If early intervention aimed at lowering blood glucose concentrations can be shown to reduce mortality, it may be justified to lower the levels of both 2-h and fasting glucose, which define diabetes.

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The QT interval (QT) reflects cardiac ventricular repolarization and varies according to various known factors such as heart rate, gender and age. Nevertheless, a high intrasubject stability of the QT-RR pattern also suggests that a genetic component contributes to individual QT length. To determine whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes encoding cardiac ion channels were associated with the heartrate corrected QT (QTc) length, we analyzed two groups of 200 subjects presenting the shortest and the longest QTc from a cohort of 2008 healthy subjects. A total of 17 polymorphisms were genotyped; they were all in the Hardy -Weinberg equilibrium in both groups. Neither allele nor haplotype frequencies of the 10 KCNQ1 SNPs showed a significant difference between the two groups. In contrast, KCNH2 2690 C (K897T) and SCN5A 5457 T (D1819D) minor alleles were significantly more frequent in the group with the shortest QTc interval, whereas KCNE1 253 A (D85N), SCN5A 1673 G (H558R) and 1141-3 A minor alleles were significantly more frequent in the group with the longest QTc interval. Interestingly, an interaction was also found between the KCNH2 2690 A4C SNP and the KCNQ1 2031 þ 932 A4G SNP suggesting that the effect of the KCNH2 2690 C allele on QTc length may occur within a particular genetic background. This suggests that genetic determinants located in KCNQ1, KCNE1, KCNH2 and SCN5A influence QTc length in healthy individuals and may represent risk factors for arrhythmias or cardiac sudden death in patients with cardiovascular diseases.

BackgroundStudies relying on outdoor pollutants measures have reported associations between air pollutants and birth weight.ObjectiveOur aim was to assess the relation between maternal personal exposure to airborne benzene during pregnancy and fetal growth.MethodsWe recruited pregnant women in two French maternity hospitals in 2005–2006 as part of the EDEN mother–child cohort. A subsample of 271 nonsmoking women carried a diffusive air sampler for a week during the 27th gestational week, allowing assessment of benzene exposure. We estimated head circumference of the offspring by ultrasound measurements during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and at birth.ResultsMedian benzene exposure was 1.8 μg/m3 (5th, 95th percentiles, 0.5, 7.5 μg/m3). Log-transformed benzene exposure was associated with a gestational age–adjusted decrease of 68 g in mean birth weight [95% confidence interval (CI), −135 to −1 g] and of 1.9 mm in mean head circumference at birth (95% CI, −3.8 to 0.0 mm). It was associated with an adjusted decrease of 1.9 mm in head circumference assessed during the third trimester (95% CI, −4.0 to 0.3 mm) and of 1.5 mm in head circumference assessed at the end of the second trimester of pregnancy (95% CI, −3.1 to 0 mm).ConclusionsOur prospective study among pregnant women is one of the first to rely on personal monitoring of exposure; a limitation is that exposure was assessed during 1 week only. Maternal benzene exposure was associated with decreases in birth weight and head circumference during pregnancy and at birth. This association could be attributable to benzene and a mixture of associated traffic-related air pollutants.

Our findings confirmed the emergence of dietary profiles socially differentiated early in life as well as a moderate tracking of the diet. The promotion of healthy dietary trajectories should be encouraged as early as infancy, in particular in the presence of older siblings and among the most socially disadvantaged population groups.

To study the relationship between pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and weight gain during pregnancy with pregnancy and birth outcomes, with a focus on gestational diabetes and hypertension and their role in the association with fetal growth. We studied 1,884 mothers and offspring from the Eden mother-child cohort. Weight before pregnancy (W1) and weight after delivery (W2) were collected and we calculated BMI and net gestational weight gain (netGWG = (W2 - W1)/(weeks of gestation)). Gestational diabetes, hypertension gestational age and birth weight were collected. We used multivariate linear or logistic models to study the association between BMI, netGWG and pregnancy and birth outcomes, adjusting for center, maternal age and height, parity and average number of cigarettes smoked per day during pregnancy. High BMI was more strongly related to the risk of giving birth to a large-for-gestational-age (LGA) baby than high netGWG (odds ratio OR [95% CI] of 3.23 [1.86-5.60] and 1.61 [0.91-2.85], respectively). However, after excluding mothers with gestational diabetes or hypertension the ORs for LGA, respectively weakened (OR 2.57 [1.29-5.13]) for obese women and strengthened for high netGWG (OR 2.08 [1.14-3.80]). Low in comparison to normal netGWG had an OR of 2.18 [1.20-3.99] for pre-term birth, which became stronger after accounting for blood pressure and glucose disorders (OR 2.70 [1.37-5.34]). Higher net gestational weight gain was significantly associated with an increased risk of LGA only after accounting for blood pressure and glucose disorders. High gestational weight gain should not be neglected in regard to risk of LGA in women without apparent risk factors.

The transition in glucose intolerance from Cameroon to Jamaica and Britain suggests that environment determines diabetes prevalence in these populations of similar genetic origin.

Background Consumption of certain foods during pregnancy has been shown to have beneficial effects on childhood asthma and allergic disease development and aggravation. However, most studies provide conflicting results and the relationships between maternal preconceptional diet and risks of childhood asthma and allergic disease have not previously been explored. The objective of this study was to assess maternal diet during the year before pregnancy and the last 3 months of pregnancy and investigate their associations with the risks of asthma, wheezing, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis in young children. Methods The study sample consisted of 1140 mother–child pairs from the EDEN cohort. Mothers had responded to the food frequency questionnaires used to assess diet before and during pregnancy. Children were followed up using health questionnaires. The health outcomes studied were: asthma, wheezing, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis by the age of 3 years. Results Using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models, significant inverse associations were observed between cooked green vegetable consumption before pregnancy and childhood asthma; consumption of eggs and raw vegetables before and during pregnancy, consumption of grains before pregnancy, and consumption of cooked green vegetables during pregnancy and allergic rhinitis. For the first time, a significant positive association was found between meat intake during the preconceptional period and a risk of wheezing, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis. Conclusions Based on our findings, preconceptional and prenatal maternal intake of certain type of food groups may be preventive against asthma, wheezing and allergic rhinitis, whereas higher maternal intake of meat before pregnancy may increase the risk of wheezing, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis in young children.