an ongoing population-based prospective cohort study with an overall low disease risk.

Associations of periconception dietary glycemic index and load with fertility in women and men: a study among couples in the general population.

Background: The dietary glycemic index (GI) and load (GL) reflect carbohydrate quality and quantity, potentially impacting fertility through modulation of insulin sensitivity and generation of oxidative stress. While fertility is influenced by both women and men, reproductive research often emphasizes maternal factors. We first examined periconception dietary intake in both women and male partners, and subsequent associations of dietary GI and GL with fecundability and subfertility.

Gestational organophosphate pesticide exposure and childhood cardiovascular outcomes.

Introduction: The general population is chronically exposed to organophosphate pesticides through various routes including ingestion, hand-to-mouth contact, inhalation, and dermal contact. Exposure to organophosphate pesticides during pregnancy impairs fetal development, but the potential long-term effects of gestational organophosphate pesticide exposure are less well understood.

Methods: We investigated associations between gestational organophosphate pesticide exposure and cardiovascular outcomes in 643 children in the Generation R Study, a prospective pregnancy cohort based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Associations of bisphenol and phthalate exposure and anti-Müllerian hormone levels in women of reproductive age.

Background: In women, exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals might accelerate the depletion of the ovarian reserve and might be associated with accelerative reproductive aging and fertility. We examined the longitudinal associations of exposure to bisphenols and phthalates with anti-Müllerian hormone concentrations.

Methods: Pregnant women of 18 years or older that resided in Rotterdam between 2002 and 2006 were eligible for participation in this longitudinal prospective cohort study.

Maternal hemoglobin and iron status in early pregnancy and childhood cardiac outcomes.

Background & Aims: Dysregulation of iron homeostasis is associated with cardiac alterations in a sex-dependent manner in adults. It is unknown whether iron status during pregnancy has long-term impact on cardiovascular health, and if this association is influenced by sex. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate sex-specific association between maternal iron status during early pregnancy and cardiac outcomes in children aged 10 years.

Associations of childhood BMI, general and visceral fat mass with metabolite profiles at school-age.

Background: Childhood obesity increases metabolic disease risk. Underlying mechanisms remain unknown. We examined associations of body mass index (BMI), total body fat mass, and visceral fat mass with serum metabolites at school-age, and explored whether identified metabolites improved the identification of children at risk of a metabolically unhealthy phenotype.

Haemoglobin thresholds to define anaemia from age 6 months to 65 years: estimates from international data sources.

Background: Detection of anaemia is crucial for clinical medicine and public health. Current WHO anaemia definitions are based on statistical thresholds (fifth centiles) set more than 50 years ago. We sought to establish evidence for the statistical haemoglobin thresholds for anaemia that can be applied globally and inform WHO and clinical guidelines.

Arterial Health Markers in Relation to Behavior and Cognitive Outcomes at School Age.

Background: Impaired arterial health is associated with a decline in cognitive function and psychopathology in adults. We hypothesized that these associations originate in early life. We examined the associations of blood pressure, common carotid artery intima media thickness, and carotid distensibility with behavior and cognitive outcomes during adolescence.

Integrating multiple lines of evidence to assess the effects of maternal BMI on pregnancy and perinatal outcomes.

Background: Higher maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) is associated with adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes. However, whether these associations are causal remains unclear.

Methods: We explored the relation of maternal pre-/early-pregnancy BMI with 20 pregnancy and perinatal outcomes by integrating evidence from three different approaches (i.