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ObjectiveTo determine the association of prenatal exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) with birth weight as a continuous variable among term births in a Nigerian population.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingMother–child pairs recruited when their newborns were brought for BCG or other vaccines shortly after birth at the Child Welfare Clinic of Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Kaduna, Nigeria.Participants293 women with term birth infants.Main exposure and outcome measuresEmotional, physical and sexual IPV were measured postnatally by interview using the Conflict Tactics Scale. Birth weight in grams was the main outcome measure. Linear regression, with adjustment for covariates, was used to estimate associations between birth weight and exposure to the presence, and frequency, of IPV.ResultsSixty-seven per cent of mothers experienced at least one of the three forms of IPV during pregnancy. Relative to the 33% of women with no prenatal exposure to any form of IPV, we observed a reduction in birth weight of 94 g (95% CI: −202 to 15) for prenatal exposure to emotional IPV, 162 g (95% CI −267 to −58) for physical IPV and 139 g (95% CI −248 to −30) for sexual IPV. The combination of all three forms of IPV was associated with a 223 g reduction in birth weight (95% CI −368 to −77). Increasing occurrences of each of the three types of IPV were associated with greater reductions in birth weight. For physical IPV, relative to no exposure to any form of IPV, birth weight was lower by 112 g (95% CI −219 to −4) with 1–5 instances and 380 g (95% CI −553 to −206) for >5 instances over the pregnancy.ConclusionsMaternal exposure to IPV was associated with shifting of the birth weight distribution among term newborns. A dose–response relationship was observed between frequency of IPV and birth weight.

Background The club cell secretory protein (CC16) has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and is a potential early biomarker of lung damage. The CC16 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs3741240 risk allele (A) has been inconsistently linked to asthma; other tagging SNPs in the gene have not been explored. The aim was to determine whether CC16 tagging polymorphisms are associated with adult asthma, asthma subtypes or asthma control in the Agricultural Lung Health Study (ALHS). Methods The ALHS is an asthma case-control study nested in the Agricultural Health Study cohort. Asthma cases were individuals with current doctor diagnosed asthma, likely undiagnosed asthma, or asthma-COPD overlap defined by questionnaire. We also examined asthma subtypes and asthma control. Five CC16 tagging SNPs were imputed to 1000 Genomes Integrated phase 1 reference panel. Logistic regression was used to estimate associations between CC16 SNPs and asthma outcomes adjusted for covariates. Results The sample included 1120 asthma cases and 1926 controls of European ancestry, with a mean age of 63 years. The frequency of the risk genotype (AA) for rs3741240 was 12.5% (n = 382). CC16 rs3741240 was not associated with adult asthma outcomes. A tagging SNP in the CC16 gene, rs12270961 was associated with uncontrolled asthma (n = 208, ORadj= 1.4, 95% CI 1.0, 1.9; p = 0.03). Conclusion This study, the largest study to investigate associations between CC16 tagging SNPs and asthma phenotypes in adults, did not confirm an association of rs3741240 with adult asthma. A tagging SNP in CC16 suggests a potential relationship with asthma control.

Background In epidemiologic studies where physician-based case adjudication is not feasible, Parkinson’s disease (PD) case ascertainment is often limited to self-reports which may not be accurate. We evaluated strategies to identify PD cases in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS). Methods Doctor-diagnosed PD was self-reported on all cohort-wide surveys; potential cases were also identified from death certificates. Follow-up surveys asked about PD-related motor and non-motor symptoms. For PD confirmation, we collected additional diagnosis, symptom, and treatment data from 510 potential PD cases or their proxy (65% of those contacted) in a supplemental screener and obtained medical records for a subset (n = 65). We classified PD cases using established criteria and screener data. Results Of 510 potential PD cases, 75% were considered “probable” or “possible”; this proportion increased among participants diagnosed by a specialist (81.2%), taking PD medication (85.2%), or reporting ≥5 motor symptoms (86.8%) in a regular AHS survey. Of those with medical records, 93% (57 of 61) of probable or possible PD was confirmed. Never-smoking and non-motor and motor symptoms reported in prior AHS surveys were more common with probable/possible PD than unconfirmed PD. Conclusion In this retrospective PD case ascertainment effort, we found that PD self-report with information on motor symptoms or medications may be a reasonable alternative for identifying PD cases when physician exam is not feasible. Because of intervening mortality, screeners could not be obtained from about one-third of those contacted. Thus, findings warrant replication.

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