Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2019-04-26"
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- Association between Characteristics at Birth, Breastfeeding and Obesity in 22 Countries: The WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative – COSI 2015/2017Publication . Rito, Ana Isabel; Buoncristiano, Marta; Spinelli, Angela; Salanave, Benoit; Kunešová, Marie; Hejgaard, Tatjana; García Solano, Marta; Fijałkowska, Anna; Sturua, Lela; Hyska, Jolanda; Kelleher, Cecily; Duleva, Vesselka; Musić Milanović, Sanja; Farrugia Sant’Angelo, Victoria; Abdrakhmanova, Shynar; Kujundzic, Enisa; Peterkova, Valentina; Gualtieri, Andrea; Pudule, Iveta; Petrauskienė, Aušra; Tanrygulyyeva, Maya; Sherali, Rakhmatulloev; Huidumac-Petrescu, Constanta; Williams, Julianne; Ahrens, Wolfgang; Breda, JoãoBackground: In Europe, although the prevalence of childhood obesity seems to be plateauing in some countries, progress on tackling this important public health issue remains slow and inconsistent. Breastfeeding has been described as a protective factor, and the more exclusively and the longer children are breastfed, the greater their protection from obesity. Birth weight has been shown to have a positive association with later risk for obesity. Objectives: It was the aim of this paper to investigate the association of early-life factors, namely breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding and birth weight, with obesity among children. Method: Data from 22 participating countries in the WHO European COSI study (round 4: 2015/2017) were collected using cross-sectional, nationally representative samples of 6- to 9-year-olds (n = 100,583). The children’s standardized weight and height measurements followed a common WHO protocol. Information on the children’s birth weight and breastfeeding practice and duration was collected through a family record form. A multivariate multilevel logistic regression analysis regarding breastfeeding practice (both general and exclusive) and characteristics at birth was performed. Results: The highest prevalence rates of obesity were observed in Spain (17.7%), Malta (17.2%) and Italy (16.8%). A wide between-country disparity in breastfeeding prevalence was found. Tajikistan had the highest percentage of children that were breastfed for ≥6 months (94.4%) and exclusively breastfed for ≥6 months (73.3%). In France, Ireland and Malta, only around 1 in 4 children was breastfed for ≥6 months. Italy and Malta showed the highest prevalence of obesity among children who have never been breastfed (21.2%), followed by Spain (21.0%). The pooled analysis showed that, compared to children who were breastfed for at least 6 months, the odds of being obese were higher among children never breastfed or breastfed for a shorter period, both in case of general (adjusted odds ratio [adjOR] [95% CI] 1.22 [1.16–1.28] and 1.12 [1.07–1.16], respectively) and exclusive breastfeeding (adjOR [95% CI] 1.25 [1.17–1.36] and 1.05 [0.99–1.12], respectively). Higher birth weight was associated with a higher risk of being overweight, which was reported in 11 out of the 22 countries. Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Italy, Poland and Romania showed that children who were preterm at birth had higher odds of being obese, compared to children who were full-term babies. Conclusion: The present work confirms the beneficial effect of breastfeeding against obesity, which was highly increased if children had never been breastfed or had been breastfed for a shorter period. Nevertheless, adoption of exclusive breastfeeding is below global recommendations and far from the target endorsed by the WHO Member States at the World Health Assembly Global Targets for Nutrition of increasing the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months up to at least 50% by 2025.
- Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Persistence in a Cell Model Mimicking Alveolar MacrophagesPublication . Sousa, Sara; Borges, Vítor; João, Inês; Gomes, João Paulo; Jordão, LuisaNontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) respiratory infections have been gradually increasing. Here, THP-1 cells were used as a model to evaluate intracellular persistence of three NTM species (reference and clinical strains) in human alveolar macrophages. The contribution of phagosome acidification, nitric oxide (NO) production and cell dead on NTM intracellular fate was assessed. In addition, strains were characterized regarding their repertoire of virulence factors by whole-genome sequencing. NTM experienced different intracellular fates: M. smegmatis and M. fortuitum ATCC 6841 were cleared within 24h. In contrast, M. avium strains (reference/clinical) and M. fortuitum clinical strain were able to replicate. Despite this fact, unexpectedly high percentages of acidified phagosomes were found harbouring rab7, but not CD63. All NTM were able to survive in vitro at acidic pHs, with the exception of M. smegmatis. Our data further suggested a minor role for NO in intracellular persistence and that apoptosis mediated by caspase 8 and 3/7, but not necrosis, is triggered during NTM infection. Insights regarding the bacteria genomic backbone corroborated the virulence potential of M. avium and M. fortuitum. In conclusion, the phenotypic traits detected contrast with those described for M. tuberculosis, pointing out that NTM adopt distinct strategies to manipulate the host immune defense and persist intracellularly.
- Microscopy as a tool to study infectionPublication . Jordão, LuísaMicroscopy techniques are important tools in infection studies. An introduction to different light and electron microscopy techniques will be presented being highlighted their advantages and disadvantages. Several examples of contributions of microscopy to understand the infection process will be presented (case studies).
- Prevalence of Severe Obesity among Primary School Children in 21 European CountriesPublication . Spinelli, Angela; Buoncristiano, Marta; Kovacs, Viktoria Anna; Yngve, Agneta; Spiroski, Igor; Obreja, Galina; Starc, Gregor; Pérez, Napoleón; Rito, Ana Isabel; Kunešová, Marie; Sant'Angelo, Victoria Farrugia; Meisfjord, Jørgen; Bergh, Ingunn Holden; Kelleher, Cecily; Yardim, Nazan; Pudule, Iveta; Petrauskiene, Ausra; Duleva, Vesselka; Sjöberg, Agneta; Gualtieri, Andrea; Hassapidou, Maria; Hyska, Jolanda; Burazeri, Genc; Petrescu, Constanta Huidumac; Heinen, Mirjam; Takacs, Hajnalka; Zamrazilová, Hana; Bosi, Tulay Bagci; Sacchini, Elena; Pagkalos, Ioannis; Cucu, Alexandra; Nardone, Paola; Gately, Paul; Williams, Julianne; Breda, JoãoThe World Health Organization (WHO) European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) was established more than 10 years ago to estimate prevalence and monitor changes in overweight and obesity in children aged 6-9 years. Since then, there have been five rounds of data collection in more than 40 countries involving more than half a million children. To date, no comparative studies with data on severe childhood obesity from European countries have been published.