Background: Although several studies have shown a positive association between evidence of anti-adenovirus 36 (Ad-36) antibodies (Ad-36 exposure) and (1) obesity and (2) serum cholesterol in animals, there is limited research demonstrating this association in humans. There is also limited research on transmission, presentation and demographics of Ad-36 infection. Design: (1) Body mass (body mass index (BMI)), (2) fasting serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels and (3) demographic characteristics were compared between Ad-36 seropositive and seronegative groups. The majority of subjects were matched as cases versus controls on a number of demographic variables. Subjects: A total of 150 obese and 150 lean active-duty military personnel were studied. Measurements: Subjects completed a questionnaire regarding demographic and behavioral characteristics. Subject serum samples were tested by serum neutralization assay for the presence of anti-Ad-36 antibodies. Results: In all, 34% of obese and 39% of lean subjects had Ad-36 exposure, an insignificant difference. Serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels were significantly higher among the obese subjects than among the lean, but there were no associations between serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels and Ad-36 exposure. Positive associations were found between Ad-36 exposure and age, race and gender. Conclusion: The study stands in contrast to previous work that has shown a positive relationship between Ad-36 exposure and (1) obesity, and (2) levels of serum cholesterol and triglycerides. In this study there was no association in either case. Unanticipated relationships between Ad-36 exposure and age, race and gender were found, and this is the first time that such a link between Ad-36 exposure and demographics has been found.

Background/ObjectivesTo determine the extent and sociodemographic determinants of anemia, overweight, metabolic syndrome (MetS), and the co-occurrence of anemia with cardiometabolic disease risk factors among a cohort of Indian adults.Subject/MethodsCross-sectional survey of adult men (n=3,322) and non-pregnant women (n=2,895) aged 18 y and older from the third wave of the Andhra Pradesh Children and Parents Study that assessed anemia, overweight based on Body Mass Index, and prevalence of MetS based on abdominal obesity, hypertension, and blood lipid and fasting glucose measures. We examined associations of education, wealth and urbanicity with these outcomes and their co-occurrence.ResultsThe prevalence of anemia and overweight was 40% and 29% among women, respectively, and 10% and 25% among men (P<0.001), respectively, while the prevalence of MetS was the same across sexes (15%) (P=0.55). The prevalence of concurrent anemia and overweight (9%), and anemia and MetS (4.5%) was highest among women. Household wealth was positively associated with overweight and MetS across sexes (P<0.05). Independent of household wealth, higher education was positively correlated with MetS among men (OR (95% CI): MetS: 1.4 (0.99, 2.0)) and negatively correlated with MetS among women (MetS: 0.54 (0.29, 0.99)). Similar sex-specific associations were observed for the co-occurrence of anemia with overweight and MetS.ConclusionWomen in this region of India may be particularly vulnerable to co-occurring anemia and cardiometabolic risk, and associated adverse health outcomes as the nutrition transition advances in India.

A large number of studies have demonstrated that structures within the medial temporal lobe, such as the hippocampus, are intimately involved in declarative memory for objects and people. Although these items are abstractions of the visual scene, specific visual details can change the speed and accuracy of their recall. By recording from 415 neurons in the hippocampus and amygdala of human epilepsy patients as they viewed images drawn from 10 image categories, we showed that the firing rates of 8% of these neurons encode image illuminance and contrast, low-level properties not directly pertinent to task performance, whereas in 7% of the neurons, firing rates encode the category of the item depicted in the image, a high-level property pertinent to the task. This simultaneous representation of high- and low-level image properties within the same brain areas may serve to bind separate aspects of visual objects into a coherent percept and allow episodic details of objects to influence mnemonic performance.

ObjectiveTo investigate whether village-level urbanicity and lower level socioeconomic factors are associated with breastfeeding practices in transitioning rural communities in India.Setting29 villages in Ranga Reddy district, southern India between 2011 and 2014.Participants7848 children under 6 years identified via a cross-sectional household survey conducted as part of the Andhra Pradesh Children and Parents Study.Outcome measuresTwo key indicators of optimal breastfeeding: termination of exclusive breastfeeding before 6 months and discontinuation of breastfeeding by 24 months. Village urbanicity was classified as low, medium or high according to satellite assessed night-light intensity.ResultsBreastfeeding initiation was almost universal, and approximately two in three children were exclusively breastfed to 6 months and a similar proportion breastfed to 24 months. Using multilevel logistic regression, increasing urbanicity was associated with breastfeeding discontinuation before 24 months (medium urbanicity OR 1.45, 95% CI 0.71 to 2.96; high urbanicity OR 2.96, 95% CI 1.45 to 6.05) but not with early (<6 months) termination of exclusive breastfeeding. Increased maternal education was independently associated with both measures of suboptimal breastfeeding, and higher household socioeconomic position was associated with early termination of exclusive breastfeeding.ConclusionIn this transitional Indian rural community, early stage urbanicity was associated with a shorter duration of breastfeeding. Closer surveillance of changes in breastfeeding practices alongside appropriate intervention strategies are recommended for emerging economies.

BackgroundEvidence of an association between serum vitamin D and cardiovascular disease risk is inconsistent and comes predominantly from studies in high-income settings. We assessed the association between serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D) and cardiovascular disease risk factors in a population of young Indian adults.MethodsCross-sectional analyses of data from APCAPS (Andhra Pradesh Children and Parents Study); a prospective birth cohort study in rural south India. Participants were 1038 (40.3% females) adults aged 18-24 years. Main outcome measures were blood pressures, fasting serum lipids (cholesterols and triglycerides), fasting glucose, insulin, measures of arterial stiffness (aortic augmentation index and aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV)), carotid intima-media thickness, body mass index (BMI) and body fat (dual X-ray absorptiometry).ResultsVitamin D deficiency (≤20ng/ml) was observed in 41.1% of this lean (mean BMI: 19.5) and active (mean minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity per day: 186) population. Vitamin D deficiency was associated with higher median body fat in both males (15.9% body fat in vitamin D deficient males vs. 14.6% in non-deficient males, p<0.05) and females (29.1% body fat in vitamin D deficient females vs. 27.8% in non-deficient females, p<0.05) but no associations were observed between vitamin D deficiency and mean BMI or median fat mass index (FMI). Except a weak inverse association with fasting insulin in males, there was no clear association between serum vitamin D levels and cardiovascular disease risk factors in fully adjusted models.ConclusionsWe did not find clear evidence for an association between serum vitamin D levels and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Our results, consistent with the limited evidence from randomised trials of vitamin D supplementation and Mendelian randomisation experiments, suggest that the postulated link between serum vitamin D and cardiovascular disease may be non-causal. Instead, it may be attributable to confounding by lifestyle factors such as obesity and physical inactivity which may provide more fruitful targets for cardiovascular disease prevention.