Low and high birth weight as risk factors for obesity among 4 to 5 year old Australian children : does gender matter?

Studies testing whether birth weight and childhood obesity differ by gender are lacking. We aimed to describe the relationship between birth weight and childhood overweight/obesity and investigate the influence that gender has on this relationship among 4 to 5-year-old children. We performed a secondary analysis of an Australian nationally representative cross-sectional study in 4 to 5-year-old children. The main outcome measure was child overweight and obesity. We found that low birth weight (LBW) was associated with lower risk of overweight/obesity among girls at 4–5 years before (OR 0.50, 95%CI 0.32, 0.77) and after adjusting for socio-demographic factors (OR 0.51 95%CI 0.33, 0.80) and ethnicity (OR 0.52, 95%CI 0.33, 0.81) but was not associated with child overweight/obesity among boys before or after adjustment. High birth weight (HBW) was associated with a higher risk of overweight/obesity among both girls (adjusted OR: 1.76, 95%CI 1.12, 2.78) and boys (adjusted OR: 2.42 95% CI 2.06, 2.86). Conclusion: There are gender differences in the association of birth weight with child overweight/obesity. HBW was associated with a higher risk of child overweight/obesity in boys and girls before and after adjustment for socio-demographic factors. However, LBW was associated with a lower risk of child overweight/obesity in girls but not in boys. These gender differences need to be considered when planning interventions to reduce child overweight/obesity.

Paracetamol use in early life and asthma : prospective birth cohort study

Objective To determine if use of paracetamol in early life is an independent risk factor for childhood asthma.
Design Prospective birth cohort study.
Setting Melbourne Atopy Cohort Study.
Participants 620 children with a family history of allergic disease, with paracetamol use prospectively documented
on 18 occasions from birth to 2 years of age, followed until age 7 years.
Main outcome measures The primary outcome was childhood asthma, ascertained by questionnaire at 6 and 7 years. Secondary outcomes were infantile wheeze, allergic rhinitis, eczema, and skin prick test positivity.
Results Paracetamol had been used in 51% (295/575) of children by 12 weeks of age and in 97% (556/575) by 2 years. Between 6 and 7 years, 80% (495/620) were followed up; 30% (148) had current asthma. Increasing frequency of paracetamol use was weakly associated with increased risk of childhood asthma (crude odds ratio 1.18, 95% confidence interval 1.00 to 1.39, per doubling of days of use). However, after adjustment for frequency of respiratory infections, this association essentially disappeared (odds ratio 1.08, 0.91 to 1.29). Paracetamol use for non-respiratory causes was not associated with asthma (crude odds ratio 0.95, 0.81 to 1.12).
Conclusions In children with a family history of allergic diseases, no association was found between early paracetamol use and risk of subsequent allergic disease after adjustment for respiratory infections or when paracetamol use was restricted to non-respiratory tract infections. These findings suggest that early paracetamol use does not increase the risk of asthma.

Growth restriction before and after birth increases kinase signaling pathways in the adult rat heart

To investigate the mechanisms for the previously reported development of adult cardiac hypertrophy in male rats following growth restriction, the levels of oxidative stress and activation of signaling kinases were measured in the left ventricle (LV) of adult rat offspring. In experiment one, bilateral uterine vessel ligation to induce uteroplacental insufficiency and growth restriction in the offspring (Restricted) or sham surgery was performed during pregnancy. Litters from sham mothers had litter size either reduced (Reduced Litter), which also restricted postnatal growth, or were left unaltered (Control). In males, Reduced Litter offspring had increased LV phosphorylation of AMPKa, p38 MAPK and Akt compared with Restricted and Controls (P,0.05). In females, both Restricted and Reduced Litter adult offspring had increased LV phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and Akt, however, only Restricted offspring had increased phosphorylation of AMPKa (P,0.05). In addition, only Restricted male offspring displayed LV oxidative stress (P,0.05). Experiment two investigated in mothers exposed to uteroplacental insufficiency or sham surgery the effects of cross-fostering offspring at birth, and therefore the effects of the postnatal lactational environment. Surprisingly, the cross-fostering itself resulted in increased LV phosphorylation of AMPKa and Akt in females and increased phosphorylation of Akt in males compared with Control non-cross-fostered offspring (P,0.05). In conclusion, kinase signaling in the adult LV can be programmed by uteroplacental insufficiency induced growth restriction in a gender-specific manner. In addition, the heart of adult rats is also sensitive to programming following the postnatal intervention of cross-fostering alone as well as by postnatal growth restriction.

Splash!: a prospective birth cohort study of the impact of environmental, social and family-level influences on child oral health and obesity related risk factors and outcomes

Background: Dental caries (decay) is the most prevalent disease of childhood. It is often left untreated and can impact negatively on general health, and physical, developmental, social and learning outcomes. Similar to other health issues, the greatest burden of dental caries is seen in those of low socio-economic position. In addition, a number of diet-related risk factors for dental caries are shared risk factors for the development of childhood obesity. These include high and frequent consumption of refined carbohydrates (predominately sugars), and soft drinks and other sweetened beverages, and low intake of (fluoridated) water. The prevalence of childhood obesity is also at a concerning level in most countries and there is an opportunity to determine interventions for addressing both of these largely preventable conditions through sustainable and equitable solutions. This study aims to prospectively examine the impact of drink choices on child obesity risk and oral health status.
Methods/Design: This is a two-stage study using a mixed methods research approach. The first stage involves qualitative interviews of a sub-sample of recruited parents to develop an understanding of the processes involved in drink choice, and inform the development of the Discrete Choice Experiment analysis and the measurement instruments to be used in the second stage. The second stage involves the establishment of a prospective birth cohort of 500 children from disadvantaged communities in rural and regional Victoria, Australia (with and without water fluoridation). This longitudinal design allows measurement of changes in the child’s diet over time, exposure to fluoride sources including water, dental caries progression, and the risk of childhood obesity.
Discussion: This research will provide a unique contribution to integrated health, education and social policy and program directions, by providing clearer policy relevant evidence on strategies to counter social and environmental factors which predispose infants and children to poor health, wellbeing and social outcomes; and evidence-based strategies to promote health and prevent disease through the adoption of healthier lifestyles and diet. Further, given the absence of evidence on the processes and effectiveness of contemporary policy implementation, such as community water fluoridation in rural and regional communities it’s approach and findings will be extremely
informative.

Traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and intellectual property law in the Asia-Pacific region

Contents

* The international debate about traditional knowledge and approaches in the Asia-Pacific region / Christoph Antons
* How are the different views of traditional knowledge linked by international law and global governance? / Christopher Arup
* Protection of traditional knowledge by geographical indications / Michael Blakeney
* An analysis of WIPO's latest proposal and the Model Law 2002 of the Pacific Community for the Protection of Traditional Cultural Expressions / Silke von Lewinski
* The role of customary law and practice in the protection of traditional knowledge related to biological diversity / Brendan Tobin
* Can modern law safeguard archaic cultural expressions? : observations from a legal sociology perspective / Christoph Beat Graber
* Branding identity and copyrighting culture : orientations towards the customary in traditional knowledge discourse / Martin Chanock
* Being indigenous' in Indonesia and the Philippines / Gerard A. Persoon
* Indigenous heritage and the digital commons / Eric Kansa
* Traditional cultural expression and the internet world / Brian Fitzgerald and Susan Hedge
* Cultural property and "the public domain" : case studies from New Zealand and Australia / Susy Frankel and Megan Richardson
* The recognition of traditional knowledge under Australian biodiscovery regimes : why bother with intellectual property rights? / Natalie Stoianoff
* Protection of traditional knowledge in the SAARC region and India's efforts / S.K. Verma
* The protection of expressions of folklore in Sri Lanka / Indunil Abeyesekere
* Traditional medicine and intellectual property rights : a case study of the Indonesian jamu industry / Christoph Antons and Rosy Antons-Sutanto.