Iron deficiency (ID) is common in pregnant women and infants, particularly in developing countries. The relation between maternal and neonatal iron status remains unclear. This study considered the issue in a large sample of mother-newborn pairs in rural southeastern China. Hemoglobin (Hb) and serum ferritin (SF) were measured in 3702 pregnant women at ≥37 wk gestation and in cord blood of their infants born at term (37-42 wk gestation). Maternal anemia (Hb <110 g/L) was present in 27.5% and associated with maternal SF <20 μg/L in 86.9%. Only 5.6% of neonates were anemic (Hb <130 g/L) and 9.5% had cord-blood SF <75 μg/L. There were low-order correlations between maternal and newborn iron measures (r = 0.07-0.10 for both Hb and SF; P ≤ 0.0001 due to the large number). We excluded 430 neonates with suggestion of inflammation [cord SF >370 μg/L, n = 208 and/or C-reactive protein (CRP) >5 mg/L, n = 233]. Piecewise linear regression analyses identified a threshold for maternal SF at which cord-blood SF was affected. For maternal SF below the threshold of 13.6 μg/L (β = 2.4; P = 0.001), cord SF was 0.17 SD lower than in neonates whose mothers had SF above the threshold (167 ± 75 vs. 179 ± 80 μg/L). The study confirmed that ID anemia remains common during pregnancy in rural southeastern China. Despite widespread maternal ID, however, iron nutrition seemed to meet fetal needs except when mothers were very iron deficient. The impact of somewhat lower cord SF on iron status later in infancy warrants further study.

Abstract. The objective is to investigate the relation between the levels of two serum adipocytokines (adiponectin and resistin) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in obese children. In this study, 113 obese children were enrolled and divided into 3 groups. Obese group 1 was defined as obese children without any liver abnormality. Obese group 2 was defined as obese children just with fatty infiltration of the liver in ultrasonic appearance and obese group 3 was defined as obese children with liver function abnormality. The controls consisted of 37 nonobese children without endocrine, metabolic or kidney disease. The levels of serum adiponectin and resistin were measured by ELISA method. Insulin resistance by homeostasis model (HOMA-IR), area under curve of glucose (AUCG), serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, alanine aminotransferase, uric acid, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and body mass index (BMI) were measured as well. In obese children, NAFLD were found in 63 cases (55.75%). Serum adiponectin levels of obese children were significantly lower than that of controls (3.63 vs 5.79 mg/mL, P<0.001) while serum resistin levels were not different (P = 0.876). Moreover, serum adiponectin levels in obese group 1 were significantly higher than that of group 2 and 3 (4.24 vs 3.37 and 3.12 mg/mL, all P<0.05) and no difference was found between obese group 2 and obese group 3 (P>0.05). Serum resistin levels among the three obese groups were 4.37 ng/mL, 3.72 ng/mL and 4.24 ng/mL without significant difference (P = 0.592). NAFLD, BMI, gender and HDL-cholesterol were independent determinants of serum adiponectin levels in children analyzed by multiple regression analysis, which explained 33% of the variance. Serum adiponectin levels were inversely associated with BMI, gender and NAFLD (all P<0.05) and were positively associated with HDL-cholesterol levels (P = 0.033). These results suggest that adiponectin might be a protective factor in NAFLD occurrence in obese children, and that the measurement of adiponectin should be part of the standard evaluation of the obese child and may help to evaluate the occurrence of NAFLD.

BackgroundVitamin D insufficiency correlates with mortality risk among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The survival benefits of active vitamin D treatment have been assessed in patients with CKD not requiring dialysis and in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring dialysis.MethodsMEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrance Library, and article reference lists were searched for relevant observational trials. The quality of the studies was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) checklist. Pooled effects were calculated as hazard ratios (HR) using random-effects models.ResultsTwenty studies (11 prospective cohorts, 6 historical cohorts and 3 retrospective cohorts) were included in the meta-analysis., Participants receiving vitamin D had lower mortality compared to those with no treatment (adjusted case mixed baseline model: HR, 0.74; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.67-0.82; P <0.001; time-dependent Cox model: HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.57-0.89; P <0.001). Participants that received calcitriol (HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.50-0.79; P <0.001) and paricalcitol (HR, 0.43 95% CI, 0.29-0.63; P <0.001) had a lower cardiovascular mortality. Patients receiving paricalcitol had a survival advantage over those that received calcitriol (HR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.91-0.99; P <0.001).ConclusionsVitamin D treatment was associated with decreased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with CKD not requiring dialysis and patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring dialysis. There was a slight difference in survival depending on the type of vitamin D analogue. Well-designed randomized controlled trials are necessary to assess the survival benefits of vitamin D.

Background/Aims: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is widely considered to be associated with risk of cancer, but studies investigating the association between DM and prostate cancer in Asian countries have reported inconsistent findings. We examined this association by conducting a detailed meta-analysis of studies published on the subject. Methods: Cohort or case-control studies were identified by searching Pubmed, Embase and Wanfang databases through May 30, 2012. Pooled relative risk (RR) with its corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated using the random-effects model. Subgroup analyses were performed by the study type. Results: Finally, we identified 7 studies (four cohort studies and three case-control studies) with a total of 1,751,274 subjects from Asians. DM was associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer in Asians (unadjusted RR= 2.82, 95% CI 1.73-4.58, P < 0.001; adjusted RR= 1.31, 95% CI 1.12-1.54, P = 0.001). Subgroup analyses by study design further confirmed an obvious association. Conclusion: Findings from this meta-analysis strongly support that diabetes is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer in Asians.