Although numerous studies have been conducted to examine the causal factors of childhood obesity, the implications of intrauterine oxidative stress on early postnatal adiposity development remain to be elucidated. The Universiti Sains Malaysia Birth Cohort Study aimed to investigate the effects of prenatal oxidative stress levels on the development of infant adiposity during the first year of life. This study was conducted on the healthy pregnant women aged 19-40 years, from April 2010 to December 2012 in Kelantan, Malaysia. Maternal blood samples were drawn in the second trimester to analyse for oxidative stress markers. Infant anthropometric measurements were taken at birth, 2, 6 and 12 months of age. A total of 153 pregnant women and full-term infants were included in the analysis. Statistical test was conducted by using multiple linear regression. Through the infant first year of life, as maternal DNA damage level in the second trimester increased, infant weights at birth (β=-0.122, P<0.001), 2 months (β=-0.120, P=0013), 6 months (β=-0.209, P=0.003) and 12 months of age (β=-0.241, P=0.006) decreased after adjusting for confounders. Similar results were noted when infant body mass index-for-age Z-scores and triceps skinfold-for-age Z-scores were used as the adiposity indicators. In conclusion, the present study shows a consistent inverse association between maternal DNA damage and infant adiposity during the first year of life. These infants with reduced growth and adiposity in early postnatal life may have a high tendency to experience catch-up growth during childhood, which could be strongly associated with later obesity.
Iron deficiency and anaemia affect millions of children worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the effect of iron deficiency with or without anaemia on cognitive functions, specifically with short-term memory, attention and visual motor coordination in children. A total of 173 primary school children was enrolled. Cognitive functions were assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Three sub-tests were selected to assess processing speed (coding test), immediate auditory memory (digit span test) and visual processing and problem solving ability (maze test). The results showed significant correlation between age and coding test (r =0.38, p< 0.001), digit span test (r =0.16, p = 0.028), and maze test scores (r =0.28, p< 0.001), and the total sub-test scores (r=0.43, p < .001). After age adjustment of the cognitive function tests, iron deficient children without anaemia scored significantly lower than the healthy children (p< 0.001) on coding test, while iron deficient children with anaemia and iron deficient children without anaemia scored significantly lower (p< 0.001) than the healthy counterparts on maze test. No significant differences were observed on digit-span score among the groups. This study confirms the negative effect of both iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia on processing speed and visual motor coordination in children.
Maternal nutrition has a programming effect on fetal growth. This cross-sectional study investigated the association between maternal micronutrient, fruit and vegetable intake with birth size. Nutrient and food intake were examined using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. One hundred twenty-one pregnant women at 28 to 38 weeks gestation aged 19-40 years, were recruited from the Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital, Malaysia. Birth weight, length and head circumference were obtained from the medical records. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression. Results indicate no significant association between any of the measured micronutrients and birth size. However, 2 of the 6 vegetable subgroups and those consumed fruit during pregnancy had children whose birth size was significantly associated with consumption. An increase of 10 g of leafy vegetables per day was associated with a 1.78 cm increase in head circumference (p = 0.04), and tuber vegetable intake was associated with birth length (beta = 0.21, p = 0.03) and head circumference (beta = 0.21, p = 0.01). Fruit intake was associated with birth weight (beta = 0.19, p = 0.04), birth length (beta = 0.20, p = 0.04) and head circumference (beta = 0.19, p = 0.03). The lack of association between maternal nutrient intake and fetal growth and the significant association between fruit and vegetable intake and birth size suggests the existence of other micronutrients and phytochemicals present in foods that play an important role in birth size. The types of nutrients and their roles in birth size warrant further investigation.
Diets rich in whole grain are associated with several health benefits. Little is known however, about whole grain consumption patterns in Malaysia. The aim of this study was to assess whole grain intakes and dietary source in Malaysian children and adolescents.