Smartphone GPS-Based Exposure to Greenspace and Walkability and Accelerometer-Assessed Physical Activity During Pregnancy and Early Postpartum-Evidence from the MADRES Cohort.

A growing number of studies have associated walkability and greenspace exposure with greater physical activity (PA) in women during pregnancy. However, most studies have focused on examining women's residential environments and neglected exposure in locations outside the home neighborhood. Using 350 person-days (N = 55 participants) of smartphone global positioning system (GPS) location and accelerometer data collected during the first and third trimesters and 4-6 months postpartum from 55 Hispanic pregnant women from the Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) study, we examined the day-level effect of women's exposure to walkability and greenspace on their PA outcomes during pregnancy and in the early postpartum period.

GPS-derived environmental exposures during pregnancy and early postpartum - Evidence from the madres cohort.

The built and natural environment factors (e.g., greenspace, walkability) are associated with maternal and infant health during and after pregnancy.

Prenatal ambient air pollution exposure and child weight trajectories from the 3rd trimester of pregnancy to 2 years of age: a cohort study.

Background: Prenatal air pollution exposure may increase risk for childhood obesity. However, few studies have evaluated in utero growth measures and infant weight trajectories. This study will evaluate the associations of prenatal exposure to ambient air pollutants with weight trajectories from the 3rd trimester through age 2 years.

Association Between Ambient Air Pollution and Birth Weight by Maternal Individual- and Neighborhood-Level Stressors.

Importance: Fetal growth is precisely programmed and could be interrupted by environmental exposures during specific times during pregnancy. Insights on potential sensitive windows of air pollution exposure in association with birth weight are needed.

Objective: To examine the association of sensitive windows of ambient air pollution exposure with birth weight and heterogeneity by individual- and neighborhood-level stressors.

The impact of GPS-derived activity spaces on personal PM exposures in the MADRES cohort.

Background: In-utero exposure to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM) is associated with low birth weight and health risks later in life. Pregnant women are mobile and locations they spend time in contribute to their personal PM exposures.

Time-activity and daily mobility patterns during pregnancy and early postpartum - evidence from the MADRES cohort.

Introduction: Pregnant women's daily time-activity and mobility patterns determine their environmental exposures and subsequently related health effects. Most studies ignore these and assess pregnancy exposures using static residential measures.

Methods: We conducted 4-day continuous geo-location monitoring in 62 pregnant Hispanic women, during pregnancy and early post-partum then derived trips by mode and stays, classified by context (indoor/outdoor, type).

Critical Incidences in U.S. Health Care Systems Experienced by Undocumented Young Adults.

Undocumented ("illegal immigrant") young adults and families face many barriers when seeking health care, including discrimination, which contributes to health disparities. Using critical race theory, an investigation of experiences of health care among undocumented young adults was conducted to highlight their limitations to health care access. Using a community-based participatory paradigm, a qualitative research approach was used to explore the experiences of 13 participants via a semistructured interview.

Urinary metals and maternal circulating extracellular vesicle microRNA in the MADRES pregnancy cohort.

Exposure to metals increases risk for pregnancy complications. Extracellular vesicle (EV) miRNA contribute to maternal-foetal communication and are dysregulated in pregnancy complications. However, metal impacts on maternal circulating EV miRNA during pregnancy are unknown.

Extracellular vesicle microRNA in early versus late pregnancy with birth outcomes in the MADRES study.

Circulating miRNA may contribute to the development of adverse birth outcomes. However, few studies have investigated extracellular vesicle (EV) miRNA, which play important roles in intercellular communication, or compared miRNA at multiple time points in pregnancy. In the current study, 800 miRNA were profiled for EVs from maternal plasma collected in early (median: 12.

Prenatal Metal Mixtures and Birth Weight for Gestational Age in a Predominately Lower-Income Hispanic Pregnancy Cohort in Los Angeles.

Background: Reduced fetal growth increases the risk for adverse health outcomes. Growing evidence suggests that metal exposures contribute to reduced fetal growth, but little is known about the effects of complex metal mixtures.

Objectives: We investigated the impact of a complex mixture of metals on birth weight for gestational age (BW for GA) in the Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors study, a predominately lower-income Hispanic pregnancy cohort in Los Angeles, California.

Prenatal metal mixtures and fetal size in mid-pregnancy in the MADRES study.

Background: Fetal growth is predictive of health later in life. Both toxic and essential metals influence fetal growth, but most studies have focused on these elements individually and used birth weight as an indicator of fetal growth. The objective of the current study was to investigate the impact of a mixture of metals on fetal size in mid-pregnancy in a predominately lower income Hispanic pregnancy cohort in Los Angeles.

Prenatal Maternal Cortisol Levels and Infant Birth Weight in a Predominately Low-Income Hispanic Cohort.

Infant birth weight influences numerous health outcomes throughout the life course including childhood obesity and metabolic morbidities. Maternal experience of stress, both before and during pregnancy, has been hypothesized to influence fetal growth and birth outcomes. However, these associations currently are not fully understood, due to conflicting results in the published literature.

Demographic predictors of urinary arsenic in a low-income predominantly Hispanic pregnancy cohort in Los Angeles.

Background: Arsenic (As) is a contaminant of top public health concern, due to its range of detrimental health effects. Arsenic exposure has not been well-characterized among the US Hispanic populations and has been particularly understudied in this population during pregnancy.

Methods: As part of the MADRES ongoing pregnancy cohort of predominantly lower-income, Hispanic women in Los Angeles, CA, we examined levels of maternal first trimester urinary As, including total As and As metabolites (inorganic (iAs), monomethylated (MMA) and dimethylated As (DMA)), in relation to participant demographics, lifestyle characteristics, and rice/seafood consumption, to identify factors that may influence As exposure and its metabolites during pregnancy (N = 241).

Arsenic and birth outcomes in a predominately lower income Hispanic pregnancy cohort in Los Angeles.

Prenatal arsenic exposure has been associated with reduced fetal growth and increased risk for preterm birth, but most studies have been conducted in highly exposed populations outside the U.S. or in non-Hispanic populations in the rural U.

Within-subject effects of environmental and social stressors on pre- and post-partum obesity-related biobehavioral responses in low-income Hispanic women: protocol of an intensive longitudinal study.

Background: Disproportionately high rates of maternal overweight and obesity among the Hispanic population before, during, and after pregnancy pose serious health concerns for both mothers (e.g., preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, weight retention) and children (e.

Resource utilization patterns using non-invasive ventilation in neonates with respiratory distress syndrome.

Objectives: To describe the frequency of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) and endotracheal intubation use in neonates diagnosed with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS); to describe resources utilization (length of stay (LOS), charges, costs) among NIV and intubated RDS groups.

Study Design: Retrospective study from the national Kid's Inpatient Database of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, for the years 1997-2012. Propensity scoring and multivariate regression analysis used to describe differences.

Association between vertebral cross-sectional area and lumbar lordosis angle in adolescents.

Lumbar lordosis (LL) is more prominent in women than in men, but the mechanisms responsible for this discrepancy are poorly defined. A recent study indicates that newborn girls have smaller vertebral cross-sectional area (CSA) when compared to boys-a difference that persists throughout life and is independent of body size. We determined the relations between vertebral cross-sectional area (CSA) and LL angle and whether sex differences in lumbar lordosis are related to sex differences in vertebral CSA.

Small vertebral cross-sectional area and tall intervertebral disc in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Background: When compared to boys, girls have smaller vertebral cross-sectional area, which conveys a greater spinal flexibility, and a higher prevalence of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that small vertebral cross-sectional area and tall intervertebral disc height are structural characteristics of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Materials And Methods: Using multiplanar imaging techniques, measures of vertebral cross-sectional area, vertebral height and intervertebral disc height in the lumbar spine were obtained in 35 pairs of girls and 11 pairs of boys with and without adolescent idiopathic scoliosis of the thoracic spine matched for age, height and weight.

Changes in Brown Adipose Tissue and Muscle Development during Infancy.

Objective: To examine the relationship between brown adipose tissue (BAT) and muscle development, two tissues that derive from a common cell lineage, during the first 6 months of postnatal life.

Study Design: Thirty healthy term infants (15 males and females) underwent whole-body magnetic resonance imaging examinations. Measurements of BAT in the supraclavicular area as well as measures of trunk musculature and subcutaneous adiposity were obtained at birth and at 6 months of age.