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Budds K, Eldred L, Murphy C. Promoting empowerment or intensifying reproductive burden? Accounts of preconception health adjustments among women trying to conceive. Psychol Health 2024:1-21. [PMID: 38829650 DOI: 10.1080/08870446.2024.2359454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Women's preconception health is increasingly viewed as playing a critical role in pregnancy and birth outcomes and is becoming an increasing focus of public health messages within the UK and internationally. However, little is known about how women respond to and are impacted by preconception health messages as they try to conceive a baby. METHODS Reflexive Thematic Analysis was used to analyse 193 responses from women in the UK to a qualitative survey on experiences of trying to conceive. As part of the survey women were asked to reflect on their engagement with preconception health practices. RESULTS Three themes were generated: 1) Being fit for conception; 2) Preconception health and emotional labour, and 3) Interrogating preconception health expectations. CONCLUSION The findings demonstrate that whilst engagement with preconception health changes was empowering for some, more troubling implications included: heightened self-surveillance, stress, risks to wellbeing, and feelings of responsibility for poor outcomes. This demonstrates the importance of considering the unintended consequences of preconception health messaging in the shape of increased 'reproductive burden'. Furthermore, future development of preconception health policy and practice must also consider women's access to psychological support when trying to conceive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsty Budds
- School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK
| | - Lucy Eldred
- School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK
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Puliani R, Bhatt Y, Gupta S, R N A, B D T, Jayanna K. A Scoping Review of Barriers and Facilitators for Preconception Care: Lessons for Global Health Policies and Programs. Asia Pac J Public Health 2024:10105395241252867. [PMID: 38736330 DOI: 10.1177/10105395241252867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Preconception care (PCC) encompasses a set of actions taken before pregnancy to support the health and well-being of women before conception to improve maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes. The utilization of PCC services is influenced by multifaceted factors that can either enable or impede women's capacity to access and utilize them effectively. This scoping review examines the barriers and facilitators influencing the utilization of PCC services among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) at both individual and community levels. Through an extensive review of published articles from 2004 to 2021, including peer-reviewed sources, barriers and facilitators were identified. At the individual level, barriers included limited knowledge about PCC, neglect of self-health, and financial constraints. Community-level barriers encompassed insufficient supply of supplements, restricted access to health care, high health care costs, and setbacks due to delayed delivery of MCH services. Conversely, individuals reported that credible sources of information, such as friends, family, and community health volunteers, facilitated their engagement with PCC services. At the community level, facilitators included government-regulated supply chains for supplements and the involvement of community workers in health monitoring. Understanding and addressing these factors can help improve the utilization of PCC services among women of reproductive age (WRA) and improve MCH outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reedhika Puliani
- Faculty of Life and Allied Health Sciences, MS Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru, India
| | - Yogita Bhatt
- Faculty of Life and Allied Health Sciences, MS Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru, India
| | - Soumya Gupta
- School of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, India
| | - Agnita R N
- Karnataka Health Promotion Trust, Bengaluru, India
| | - Tejaswini B D
- Faculty of Life and Allied Health Sciences, MS Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru, India
| | - Krishnamurthy Jayanna
- Faculty of Life and Allied Health Sciences, MS Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru, India
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Saavedra LPJ, Piovan S, Moreira VM, Gonçalves GD, Ferreira ARO, Ribeiro MVG, Peres MNC, Almeida DL, Raposo SR, da Silva MC, Barbosa LF, de Freitas Mathias PC. Epigenetic programming for obesity and noncommunicable disease: From womb to tomb. Rev Endocr Metab Disord 2024; 25:309-324. [PMID: 38040983 DOI: 10.1007/s11154-023-09854-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
Several epidemiological, clinical and experimental studies in recent decades have shown the relationship between exposure to stressors during development and health outcomes later in life. The characterization of these susceptible phases, such as preconception, gestation, lactation and adolescence, and the understanding of factors that influence the risk of an adult individual for developing obesity, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, is the focus of the DOHaD (Developmental Origins of Health and Disease) research line. In this sense, advancements in molecular biology techniques have contributed significantly to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the observed phenotypes, their morphological and physiological alterations, having as a main driving factor the epigenetic modifications and their consequent modulation of gene expression. The present narrative review aimed to characterize the different susceptible phases of development and associated epigenetic modifications, and their implication in the development of non-communicable diseases. Additionally, we provide useful insights into interventions during development to counteract or prevent long-term programming for disease susceptibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Paulo Jacinto Saavedra
- Department of Biotechnology, Genetics, and Cellular Biology, State University of Maringá, 5790 Av Colombo, Sala 19, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - Silvano Piovan
- Department of Biotechnology, Genetics, and Cellular Biology, State University of Maringá, 5790 Av Colombo, Sala 19, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - Veridiana Mota Moreira
- Department of Biotechnology, Genetics, and Cellular Biology, State University of Maringá, 5790 Av Colombo, Sala 19, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - Gessica Dutra Gonçalves
- Department of Biotechnology, Genetics, and Cellular Biology, State University of Maringá, 5790 Av Colombo, Sala 19, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - Anna Rebeka Oliveira Ferreira
- Department of Biotechnology, Genetics, and Cellular Biology, State University of Maringá, 5790 Av Colombo, Sala 19, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - Maiara Vanusa Guedes Ribeiro
- Department of Biotechnology, Genetics, and Cellular Biology, State University of Maringá, 5790 Av Colombo, Sala 19, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - Maria Natália Chimirri Peres
- Department of Biotechnology, Genetics, and Cellular Biology, State University of Maringá, 5790 Av Colombo, Sala 19, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - Douglas Lopes Almeida
- Department of Biotechnology, Genetics, and Cellular Biology, State University of Maringá, 5790 Av Colombo, Sala 19, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - Scarlett Rodrigues Raposo
- Department of Biotechnology, Genetics, and Cellular Biology, State University of Maringá, 5790 Av Colombo, Sala 19, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - Mariane Carneiro da Silva
- Department of Biotechnology, Genetics, and Cellular Biology, State University of Maringá, 5790 Av Colombo, Sala 19, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - Letícia Ferreira Barbosa
- Department of Biotechnology, Genetics, and Cellular Biology, State University of Maringá, 5790 Av Colombo, Sala 19, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil
| | - Paulo Cezar de Freitas Mathias
- Department of Biotechnology, Genetics, and Cellular Biology, State University of Maringá, 5790 Av Colombo, Sala 19, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil.
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Bernier E, Plante AS, Lemieux P, Robitaille J, Lemieux S, Desroches S, Bélanger-Gravel A, Maheux-Lacroix S, Weisnagel SJ, Demers S, Camirand Lemyre F, Boulet M, Baillargeon JP, Morisset AS. Promoting healthy eating in early pregnancy in individuals at risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: does it improve glucose homeostasis? A study protocol for a randomized control trial. Front Nutr 2024; 10:1336509. [PMID: 38312142 PMCID: PMC10834641 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1336509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Healthy eating during pregnancy has favorable effects on glycemic control and is associated with a lower risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). According to Diabetes Canada, there is a need for an effective and acceptable intervention that could improve glucose homeostasis and support pregnant individuals at risk for GDM. Aims This unicentric randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to evaluate the effects of a nutritional intervention initiated early in pregnancy, on glucose homeostasis in 150 pregnant individuals at risk for GDM, compared to usual care. Methods Population: 150 pregnant individuals ≥18 years old, at ≤14 weeks of pregnancy, and presenting ≥1 risk factor for GDM according to Diabetes Canada guidelines. Intervention: The nutritional intervention initiated in the first trimester is based on the health behavior change theory during pregnancy and on Canada's Food Guide recommendations. It includes (1) four individual counseling sessions with a registered dietitian using motivational interviewing (12, 18, 24, and 30 weeks), with post-interview phone call follow-ups, aiming to develop and achieve S.M.A.R.T. nutritional objectives (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound); (2) 10 informative video clips on healthy eating during pregnancy developed by our team and based on national guidelines, and (3) a virtual support community via a Facebook group. Control: Usual prenatal care. Protocol: This RCT includes three on-site visits (10-14, 24-26, and 34-36 weeks) during which a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test is done and blood samples are taken. At each trimester and 3 months postpartum, participants complete web-based questionnaires, including three validated 24-h dietary recalls to assess their diet quality using the Healthy Eating Food Index 2019. Primary outcome: Difference in the change in fasting blood glucose (from the first to the third trimester) between groups. This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of the Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval. Discussion This RCT will determine whether a nutritional intervention initiated early in pregnancy can improve glucose homeostasis in individuals at risk for GDM and inform Canadian stakeholders on improving care trajectories and policies for pregnant individuals at risk for GDM. Clinical trial registration https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05299502, NCT05299502.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilie Bernier
- École de Nutrition, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche Nutrition, Santé et Société (NUTRISS) de l'Institut sur la Nutrition et des Aliments Fonctionnels (INAF), Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Anne-Sophie Plante
- Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche Nutrition, Santé et Société (NUTRISS) de l'Institut sur la Nutrition et des Aliments Fonctionnels (INAF), Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Patricia Lemieux
- Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Julie Robitaille
- École de Nutrition, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche Nutrition, Santé et Société (NUTRISS) de l'Institut sur la Nutrition et des Aliments Fonctionnels (INAF), Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Simone Lemieux
- École de Nutrition, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche Nutrition, Santé et Société (NUTRISS) de l'Institut sur la Nutrition et des Aliments Fonctionnels (INAF), Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Sophie Desroches
- École de Nutrition, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche Nutrition, Santé et Société (NUTRISS) de l'Institut sur la Nutrition et des Aliments Fonctionnels (INAF), Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Ariane Bélanger-Gravel
- Centre de Recherche Nutrition, Santé et Société (NUTRISS) de l'Institut sur la Nutrition et des Aliments Fonctionnels (INAF), Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Département de Communication, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie de Pneumologie de Québec, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Sarah Maheux-Lacroix
- Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - S John Weisnagel
- Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Suzanne Demers
- Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Félix Camirand Lemyre
- Département de Mathématiques, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche du CHU de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - Mélanie Boulet
- Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et de Service Sociaux de l'Estrie-CHU de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - Jean-Patrice Baillargeon
- Centre de Recherche du CHU de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
- Département de Médecine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - Anne-Sophie Morisset
- École de Nutrition, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche Nutrition, Santé et Société (NUTRISS) de l'Institut sur la Nutrition et des Aliments Fonctionnels (INAF), Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
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Buklijas T, Al-Gailani S. A fetus in the world: Physiology, epidemiology, and the making of fetal origins of adult disease. HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE LIFE SCIENCES 2023; 45:44. [PMID: 38091094 PMCID: PMC10719150 DOI: 10.1007/s40656-023-00598-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Since the late 1980s, the fetal origins of adult disease, from 2003 developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD), has stimulated significant interest in and an efflorescence of research on the long-term effects of the intrauterine environment. From the start, this field has been interdisciplinary, using experimental animal, clinical and epidemiological tools. As the influence of DOHaD on public health and policy expanded, it has drawn criticism for reducing the complex social and physical world of early life to women's reproductive bodies as drivers of intergenerational ills. This paper explains this narrowing of focus in terms of a formative and consequential exchange between David Barker, the British epidemiologist whose work is credited with establishing the field, and the discipline of fetal physiology. We suggest that fetal physiologists were a crucial constituency of support for Barker's hypothesis about early life origins of disease. Their collaborations with Barker helped secure and sustain the theory amid considerable controversy. The trajectory of DOHaD and its focus on the maternal body can be understood, we argue, as a consequence of this alliance, which brought together two distinct conceptualizations of the intrauterine environment, one from epidemiology and the other from fetal physiology. Along the way, we trace the histories of these conceptualizations, both of which were products of mid-to-late twentieth century British science, and show how Barker's early emphasis on social and economic conditions was superseded by a narrower focus on physiological mechanisms acting upon the autonomous fetus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatjana Buklijas
- Koi Tū: Centre for Informed Futures & Global Studies, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Salim Al-Gailani
- Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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Sparks JR, Ghildayal N, Hivert MF, Redman LM. Lifestyle interventions in pregnancy targeting GDM prevention: looking ahead to precision medicine. Diabetologia 2022; 65:1814-1824. [PMID: 35150287 PMCID: PMC10994387 DOI: 10.1007/s00125-022-05658-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is the most prevalent pregnancy-related endocrinopathy, affecting up to 25% of pregnancies worldwide. Pregnant individuals who develop GDM have an increased risk of complications during pregnancy and birth, as well as future development of type 2 diabetes mellitus and CVD. This increased risk is subsequently passed along to the offspring, perpetuating a cycle of metabolic dysfunction across generations. GDM prevention strategies have had mixed results for many years, but more recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses have suggested potential new avenues of prevention. The objective of this review is to summarise the literature examining the efficacy of lifestyle interventions for the prevention of GDM and to uncover if specific individual-level characteristics influence this outcome. Based on the present literature, we determined that future trials should be designed to understand if initiation of lifestyle intervention in the preconception period is more effective to reduce GDM. Furthermore, trials initiated during pregnancy should be developed through the lens of precision prevention. That is, trials should tailor intervention approaches based on individual-level risk defined by the presence of modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors. Finally, future interventions might also benefit from just-in-time adaptive intervention designs, which allow for interventions to be modified in real-time based on objective assessments of an individual's response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua R Sparks
- Reproductive Endocrinology and Women's Health Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| | - Nidhi Ghildayal
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marie-France Hivert
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Leanne M Redman
- Reproductive Endocrinology and Women's Health Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
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Mayes C, Lawson-Boyd E, Meloni M. Situating the Father: Strengthening Interdisciplinary Collaborations between Sociology, History and the Emerging POHaD Paradigm. Nutrients 2022; 14:3884. [PMID: 36235537 PMCID: PMC9572680 DOI: 10.3390/nu14193884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: Albeit the main focus remains largely on mothers, in recent years Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) scientists, including epigeneticists, have started to examine how a father's environment affects disease risk in children and argued that more attention needs to be given to father's health-related behaviors for their influence on offspring at preconception (i.e., sperm health) as well as paternal lifestyle influences over the first 1000 days. This research ushers in a new paternal origins of health and disease (POHaD) paradigm and is considered a welcome equalization to the overemphasis on maternal influences. Epigeneticists are excited by the possibilities of the POHaD paradigm but are also cautious about how to interpret data and avoid biased impression of socio-biological reality. (2) Methods: We review sociological and historical literatures on the intersection of gender, food and diet across different social and historical contexts to enrich our understanding of the father; (3) Results: Sociological and historical research on family food practices and diet show that there are no "fathers" in the abstract or vacuum, but they are differently classed, racialized and exist in socially stratified situations where choices may be constrained or unavailable. This confirms that epigeneticists researching POHaD need to be cautious in interpreting paternal and maternal dietary influences on offspring health; (4) Conclusions: We suggest that interdisciplinary approach to this new paradigm, which draws on sociology, history and public health, can help provide the social and historical context for interpreting and critically understanding paternal lifestyles and influences on offspring health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Mayes
- Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Rd, Geelong 3216, Australia
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Dennis CL, Prioreschi A, Brown HK, Brennenstuhl S, Bell RC, Atkinson S, Misita D, Marini F, Carsley S, Jiwani-Ebrahim N, Birken C. Medical, behavioural and social preconception and interconception risk factors among pregnancy planning and recently pregnant Canadian women. Fam Med Community Health 2022; 10:fmch-2021-001175. [PMID: 36113893 PMCID: PMC9486295 DOI: 10.1136/fmch-2021-001175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The objective of this study is to describe the clustering of medical, behavioural and social preconception and interconception health risk factors and determine demographic factors associated with these risk clusters among Canadian women. DESIGN Cross-sectional data were collected via an online questionnaire assessing a range of preconception risk factors. Prevalence of each risk factor and the total number of risk factors present was calculated. Multivariable logistic regression models determined which demographic factors were associated with having greater than the mean number of risk factors. Exploratory factor analysis determined how risk factors clustered, and Spearman's r determined how demographic characteristics related to risk factors within each cluster. SETTING Canada. PARTICIPANTS Participants were recruited via advertisements on public health websites, social media, parenting webpages and referrals from ongoing studies or existing research datasets. Women were eligible to participate if they could read and understand English, were able to access a telephone or the internet, and were either planning a first pregnancy (preconception) or had ≥1 child in the past 5 years and were thus in the interconception period. RESULTS Most women (n=1080) were 34 or older, and were in the interconception period (98%). Most reported risks in only one of the 12 possible risk factor categories (55%), but women reported on average 4 risks each. Common risks were a history of caesarean section (33.1%), miscarriage (27.2%) and high birth weight (13.5%). Just over 40% had fair or poor eating habits, and nearly half were not getting enough physical activity. Three-quarters had a body mass index indicating overweight or obesity. Those without a postsecondary degree (OR 2.35; 95% CI 1.74 to 3.17) and single women (OR 2.22, 95% CI 1.25 to 3.96) had over twice the odds of having more risk factors. Those with two children or more had 60% lower odds of having more risk factors (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.86). Low education and being born outside Canada were correlated with the greatest number of risk clusters. CONCLUSIONS Many of the common risk factors were behavioural and thus preventable. Understanding which groups of women are prone to certain risk behaviours provides opportunities for researchers and policy-makers to target interventions more efficiently and effectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cindy-Lee Dennis
- Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,St Michael's Hospital Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Alessandra Prioreschi
- SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg-Braamfontein, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Hilary K Brown
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,Department of Health & Society, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sarah Brennenstuhl
- Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Rhonda C Bell
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | | | - Dragana Misita
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Flavia Marini
- St Michael's Hospital Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sarah Carsley
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Catherine Birken
- Paediatric Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Velasquez-Vasconez PA. Reflections about the Molecular Tool That Could Change the Course of Human History: Genome Editing. PERSONA Y BIOÉTICA 2022. [DOI: 10.5294/pebi.2022.26.1.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic editing has many applications in almost all areas of society, but may also lead to unpredictable consequences. Genome editing to modify the human germline is at the center of global discussion. Owing to the increasing number of unanswered scientific, ethical, and policy questions, the scientific community agrees that it would be inappropriate to genetically modify embryos. A serious and open debate is necessary to decide whether such research should be suspended or encouraged. Here we show some bold arguments in favor of deleting deleterious genes from the human genome and the risks liberal eugenism poses.
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10
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van Blarikom E, de Kok B, Bijma HH. "Who am I to say?" Dutch care providers' evaluation of psychosocial vulnerability in pregnant women. Soc Sci Med 2022; 307:115181. [PMID: 35792411 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Maternity care increasingly focuses on evaluating psychosocial vulnerability during pregnancy. Research and nationwide (public health) programs, both in the USA and Europe, led to the development of new protocols and screening instruments for care providers to systematically screen for psychosocial vulnerability in pregnant women. However, standardised screening for vulnerability is complex since it requires discussion of sensitive issues. Women may fear stigmatisation and may have limited trust in their care providers or the health system. Our study contributes to the growing field of client-facing risk work by exploring care providers' interpretations and evaluation of psychosocial vulnerability in pregnant women. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with Dutch maternity care providers, we explore how they conceptualise risk and vulnerability and identify 'vulnerable pregnant women' in their practices. We find that care providers conceptualise 'vulnerability' as primarily based on risk, which contributes to an imbalanced focus on individual mothers, rather than on both parents and the social context. Our findings highlight care providers' concerns around 'care avoidance', seen as a risk factor affecting 'vulnerability' during pregnancy and as a possible consequence of risk screening. The care providers we interviewed employ "in between-strategies" based on intuition, emotion, and trust to skillfully attend to the risk that comes with risk work, in terms of its potential impact on relationships of trust and open communication. We conclude that 'vulnerability' should be understood as a multi-layered, situated and relational concept rather than simply as an epidemiological category. Since a trusting relationship between pregnant women and care providers is crucial for the evaluation of vulnerability, we reflect critically on the risk of standardised perinatal psychosocial risk evaluations. Policy should recognise providers' "in between-strategies" to embed epidemiological understandings of risk in the context of everyday risk work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esca van Blarikom
- Department of Anthropology, Amsterdam Institute of Social Science Research, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Centre for Primary Care, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom
| | - Bregje de Kok
- Department of Anthropology, Amsterdam Institute of Social Science Research, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
| | - Hilmar H Bijma
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Division of Obstetrics & Foetal Medicine, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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11
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Lloyd S, Larivée A. Shared Relations: Trauma and Kinship in the Afterlife of Death. Med Anthropol Q 2022; 35:476-492. [PMID: 35023589 DOI: 10.1111/maq.12681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Since 2013, we have studied the logic and narratives of an environmental epigenetics research team that studies the correlations between early childhood adversity (ECA), specific biomarkers, and suicide risk. Within this research program, kin of the deceased participate in psychological autopsies, which researchers use to establish to classify the deceased within a typology of suicide with or without abuse. We focus on the words of these family respondents and their reflections on the life and death of their loved ones, and life after that death, to consider the slippery, transgressive, and relational character of trauma and its effects. Studies of the residues of past experiences provide crucial insights into the complex, unpredictable, and unsettled nature of kin relations. These relations are based in entwined biographies of the living and the dead and illustrate the holds that people have on each other and destabilize biomedical models of individualized trajectories of suicide risk. [suicide, psychological autopsies, trauma, care, kinship].
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Abstract
AbstractThis article studies how social epidemiologists get involved in research carried out on rodent models to explore the biological pathways underpinning exposure to social adversity in early life. We analyze their interdisciplinary exchanges with biologists in a social epigenetics project—i.e., in the experimental study of molecular alterations following social exposures. We argue that social epidemiologists are ambivalent regarding the use of non-human animal models on two levels: first, in terms of whether such models provide scientific evidence useful to social epidemiology, and second, regarding whether such models help promote their conception of public health. While they maintain expectations towards rodent experiments by elevating their functional value over their representational potential, they fear that their research will contribute to a public health approach that focuses on individual responsibility rather than the social causes of health inequalities. This interdisciplinary project demonstrates the difficulties encountered when research in social epigenetics engages with the complexities of laboratory experiments and social environments, as well as the conflicting sociopolitical projects stemming from such research.
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Filipe AM, Lloyd S, Larivée A. Troubling Neurobiological Vulnerability: Psychiatric Risk and the Adverse Milieu in Environmental Epigenetics Research. FRONTIERS IN SOCIOLOGY 2021; 6:635986. [PMID: 33912612 PMCID: PMC8072338 DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2021.635986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
In post-genomic science, the development of etiological models of neurobiological vulnerability to psychiatric risk has expanded exponentially in recent decades, particularly since the neuromolecular and biosocial turns in basic research. Among this research is that of McGill Group for Suicide Studies (MGSS) whose work centers on the identification of major risk factors and epigenetic traits that help to identify a specific profile of vulnerability to psychiatric conditions (e.g., depression) and predict high-risk behaviors (e.g., suicidality). Although the MGSS has attracted attention for its environmental epigenetic models of suicide risk over the years and the translation of findings from rodent studies into human populations, its overall agenda includes multiple research axes, ranging from retrospective studies to clinical and epidemiological research. Common to these research axes is a concern with the long-term effects of adverse experiences on maladaptive trajectories and negative mental health outcomes. As these findings converge with post-genomic understandings of health and also translate into new orientations in global public health, our article queries the ways in which neurobiological vulnerability is traced, measured, and profiled in environmental epigenetics and in the MGSS research. Inspired by the philosophy of Georges Canguilhem and by literature from the social studies of risk and critical public health, we explore how the epigenetic models of neurobiological vulnerability tie into a particular way of thinking about the normal, the pathological, and the milieu in terms of risk. Through this exploration, we examine how early life adversity (ELA) and neurobiological vulnerability are localized and materialized in those emerging models while also considering their broader conceptual and translational implications in the contexts of mental health and global public health interventions. In particular, we consider how narratives of maladaptive trajectories and vulnerable selves who are at risk of harm might stand in as a "new pathological" with healthy trajectories and resilient selves being potentially equated with a "new normal" way of living in the face of adversity. By troubling neurobiological vulnerability as a universal biosocial condition, we suggest that an ecosocial perspective may help us to think differently about the dynamics of mental health and distress in the adverse milieu.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Marques Filipe
- Department of Sociology and Centre for Research on Children & Families, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Centre for Biomedicine, Self & Society, Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Stephanie Lloyd
- Department of Anthropology, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
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Lloyd S, Larivée A. Time, trauma, and the brain: How suicide came to have no significant precipitating event. SCIENCE IN CONTEXT 2020; 33:299-327. [PMID: 34096495 DOI: 10.1017/s0269889721000065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
In this article, we trace shifting narratives of trauma within psychiatric, neuroscience, and environmental epigenetics research. We argue that two contemporary narratives of trauma - each of which concerns questions of time and psychopathology, of the past invading the present - had to be stabilized in order for environmental epigenetics models of suicide risk to be posited. Through an examination of these narratives, we consider how early trauma came to be understood as playing an etiologically significant role in the development of suicide risk. Suicide, in these models, has come to be seen as a behavior that has no significant precipitating event, but rather an exceptional precipitating neurochemical state, whose origins are identified in experiences of early traumatic events. We suggest that this is a part of a broader move within contemporary neurosciences and biopsychiatry to see life as post: seeing life as specific form of post-traumatic subjectivity.
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