Obesity, the most common metabolic disorder, concerns, among others, women of reproductive age and, when it occurs before or during pregnancy, constitutes a major risk factor for both maternal and fetal complications. The complications of obesity in a prospective mother include subfertility, miscarriage, thrombo-embolism, hypertensive disorders, metabolic syndrome, preterm delivery and higher frequency of cesarean section. Fetal complications include intrauterine death, congenital anomalies and macrosomia. Moreover, the complications of maternal obesity do not only involve the fetus; they also extend beyond fetal life into childhood and adulthood. The mother's diet during pregnancy creates a metabolic environment that affects fetal growth and may result in later development of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, a phenomenon known as "developmental origin of adult disease". Since the expectant mother is usually more motivated to accept lifestyle modifications, pregnancy is a period during which obesity can be more effectively managed. The control of body weight during this period is of paramount importance for pregnancy outcome as well as the health status of the mother and the neonate.
The epidemic pattern of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection during long periods and the factors that determine seasonality are not well studied. In order to correlate the RSV epidemic activity with climate parameters, we conducted a retrospective study of children (0-14 year) who were hospitalized because of respiratory tract infection and had an RSV test performed in the major tertiary pediatric hospital of Greece during a 12-year period (2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013). Daily data regarding temperature and humidity were obtained from the Hellenic National Meteorological Service. A total of 2030/7516 (27%) children were tested positive for RSV infection. Among RSV positive children 1945/2030 (95.8%) were infants <1 year. A peak of RSV activity was measured in years 2002, 2003, and 2006 (>35% positive). The RSV season in our area spanned from December to April, with higher incidence during January through March. The peak monthly RSV incidence was observed during February with mean temperature 10.34˚C and mean relative humidity 69.16%. Regarding climate conditions, a statistically significant positive correlation was found between monthly RSV activity and mean monthly relative humidity (rho ¼ 0.66, P-value ¼ 0.02), whereas a negative correlation was found with mean monthly temperature (rho ¼ À0.81, P-value ¼ 0.002). However, in the multivariable analysis, only the effect of mean monthly temperature remained statistically significant (IRR ¼ 0.72, 95% CI: 0.68, 0.80). Further understanding of RSV seasonality in different geographic areas would be important in order to timely implement preventing strategies with immunoprophylaxis or future RSV vaccines.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.