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Pregnant women are advised to take folic acid (FA) supplements before conception and during the first trimester of pregnancy. Many women continue FA supplementation throughout pregnancy, and concerns have been raised about associations between excessive FA intake and adverse maternal and child health outcomes.
The dramatic rise in early childhood allergic diseases indicates the specific vulnerability of the immune system to early life environmental changes.
Complementary feeding induces dramatic ecological shifts in the infant gut microbiota toward more diverse compositions and functional metabolic capacities, with potential implications for immune and metabolic health. The aim of this study was to examine whether the age at which solid foods are introduced differentially affects the microbiota in predominantly breastfed infants compared with predominantly formula-fed infants.
The dramatic rise in allergic disease has occurred in tandem with recent environmental changes and increasing indoor lifestyle culture. While multifactorial, one consistent allergy risk factor has been reduced sunlight exposure. However, vitamin D supplementation studies have been disappointing in preventing allergy, raising possible independent effects of ultraviolet (UV) light exposure.
Food allergy can have significant effects on morbidity and quality of life and can be costly in terms of medical visits and treatments.
Debbie Susan Palmer Prescott BSc BND PhD MBBS BMedSci PhD FRACP Head, Nutrition in Early Life Honorary Research Fellow debbie.palmer@uwa.edu.au
Food allergy is mediated by a combination of genetic and environmental risk factors, potentially mediated by epigenetic mechanisms.
There is a growing need for early biomarkers that may predict the development of atopic dermatitis (AD). As alterations in skin barrier may be a primary event in disease pathogenesis, epithelial cell (EC) cytokines expression patterns may be a potential biomarker in early life to target allergy preventive strategies towards "at-risk" infants. The aim of this longitudinal investigation was to examine from birth over the course of infancy levels of the EC cytokines: thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), interleukin (IL)-33, IL-25, and IL-17 in infants at high-risk of AD due to maternal atopy.
This study aimed to identify maternal and family factors that may predict increases or decreases in child eating disorder symptoms over time, accounting for...
Early infancy oral vitamin D supplementation does not appear to reduce the development of early childhood allergic disease
These data highlight that antigen administration to the neonate through the oral route may contribute to child allergic sensitization and have important...
To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that the reported 25(OH)D concentration may be influenced by both age and assay type
Our global health crisis and the pandemic of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is clearly rooted in complex modern societal and environmental changes, many of...
As the prevalence of allergic disease dramatically rises worldwide, prevention strategies are increasingly being considered.
This review aims to summarise and evaluate the potential mechanisms and evidence for the role of prenatal infection on the central nervous system, and how it...
Increased maternal egg ingestion is associated with increased breastmilk ovalbumin, and markers of immune tolerance in infants
Antioxidant intakes in pregnancy may influence fetal immune programming and the risk of allergic disease.
There is significant data to support the hypothesis that early life nutrition in the fetus, infant and young child can have profound effects on long-term health
Many children and their families, especially those from priority populations, experience barriers to accessing high-quality early childhood health, education, social and legal services. Further, these families are often under-represented in service planning and research; hence innovations are not designed to meet their needs. Our aim is to codesign with families and the wider community, a Strength-based, Tiered, Accessible Resources and Supports for Kids (STARS for Kids) programme to optimise child development, parental mental well-being, and family psychosocial needs in the first 2000 days from pregnancy to start of school