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BACKGROUND: Although maternal employment is considered a risk factor for low birthweight (LBW), the manner in which employment might affect birthweight is poorly understood. In this analysis, selected characteristics of employment during pregnancy were examined for effects on pregnancy outcomes. METHODS: Work characteristics included the number of hours per week, physical activities, and environmental conditions. The outcomes of interest were fetal growth retardation (less than 2500 grams at term) and preterm delivery (less than 37 weeks). The study population consisted of 2711 non-Black, married mothers who participated in the 1980 National Natality Survey (NNS). The NNS data were merged with data from the 1977 revision of The Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) from which measures of occupational physical activities and environmental exposures were obtained. Logistic regression was used in the analysis. RESULTS: Those who worked 40 or more hours per week were more likely than women who worked fewer hours to have a low birthweight delivery at greater than or equal to 37 weeks. No physical or environmental characterics of work were associated with low birthweight or preterm delivery. CONCLUSIONS: Non-Black married American women may face a risk of delivering low-birthweight babies at or near term only if they work 40 or more hours each week. However, the lack of risk associated with other characteristics of work may be a function of measurement error in the DOT data source or of low levels of exposure in the analysis population.

Objectives. The study aimed to assess the relationship between body fat and each of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), and to test the effectiveness of fat mass (FM), percent of body fat (PBF), BMI, and WC in predicting high levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG). Methods. A total of 167 adolescents aged 11–17 years were recruited from Rabat region. BMI and WC were determined using standard equipments. FM and PBF were derived from isotope dilution technique. FBG was determined by the hexokinase method. Results. Regardless of the weight status, BMI showed a strong positive correlation with FM and PBF in both genders. WC was significantly correlated with FM in boys and girls, and with PBF in different groups of girls and boys of the study sample. However, there was no significant relationship between WC and PBF in normal weight and overweight-obese groups of boys. FBG was highly correlated with FM and PBF in girls of the study sample and in overweight-obese girls. Similar significant relationship between FBG and both BMI and WC was observed in overweight-obese girls, while there was no significant association between FBG and other variables in boys and normal-weight girls. Conclusion. BMI and WC were closely associated with FM and PBF, respectively. However, the degree of these associations depends on gender and weight status. BMI may provide a better proxy estimate of overall adiposity than WC; nevertheless, both of them would appear to be a reasonable surrogate for FM and PBF as screening tools to identify adolescents at risk of developing excess body fat and high level of FBG.

BackgroundLiterature data reported a higher frequency of breast cancer in young women (BCYW) in developing countries. BCYW is associated with delayed diagnosis, aggressive biology and poor prognosis. However, our knowledge of biological profile, treatment received and outcome of young patients is still limited in Morocco. We propose to analyze clinicopathologic, therapeutic and prognostic features of BCYW among a series of patients native and/or inhabitant of North of Morocco.MethodsWe carried out a retro-prospective study of 331 infiltrating breast cancer cases registered between January 2010 and December 2015. Details of tumor pathology, treatment and outcome were collected. Disease-Free Survival (DFS) and Overall Survival (OS) were assessed by Kaplan-Meier analysis.ResultsA total of 82 patients were diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 40 or younger (24.8%). Median age was 36 years. More than one quarter (26%) of patients had family history of breast or ovarian cancer. Advanced stages accounted for 34.2% of cases. Median tumor diameter was 2.8 cm. Intermediate and high-grade tumors represented 47.6% and 40.2%, respectively. Nodal involvement was present in 58.5% and lymphovascular invasion was found in 47.7% of the patients. About two thirds (66.2%) of tumors were hormone receptor positive, 29.2% over-expressed HER2 receptor and 23% were triple negative. Patients underwent breast conserving surgery in 38.2% of cases, 61.7% were offered adjuvant chemotherapy and 84.6% received hormone therapy. Five-year DFS and OS were respectively 88.9% and 75.6%. Locoregional recurrence occurred in 2.8% of cases and 8.3% of patients developed distant metastases.ConclusionOur findings are in accordance with previous studies that have shown a higher frequency of breast cancer among Moroccan young women. In line with literature data, clinicopathologic profile seems to be aggressive and prognosis is pejorative in our series.