Overweight in Swiss children and associations with children's and parents' characteristics et Worldwide trends in childhood obesity

(1) Surpoids chez les enfants suisses et associations avec certaines caractéristiques chez les enfants et leurs parents Le but de cette étude était de mesurer la prévalence du surpoids et de l?obésité chez les enfants de sixième année du canton de Vaud (âge moyen de 12 ans) et les facteurs associés au surpoids. Les données ont été récoltées lors d?une étude menée par l?Institut universitaire de médecine sociale et préventive. Tous les enfants scolarisés en 6ème année à l?école publique du canton de Vaud entre septembre 2005 et mai 2006 étaient éligibles à participer à cette étude. Le taux de participation a atteint 76% (soit 5207 enfants de 12,3 ans en moyenne). Le poids et la taille des enfants ont été mesurés à l?école par des assistants de recherche et les enfants ont rempli, en classe, un questionnaire structuré sur leur mode de vie (notamment : temps quotidien passé à regarder la télévision, à jouer à des jeux sur écran; fréquence de la pratique de diverses activités physiques; fréquence de la consommation de fruits ou de légumes). Des informations sur les parents (niveau d?éducation, nationalité, poids et taille) ont été récoltées au moyen d?un questionnaire structuré envoyé par courrier à ceux-ci. Nous avons utilisé les critères de l?International Obesity Task Force, qui définit les valeurs-seuils de l'indice de masse corporelle pour le surpoids et pour l?obésité, par age et par sexe. La prévalence du surpoids (obésité incluse) dans la population était de 15% chez les garçons et de 12% chez les filles, et la prévalence de l?obésité était de 2% dans les deux sexes. Nous avons trouvé que le surpoids était associé de façon indépendante avec le temps passé à regarder la télévision, ainsi qu?avec certaines caractéristiques des parents, comme le surpoids, un bas niveau d?éducation et une nationalité étrangère. En conclusion, un enfant sur sept est en surpoids ou obèse dans le canton de Vaud. Ces chiffres indiquent un important défi de santé publique, même si cette prévalence dans le canton de Vaud est, actuellement, moindre que dans beaucoup d?autres pays d?Europe, et bien moindre qu?en Amérique du Nord. Les associations entre le surpoids infantile et le temps passé à regarder la télévision, ainsi que les associations avec des variables liées au milieu socio-culturel des parents indiquent plusieurs pistes d?intervention pour prévenir le surpoids chez les enfants. Il est probable que les mesures de prévention ne devraient pas se limiter aux approches individuelles, mais devraient aussi inclure des mesures structurelles sur l?environnement social, physique et économique visant à réduire les facteurs obésogènes dans la société.<br/><br/>Objective: The objective was to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children in a canton of Switzerland and the association with various characteristics of the parents and the children. Research Methods and Procedures: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in all children of the sixth school grade of the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Weight and height were measured, and selected lifestyle variables were assessed with a self-administered semiquantitative questionnaire. Information on children?s parents was gathered through a mailed structured questionnaire. Overweight and obesity were based on the International Obesity Task Force criteria. Results: Of 6873 eligible children, 5207 (76%) participated (2621 boys, 2586 girls; mean age, 12.3 years; standard deviation, 0.5 year). The prevalence of overweight (including obesity) was 15.0% (95% confidence interval, 13.7% to 16.4%) in boys and 12.4% (11.1% to 13.7%) in girls, and the prevalence of obesity was 1.8% (1.3% to 2.3%) and 1.7% (1.2% to 2.2%), respectively. In both univariate and multivariate analyses, overweight was strongly associated with high television viewing time and selected characteristics of the parents (overweight, low educational level, and foreign nationality). Discussion: The prevalence of pediatric overweight and obesity was lower in this region of Switzerland than in several European countries. The correlates of overweight found in this region suggest areas for potential interventions.

Modulation of genetic associations with serum urate levels by body-mass-index in humans.

We tested for interactions between body mass index (BMI) and common genetic variants affecting serum urate levels, genome-wide, in up to 42569 participants. Both stratified genome-wide association (GWAS) analyses, in lean, overweight and obese individuals, and regression-type analyses in a non BMI-stratified overall sample were performed. The former did not uncover any novel locus with a major main effect, but supported modulation of effects for some known and potentially new urate loci. The latter highlighted a SNP at RBFOX3 reaching genome-wide significant level (effect size 0.014, 95% CI 0.008-0.02, Pinter= 2.6 x 10-8). Two top loci in interaction term analyses, RBFOX3 and ERO1LB-EDARADD, also displayed suggestive differences in main effect size between the lean and obese strata. All top ranking loci for urate effect differences between BMI categories were novel and most had small magnitude but opposite direction effects between strata. They include the locus RBMS1-TANK (men, Pdifflean-overweight= 4.7 x 10-8), a region that has been associated with several obesity related traits, and TSPYL5 (men, Pdifflean-overweight= 9.1 x 10-8), regulating adipocytes-produced estradiol. The top-ranking known urate loci was ABCG2, the strongest known gout risk locus, with an effect halved in obese compared to lean men (Pdifflean-obese= 2 x 10-4). Finally, pathway analysis suggested a role for N-glycan biosynthesis as a prominent urate-associated pathway in the lean stratum. These results illustrate a potentially powerful way to monitor changes occurring in obesogenic environment.

Associations of baroreflex sensitivity, heart rate variability, and initial orthostatic hypotension with prenatal and recent postnatal methylmercury exposure in the Seychelles Child Development Study at age 19 years.

BACKGROUND: A few studies have suggested an association between prenatal exposure to methylmercury and decreased heart rate variability (HRV) related to autonomic heart function, but no study has examined this association using baroreflex sensitivity (BRS). In this study we assessed the distribution of BRS and immediate orthostatic hypotension (IOH) in young Seychellois adults and their associations with exposure to prenatal and recent postnatal methylmercury. METHODS: Subjects in the Seychelles Child Development Study (SCDS) main cohort were evaluated at age 19 years. Non-invasive beat-to-beat blood pressure (BP) monitoring (Finapres, Ohmeda) was performed at rest and during active standing in 95 consecutive subjects. Recent postnatal mercury exposure was measured in subjects' hair at the age of 19 years and prenatal exposure in maternal hair grown during pregnancy. BRS was estimated by sequence analysis to identify spontaneous ascending and descending BP ramps. HRV was estimated by the following markers: PNN50 (relative numbers of normal-to-normal intervals which are shorter by more than 50 ms than the immediately following normal-to-normal intervals); rMSSD (root mean of the squared sum of successive interval differences); LF/HF (low frequency/high frequency component ratio); ratio of the mean expiratory/inspiratory RR intervals (EI ratio); and the ratio between the longest RR interval 30 s after active standing and the shortest RR interval at 15 s (Max30/Min15). IOH was estimated by the deepest BP fall within the first 15 s after active standing up. RESULTS: Prenatal MeHg exposures were similar in boys and girls (6.7±4.3, 6.7±3.8 ng/g) but recent postnatal mercury levels were higher in males than females (11.2±5.8 vs 7.9±4.3 ng/g, p=0.003). Markers of autonomic heart rate control were within the normal range (BRS: 24.8±7 ms/mm Hg, PNN50: 24.9±6.8%, rMSSD: 68±22, LF/HF: 0.61±0.28) in both sexes. After standing, 51.4% of subjects had a transient systolic BP drop>40 mm Hg, but only 5.3% reported dizziness or had syncope. Prenatal and recent postnatal MeHg levels, overall, were not associated with BRS, E/I ratio, PNN50, rMSSD, LF/HF ratio, Max30/Min15 ratio, and IOH. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides no support for the hypothesis that prenatal or recent postnatal MeHg exposure from fish consumption is associated with impaired autonomic heart rate control.

Perceptions of twelve-step mutual-help groups and their associations with motivation, treatment attendance and alcohol outcomes among chronically homeless individuals with alcohol problems.

BACKGROUND: Twelve-step mutual-help groups (TMGs) are among the most available forms of support for homeless individuals with alcohol problems. Qualitative research, however, has suggested that this population often has negative perceptions of these groups, which has been shown to be associated with low TMG attendance. It is important to understand this population's perceptions of TMGs and their association with alcohol outcomes to provide more appropriate and better tailored programming for this multiply affected population. The aims of this cross-sectional study were to (a) qualitatively examine perception of TMGs in this population and (b) quantitatively evaluate its association with motivation, treatment attendance and alcohol outcomes. METHODS: Participants (N=62) were chronically homeless individuals with alcohol problems who received single-site Housing First within a larger evaluation study. Perceptions of TMGs were captured using an open-ended item. Quantitative outcome variables were created from assessments of motivation, treatment attendance and alcohol outcomes. RESULTS: Findings indicated that perceptions of TMGs were primarily negative followed by positive and neutral perceptions, respectively. There were significant, positive associations between perceptions of TMGs and motivation and treatment attendance, whereas no association was found for alcohol outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Although some individuals view TMGs positively, alternative forms of help are needed to engage the majority of chronically homeless individuals with alcohol problems.

Reasons to use e-cigarettes and associations with other substances among adolescents in Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: The objectives of this research were to describe the main reason(s) why adolescents use electronic cigarettes, to assess how e-cigarette experimenters and users differ based on personal characteristics, and to determine whether its use is associated with the use of other substances among a representative sample of youths in Switzerland. METHODS: A representative sample of 621 youths (308 females) was divided into never users (n=353), experimenters (Only once, n=120) and users (Several times, n=148) of e-cigarettes. Groups were compared on socio-demographic data and current smoking, alcohol misuse and cannabis use. Reasons for e-cigarette use were compared between experimenters and users. A multinomial regression was performed using never users as the reference category. RESULTS: Forty-three percent had ever tried e-cigarettes, and the main reason was curiosity. Compared to never users, experimenters were more likely to be out of school (Relative Risk Ratio [RRR]: 2.68) and to misuse alcohol (RRR: 2.08), while users were more likely to be male (RRR: 2.75), to be vocational students (RRR: 2.30) or out of school (RRR: 3.48) and to use any of the studied substances (tobacco, RRR: 5.26; alcohol misuse, RRR: 2.71; cannabis use, RRR: 30.2). CONCLUSIONS: Although often still part of adolescent experimentation, e-cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular among adolescents and they should become part of health providers' standard substance use screening. As health providers (and especially paediatricians) do not seem to have high levels of knowledge and, consequently, little comfort in discussing e-cigarettes, training in this domain should be available to them.

Differential associations of personal and general just-world beliefs with the Five-Factor and HEXACO models of personality.

Recent literature evidences differential associations of personal and general just-world beliefs with constructs in the interpersonal domain. In line with this research, we examine the respective relationships of each just-world belief with the Five-Factor and the HEXACO models of personality in one representative sample of the working population of Switzerland and one sample of the general US population, respectively. One suppressor effect was observed in both samples: Neuroticism and emotionality was positively associated with general just-world belief, but only after controlling for personal just-world belief. In addition, agreeableness was positively and honesty-humility negatively associated with general just-world belief but unrelated to personal just-world belief. Conscientiousness was consistently unrelated to any of the just-world belief and extraversion and openness to experience revealed unstable coefficients across studies. We discuss these points in light of just-world theory and their implications for future research taking both dimensions into account.

Associations between fruit and vegetable consumption and psychological distress: results from a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Several studies observed associations of various aspects of diet with mental health, but little is known about the relationship between following the 5-a-day recommendation for fruit and vegetables consumption and mental health. Thus, we examined the associations of the Swiss daily recommended fruit and vegetable intake with psychological distress. METHODS: Data from 20,220 individuals aged 15+ years from the 2012 Swiss Health Survey were analyzed. The recommended portions of fruit and vegetables per day were defined as 5-a-day (at least 2 portions of fruit and 3 of vegetables). The outcome was perceived psychological distress over the previous 4 weeks (measured by the 5-item mental health index [MHI-5]). High distress (MHI-5 score ≤ 52), moderate distress (MHI-5 > 52 and ≤ 72) and low distress (MHI-5 > 72 and ≤ 100) were differentiated and multinomial logistic regression analyses adjusted for known confounding factors were performed. RESULTS: The 5-a-day recommendation was met by 11.6 % of the participants with low distress, 9.3 % of those with moderate distress, and 6.2 % of those with high distress. Consumers fulfilling the 5-a-day recommendation had lower odds of being highly or moderately distressed than individuals consuming less fruit and vegetables (moderate vs. low distress: OR = 0.82, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.69-0.97; high vs. low distress: OR = 0.55, 95 % CI 0.41-0.75). CONCLUSIONS: Daily intake of 5 servings of fruit and vegetable was associated with lower psychological distress. Longitudinal studies are needed to further determine the causal nature of this relationship.

The Influence of Age and Sex on Genetic Associations with Adult Body Size and Shape: A Large-Scale Genome-Wide Interaction Study.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 100 genetic variants contributing to BMI, a measure of body size, or waist-to-hip ratio (adjusted for BMI, WHRadjBMI), a measure of body shape. Body size and shape change as people grow older and these changes differ substantially between men and women. To systematically screen for age- and/or sex-specific effects of genetic variants on BMI and WHRadjBMI, we performed meta-analyses of 114 studies (up to 320,485 individuals of European descent) with genome-wide chip and/or Metabochip data by the Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT) Consortium. Each study tested the association of up to ~2.8M SNPs with BMI and WHRadjBMI in four strata (men ≤50y, men >50y, women ≤50y, women >50y) and summary statistics were combined in stratum-specific meta-analyses. We then screened for variants that showed age-specific effects (G x AGE), sex-specific effects (G x SEX) or age-specific effects that differed between men and women (G x AGE x SEX). For BMI, we identified 15 loci (11 previously established for main effects, four novel) that showed significant (FDR<5%) age-specific effects, of which 11 had larger effects in younger (<50y) than in older adults (≥50y). No sex-dependent effects were identified for BMI. For WHRadjBMI, we identified 44 loci (27 previously established for main effects, 17 novel) with sex-specific effects, of which 28 showed larger effects in women than in men, five showed larger effects in men than in women, and 11 showed opposite effects between sexes. No age-dependent effects were identified for WHRadjBMI. This is the first genome-wide interaction meta-analysis to report convincing evidence of age-dependent genetic effects on BMI. In addition, we confirm the sex-specificity of genetic effects on WHRadjBMI. These results may provide further insights into the biology that underlies weight change with age or the sexually dimorphism of body shape.