Pregnancy represents a stage during which maternal physiology and homeostatic regulation undergo dramatic change and adaptation. The fundamental purpose of these adaptations is to ensure the survival of her offspring through adequate nutrient provision and an environment that is tolerant to the semi-allogenic foetus. While poor maternal diet during pregnancy is associated with perturbed maternal adaptations during pregnancy, the influence of paternal diet on maternal well-being is less clearly defined. We fed C57BL/6 male mice either a control (CD), low protein diet (LPD), a high fat/sugar Western diet (WD) or the LPD or WD supplemented with methyl donors (MD-LPD and MD-WD, respectively) for a minimum of 8 weeks prior to mating with C57BL/6 females. Mated females were culled at day 17 of gestation for the analysis of maternal metabolic, gut, cardiac and bone health. Paternal diet had minimal influences on maternal serum and hepatic metabolite levels or gut microbiota diversity. However, analysis of the maternal hepatic transcriptome revealed distinct profiles of differential gene expression in response to the diet of the father. Paternal LPD and MD-LPD resulted in differential expression of genes associated with lipid metabolism, transcription, ubiquitin conjugation and immunity in dams, while paternal WD and MD-WD modified the expression of genes associated with ubiquitin conjugation and cardiac morphology. Finally, we observed changes in maternal femur length, volume of trabecular bone, trabecular connectivity, volume of the cortical medullar cavity and thickness of the cortical bone in response to the father\'s diets. Our current study demonstrates that poor paternal diet at the time of mating can influence the patterns of maternal metabolism and gestation-associated adaptations to her physiology.

UNASSIGNED: High-molecular-weight adiponectin (HMW-adiponectin) is a cardio-metabolic health protector. Objectives: (1) to compare body mass index (BMI), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and muscle strength (MS) in healthy school-children depending on their baseline salivary-HMW-adiponectin concentration; and (2) to apply a 3-month integrated neuromuscular training (INT) and evaluate its effects on salivary-HMW-adiponectin concentration, BMI, CRF and MS in the same children. Additional goal: to identify if any potential changes during the 3-month period may be related to a potential change in salivary-HMW-adiponectin concentration.
UNASSIGNED: Ninety children (7.4 ± 0.3 years) were recruited in primary schools and randomly allocated into control or intervention group. The intervention consisted of a 3-month INT applied during physical education (PE) classes, twice-weekly, while the control group had traditional PE classes. Body mass and height were measured, BMI was calculated and HMW-adiponectin was quantified in saliva. To assess CRF and MS, 800 m-run and hand-dynamometry were applied, respectively. All measurements were performed twice, at baseline and after 3 months.
UNASSIGNED: Children with higher baseline salivary-HMW-adiponectin have more favorable BMI (p = 0.006) and slightly higher CRF (p = 0.017) in comparison to the children with lower baseline salivary-HMW-adiponectin. There were no big changes after the 3-month-period neither in the control, nor the INT group. However, it is worthy to note that the INT induced slightly higher increase in salivary-HMW-adiponectin (p = 0.007), and a slightly higher improvement in BMI (p = 0.028), CRF (p = 0.043) and MS (p = 0.003), as compared to the traditional PE classes. Finally, the INT-induced improvement in CRF was associated with the increased post-salivary-HMW-adiponectin concentration (p = 0.022).
UNASSIGNED: Main findings may suggest the potential utility of an INT as a cost-effective strategy that can be applied in schools to induce cardio-protective effects in school-children.

Metabolic Syndrome presents a significant public health challenge associated with an increased risk of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular conditions. Evidence shows that green spaces and the built environment may influence metabolic syndrome. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies published through August 30, 2023, examining the association of green space and built environment with metabolic syndrome. A quality assessment of the included studies was conducted using the Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) tool. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) assessment was used to evaluate the overall quality of evidence. Our search retrieved 18 studies that met the inclusion criteria and were included in our review. Most were from China (n = 5) and the USA (n = 5), and most used a cross-sectional study design (n = 8). Nine studies (50 %) reported only green space exposures, seven (39 %) reported only built environment exposures, and two (11 %) reported both built environment and green space exposures. Studies reported diverse definitions of green space and the built environment, such as availability, accessibility, and quality, particularly around participants\' homes. The outcomes focused on metabolic syndrome; however, studies applied different definitions of metabolic syndrome. Meta-analysis results showed that an increase in normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) within a 500-m buffer was associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome (odds ratio [OR] = 0.90, 95%CI = 0.87-0.93, I2 = 22.3 %, n = 4). A substantial number of studies detected bias for exposure classification and residual confounding. Overall, the extant literature shows a \'limited\' strength of evidence for green space protecting against metabolic syndrome and an \'inadequate\' strength of evidence for the built environment associated with metabolic syndrome. Studies with more robust study designs, better controlled confounding factors, and stronger exposure measures are needed to understand better what types of green spaces and built environment features influence metabolic syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Antiretroviral treatment (ART) use during pregnancy continues to rise as it is known to decrease the likelihood of HIV transmission from mother to child. However, it is still unknown whether foetal exposure to (ART) may affect the foetal environment, predisposing the offspring to cardiometabolic risk. Therefore, the aim of this study was to systematically review the cardio-metabolic effects of in utero exposure to HIV/ART on offspring.
METHODS: We carried out a systematic review and obtained literature from the Google scholar, PubMed, ProQuest, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. Two independent reviewers evaluated the titles, abstracts, and full-length English contents. Data from the eligible studies were included.
RESULTS: The search yielded 7596 records. After assessing all of these records, 35 of the full-length articles were included in this systematic review. Several studies showed that low birth weight, small head circumference, and altered mitochondrial content were more common among HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) children compared to HIV-unexposed uninfected children (HUU). A few studies demonstrated elevated triglyceride levels, lower levels of insulin, and increased blood pressure, oxidative stress, vascular dysfunction, cardiac damage, and myocardial dysfunction among HEU children compared with HUU children.
CONCLUSIONS: Most findings showed that there were cardio-metabolic health risk factors among HEU children, indicating that maternal exposure to HIV and ART may negatively affect foetal health, which may lead to cardio-metabolic morbidity later in life.

UNASSIGNED: Older adults in the United States (US) have worse health and wider socioeconomic inequalities in health compared to Britain. Less is known about how health in the two countries compares in midlife, a time of emerging health decline, including inequalities in health.
UNASSIGNED: We compare measures of smoking status, alcohol consumption, obesity, self-rated health, cholesterol, blood pressure, and glycated haemoglobin using population-weighted modified Poisson regression in the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) in Britain (N= 9,665) and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) in the US (N=12,297), when cohort members were aged 34-46 and 33-43, respectively. We test whether associations vary by early- and mid-life socioeconomic position.
UNASSIGNED: US adults had higher levels of obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Prevalence of poor self-rated health, heavy drinking, and smoking was worse in Britain. We found smaller socioeconomic inequalities in midlife health in Britain compared to the US. For some outcomes (e.g., smoking), the most socioeconomically advantaged group in the US was healthier than the equivalent group in Britain. For other outcomes (hypertension and cholesterol), the most advantaged US group fared equal to or worse than the most disadvantaged groups in Britain.
UNASSIGNED: US adults have worse cardiometabolic health than British counterparts, even in early midlife. The smaller socioeconomic inequalities and better overall health in Britain may reflect differences in access to health care, welfare systems, or other environmental risk factors.
UNASSIGNED: ESRC, UKRI, MRC, NIH, European Research Council, Leverhulme Trust.

The rising burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has made the achievement of optimal lipoprotein levels a major public health priority. As nearly a fifth of global mortality is associated with dietary factors, and recommendations have been mired in controversy, a fresh look on the available data is attempted. Well established concepts regarding nutrition and cardiometabolic health, role of macronutrients, calories, and controversial foods are discussed followed by recommendations in the Indian context. A healthy dietary pattern rather than individual foods or nutrients is emphasized, and this is generally plant based with optional consumption of dairy, eggs, and meats within the suggested limits. Suggestions/recommendations are given for consumption of individual foods, remembering that choosing appropriate replacement foods is as important as restricting unhealthy foods.

UNASSIGNED: Collaborative care models for depression have been successful in a variety of settings, but their success may differ by patient engagement. We conducted a post-hoc analysis of the INDEPENDENT trial to investigate the role of differential engagement of participants on health outcomes over 3 years.
UNASSIGNED: INDEPENDENT study was a parallel, single-blinded, randomised clinical trial conducted at four socio-economically diverse clinics in India. Participants were randomised to receive either active collaborative care or usual care for 12 months and followed up for 24 months.
UNASSIGNED: We grouped intervention participants by engagement, defined as moderate (≤7 visits) or high, (8 or more visits) and compared them with usual care participants. Improvements in composite measure (depressive symptoms and at least one of three cardio-metabolic) were the primary outcome.
UNASSIGNED: Mean levels of depression and cardio-metabolic measures were analysed over time using computer package IBM SPSS Statistics 25.
UNASSIGNED: The composite outcome was sustained the highest in the moderate engagers [27.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 19.5, 36.7] and the lowest in high engagers (15.8%, 95% CI: 8.1, 26.8). This pattern was observed for individual parameters - depressive symptoms and glycosylated haemoglobin. Progressive reductions in mean depressive symptom scores were observed for moderate engagers and usual care group from baseline to 36 months. However, in high engagers of collaborative care, mean depressive symptoms were higher at 36 months compared to 12 months.
UNASSIGNED: Sustained benefits of collaborative care were larger in participants with moderate engagement compared with high engagement, although a majority of participants relapsed on one or more outcome measures by 36 months. High engagers of collaborative care for co-morbid depression and diabetes may need light touch interventions for longer periods to maintain health and reduce depressive symptoms.

UNASSIGNED: Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is defined as increased liver fat percentage, and is the most common chronic liver disease in children. Rather than NAFLD, Metabolic-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD), defined as increased liver fat with presence of adverse cardio-metabolic measures, might have more clinical relevance in children. We assessed the prevalence, risk-factors and cardio-metabolic outcomes of MAFLD at school-age.
UNASSIGNED: This cross-sectional analysis was embedded in an ongoing population-based prospective cohort study started in 2001, in the Netherlands. In 1910 children of 10 years, we measured liver fat fraction by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and lipids, insulin, and glucose concentrations. Childhood lifestyle factors were obtained through questionnaires. MAFLD was defined as ≥2% liver fat in addition to excess adiposity (BMI or visceral adiposity), presence of metabolic risk (blood pressure, triglycerides and HDL-concentrations) or prediabetes (glucose).
UNASSIGNED: Of all children, 49.6% had ≥2% liver fat, and 25.2% fulfilled the criteria of MAFLD. Only non-European descent was associated with increased odds of MAFLD at nominal significance (Odds Ratio 1.38, 95% Confidence Interval 1.04, 1.82). Compared to children with <2% liver fat, those with MAFLD had increased odds of cardio-metabolic-risk-factor clustering (Odds Ratio 7.65, 95% Confidence Interval 5.04, 11.62).
UNASSIGNED: In this study, no NAFLD-associated childhood risk factors were associated with increased odds of childhood MAFLD, yet the findings suggest that ethnicity could be, despite mostly explained by socio-economic factors. Use of MAFLD criteria, rather than NAFLD, may identify children at risk for impaired cardio-metabolic health.
UNASSIGNED: Erasmus University MC, the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development, the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport, and the European Research Council.

Accumulating evidence suggests that the built environment may be associated with cardiovascular disease via its influence on health behaviours. The aim of this study was to estimate the associations between traditional and novel neighbourhood built environment metrics and clinically assessed cardio-metabolic risk factors among a sample of adults in Canada. A total of 7171 participants from Albertas Tomorrow Project living in Alberta, Canada, were included. Cardio-metabolic risk factors were clinically measured. Two composite built environment metrics of traditional walkability and space syntax walkability were calculated. Among men, space syntax walkability was negatively associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure (b = -0.87, 95% CI -1.43, -0.31 and b = -0.45, 95% CI -0.86, -0.04, respectively). Space syntax walkability was also associated with lower odds of overweight/obese among women and men (OR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.87, 0.99 and OR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.79, 0.97, respectively). No significant associations were observed between traditional walkability and cardio-metabolic outcomes. This study showed that the novel built environment metric based on the space syntax theory was associated with some cardio-metabolic risk factors.

Today\'s sedentary lifestyle with too much food and too little exercise has made metabolic syndrome a pandemic. Metabolic syndrome is a major risk factor for type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. New knowledge of medical and nutraceutical intervention in the early stages of metabolic syndrome is central to prevent these deadly complications. People who eat chili pepper on a regular basis seem to stay healthier and live longer than those who do not. Animal experiments suggest a therapeutic potential for dietary capsaicin, the active principle in hot chili pepper, to reduce the risk of developing metabolic syndrome. This is an attractive theory since capsaicin has been a culinary staple for thousands of years, and is generally deemed safe when consumed in hedonically acceptable doses. The broad expression of the capsaicin receptor TRPV1 in metabolically active tissues lends experimental support to this theory. This review critically evaluates the available experimental and clinical evidence for and against dietary capsaicin being an effective dietary means to improve cardio-metabolic health. It comes to the conclusion that although a chili pepper-rich diet is associated with a reduced risk of dying due to cardiovascular disease, dietary capsaicin has no clear effect on blood glucose or lipid profiles. Therefore, the reduced mortality risk may reflect the beneficial action of digested capsaicin on gut microbiota.