Siwen Wang

BackgroundPlant-based diets have been associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in nonpregnant adults, but specific evidence for their effects on risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy is scarce.ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the prospective association between adherence to plant-based diets before pregnancy and the risk for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. We hypothesized that women with higher adherence to plant-based diets would have a lower risk for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.Study DesignWe followed 11,459 parous women (16,780 singleton pregnancies) without chronic diseases, a history of preeclampsia, and cancers who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study II (1991–2009), which was a prospective cohort study. Diet was assessed every 4 years using a validated food frequency questionnaire from which we calculated the plant-based diet index (higher …

Sexually minoritized women (SMW) may be at an increased risk of adverse perinatal mental health, though prior research is limited. We examined sexual orientation-related differences in perinatal mental health (i.e., stress and depression), and antidepressant utilization among those at different severities of clinically significant perinatal depressive symptoms.Nurses’ Health Study 3 participants with prospectively assessed pregnancies (N = 6,364) received pregnancy and postpartum questionnaires. Using weighted log-binomial generalized estimating equations, we examined differences in stress (Perceived Stress Scale 4 [PSS-4]), depression (the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale [EDPS] at four cut-off scores [≥7, ≥9, ≥11, ≥13]), and patterns of antidepressant utilization across five groups: completely heterosexual with no same-sex sexual partners (reference group; n = 5,178); heterosexual with same …

Background Previous studies have reported associations of specific maternal and paternal lifestyle factors with offspring’s cognitive development during early childhood. This study aimed to investigate the prospective associations between overall parental lifestyle and offspring’s cognitive performance during adolescence and young adulthood in China. Methods We included 2531 adolescents aged 10-15 years at baseline in 2010 from the China Family Panel Studies. A healthy parental lifestyle score (ranged 0-5) was constructed based on the following five modifiable lifestyle factors: Smoking, drinking, exercise, sleep, and diet. Generalized estimating equation models were used to examine the association between baseline parental healthy lifestyle scores and offspring’s fluid and crystallized intelligence in subsequent years (2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018). Results Offspring in the top tertile of parental healthy …

BackgroundPrior work has suggested relationships between prenatal intake of certain nutrients and autism.ObjectivesWe examined a broad set of prenatal nutrients and foods using a Bayesian modeling approach.MethodsParticipants were drawn from the Early Autism Risks Longitudinal Investigation (n = 127), a cohort following women with a child with autism through a subsequent pregnancy. Participants were also drawn from the Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII, n = 713), a cohort of United States female nurses, for comparison analyses. In both studies, information on prospectively reported prenatal diet was drawn from food frequency questionnaires, and child autism-related traits were measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Bayesian kernel machine regression was used to examine the combined effects of several nutrients with neurodevelopmental relevance, including polyunsaturated fatty acids …

Background Down syndrome (DS), which is characterized by various malfunctions, is the most common chromosomal disorder. As the DS population continues to grow and most of those with DS live beyond puberty, early‐onset health problems have become apparent. However, the cellular landscape and molecular alterations have not been thoroughly studied. Methods This study utilized single‐cell resolution techniques to examine DS in humans and mice, spanning seven distinct organs. A total of 71 934 mouse and 98 207 human cells were analyzed to uncover the molecular alterations occurring in different cell types and organs related to DS, specifically starting from the fetal stage. Additionally, SA‐β‐Gal staining, western blot, and histological study were employed to verify the alterations. Results In this study, we firstly established the transcriptomic profile of the mammalian DS, deciphering the cellular map …

ImportanceThe association of multiple healthy sleep dimensions with post–COVID-19 condition (PCC), also known as long COVID, has not been investigated.ObjectiveTo examine whether multidimensional sleep health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, prior to SARS-CoV-2 infection, was associated with the risk of PCC.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis prospective cohort study (2015-2021) included Nurses’ Health Study II participants who reported testing positive (n = 2303) for SARS-CoV-2 infection in a substudy series of COVID-19–related surveys (n = 32 249) between April 2020 and November 2021. After exclusion for incomplete information about sleep health and nonresponse to a question about PCC, 1979 women were included in the analysis.ExposuresSleep health was measured both before (June 1, 2015, to May 31, 2017) and early (April 1 to August 31, 2020) in the COVID-19 …

Introduction: Adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) have been linked with maternal mortality, higher risk of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, and adverse neonatal outcomes. The World Health Organization recommends the adoption of a healthy lifestyle (maintaining a normal BMI, not smoking, regular exercise, healthy diet, avoiding harmful alcohol intake, and multivitamin supplementation) before conception to improve pregnancy health. However, the combined effect of these lifestyle factors on reducing APOs is unknown. Hypothesis: Adherence to healthy lifestyle prior to pregnancy may be associated with a lower risk of subsequent development of APOs. Methods: We followed 15,509 women without chronic diseases (27,135 pregnancies) and participating in an ongoing cohort in the United States, the Nurses’ Health Study II. Healthy lifestyle factors preceding pregnancy were prospectively assessed every …

STUDY QUESTION Is there an association between iron intake and ovarian reserve among women seeking fertility care? SUMMARY ANSWER Supplemental iron intake above 45 mg/day is associated with lower ovarian reserve among women seeking fertility care. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Although the literature regarding iron intake in relation to ovarian reserve is scant and inconsistent, some evidence suggests that iron may have gonadotoxic effects. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION This observational study included 582 female participants attending the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center (2007–2019) enrolled in the Environment and Reproductive Health (EARTH) Study. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Iron intake was estimated using a validated food frequency …

ImportancePregnancy intention assessment is a key element of preconception and contraceptive care. The association between a single screening question and the incidence of pregnancy is unknown.ObjectiveTo prospectively evaluate the dynamics of pregnancy intention and pregnancy incidence.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis prospective cohort study (the Nurses’ Health Study 3) was conducted from June 1, 2010, to April 1, 2022, in 18 376 premenopausal, nonpregnant female nurses aged 19 to 44 years.Main Outcomes and MeasuresPregnancy intention and pregnancy status were assessed at baseline and approximately every 3 to 6 months thereafter. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the association between pregnancy intention and pregnancy incidence.ResultsA total of 18 376 premenopausal, nonpregnant women (mean [SD] age, 32.4 [6.5] years) participated in …

ObjectiveTo investigate the association between infertility and the incidence of invasive cancer.DesignProspective cohort study (1989–2015).SettingNot applicable.Patient(s)A total of 103,080 women aged 25–42 years in the Nurses’ Health Study II who were cancer-free at baseline (1989).Intervention(s)The infertility status (failure to conceive after 1 year of regular, unprotected sex) and causes of infertility were self-reported at baseline and biennial follow-up questionnaires.Main Outcome Measure(s)Cancer diagnosis was confirmed through medical record review and classified as obesity-related (colorectal, gallbladder, kidney, multiple myeloma, thyroid, pancreatic, esophageal, gastric, liver, endometrial, ovarian, and postmenopausal breast) or non–obesity-related (all other cancers). We fit the Cox proportional-hazards models to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the …

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a rare liver disease occurring during pregnancy that is characterized by disordered bile acid (BA) metabolism. It is related to adverse clinical outcomes in both the mother and fetus. Our aim was to evaluate the BA metabolism profiles in different types of ICP and investigate the association between specific BAs and perinatal complications in ICP patients. We consecutively evaluated 95 patients with ICP, in which 53 patients were diagnosed with early-onset ICP (EICP) and 42 patients were diagnosed with late-onset ICP (LICP). Concentrations of 15 BA components were detected using high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Clinical information was abstracted from the medical records. The percentage of conjugated bile acids increased in ICP patients. Specifically, taurocholic acid (TCA) accumulated in LICP patients, and glycocholic acid …

Increasing evidences showed that ovulatory dysfunction, possibly caused by luteinized unruptured follicular follicle syndrome (LUFS), is one of the reasons for endometriosis-related infertility. The present study was conducted to explore the potential effect of elevated progesterone in follicular fluid (FF) on ovulation in endometriosis. A prospective study including 50 ovarian endometriosis patients and 50 control patients with matched pairs design was conducted with alterations in FF and peritoneal fluid (PF) components identified by metabolomics analyses and differentially expressed genes in granulosa cells (GCs) identified by transcriptome analysis. Patients with endometriosis exhibited a significantly higher progesterone level in serum, FF, and PF. Granulosa cells from endometriosis patients revealed decreased expression of HPGD, COX-2, and suppressed NF-ĸB signaling. Similarly, progesterone treatment …

Background Pre-pandemic psychological distress is associated with increased susceptibility to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, but associations with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity are not established. The authors examined the associations between distress prior to SARS-CoV-2 infection and subsequent risk of hospitalization. Methods Between April 2020 (baseline) and April 2021, we followed 54 781 participants from three ongoing cohorts: Nurses' Health Study II (NHSII), Nurses' Health Study 3 (NHS3), and the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS) who reported no current or prior SARS-CoV-2 infection at baseline. Chronic depression was assessed during 2010–2019. Depression, anxiety, worry about COVID-19, perceived stress, and loneliness were measured at baseline. SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalization due to COVID-19 was self …

The purpose of this study is to discuss the possibility of predicting gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) by analyzing the first test indexes. In order to verify the prediction effect, we used 61 indexes, including age and 60 test indexes, from December 2015 to May 2018 in Beijing Pinggu District Hospital, and conducted experiments of GDM risk prediction based on a variety of different models, ranged from LR, LDA, RF to XGBoost. The experimental results reveal that compared to the dataset of using major relevant indicators, the dataset of using full indicators performs better. Besides, logistic regression can achieve a relatively good prediction effect. On the test set of all data, the area under the curve (AUC) of the Logistic regression model reaches 0.7787. In the meantime, the accuracy rate of the Logistic Regression model reaches (69.991 ± 2.833)%, and the recall rate and the mean value of the F1 value are (70.598 …

OBJECTIVEPrevious research has shown that peri-menopausal anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels predict bone loss in the following 3 to 5 years. The relation of ovarian reserve as assessed by AMH levels during mid-reproductive years with bone health during the menopausal transition is less clear. We studied the association of AMH levels in mid-reproductive years with bone health 14 years later.MATERIALS AND METHODSWe followed 477 parous women participating in Project Viva, a longitudinal cohort in the United States. We assessed blood AMH levels in 2003-2006 and bone health measures in 2017-2021. The primary outcome was bone mineral density (BMD) at spine, total hip, and femoral neck measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Secondary outcomes were plasma bone turnover biomarkers, including procollagen type I N-propeptide (PINP) and C-terminal telopeptide I (CTX-I). We used …

Maternal mortality is unusually high in the United States compared to other wealthy nations and is characterized by major disparities in race/ethnicity, geography, and socioeconomic factors. Similar to other developed nations, the United States has seen a shift in the underlying causes of pregnancy-related death, with a relative increase in mortality resulting from diseases of the cardiovascular system and preexisting medical conditions. Improved continuity of care aimed at identifying reproductive-age women with preexisting conditions that may heighten the risk of maternal death, preconception management of risk factors for major adverse pregnancy outcomes, and primary care visits within the first year after delivery may offer opportunities to address gaps in medical care contributing to the unacceptable rates of maternal mortality in the United States.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine associations of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels in gravid women in their mid-30s with menopausal symptoms~ 14 years later and age at natural menopause.MethodsIn this prospective analysis, 474 participants in Project Viva, a longitudinal cohort, were enrolled during pregnancy between 1999 and 2002. AMH levels were determined using plasma samples collected 3 years postpartum. Participants completed the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) and self-reported age at and reason for menopause at the 17 years postpartum visit (Mid-Life Visit). Primary outcomes were individual MRS item responses and total MRS score. To examine associations between AMH levels and menopausal outcomes, we performed linear and logistic regressions, and survival analyses, adjusting for confounding variables.ResultsMean (SD) AMH level was 2.80 (2.74) ng/mL, measured …

BackgroundWomen are at greater risk than men of developing chronic inflammatory conditions and “long COVID.” However, few gynecologic health risk factors for long COVID-19 have been identified. Endometriosis is a common gynecologic disorder associated with chronic inflammation, immune dysregulation, and comorbid presentation with autoimmune and clotting disorders, all of which are pathophysiological mechanisms proposed for long COVID-19. Therefore, we hypothesized that women with a history of endometriosis may be at greater risk of developing long COVID-19.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the association between history of endometriosis before SARS-CoV-2 infection and risk of long COVID-19.Study DesignWe followed 46,579 women from 2 ongoing prospective cohort studies—the Nurses’ Health Study II and the Nurses’ Health Study 3—who participated in a series of COVID-19 …

OBJECTIVEDietary factors have been reported to be associated with ovarian function. However, evidence on how dietary glycemic impact affects ovarian function is scarce. This study aimed to investigate associations of dietary glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL), as measures of the effects of food on postprandial glucose concentrations, with antral follicle count (AFC).MATERIALS AND METHODSWe included 601 participants (18-45 years) seeking infertility care at an academic fertility center. Dietary glycemic indices were assessed by evaluating carbohydrate-containing foods using a 131-item validated food frequency questionnaire. Participants were divided into tertiles based on their GI and GL, with the lowest tertile as the reference group. AFC was defined as small (≥ 2mm) follicles in left and right ovaries using transvaginal ultrasound examination on the third day of the menstrual cycle or progesterone …

Objectives: Dietary change is thought to increase diabetes risk in West African immigrants in the US. Qualitative research studies provide inadequate data about African immigrant diets. Despite eating home cooked meals daily, African immigrants also report eating more fast food and a lot of starch. However, current quantitative dietary assessment tools fail to characterize African immigrant diets. Therefore, this study aimed to adapt a food frequency questionnaire to reflect both African and US foods to assess dietary patterns among Ghanaian immigrants, the largest African immigrant community in New York City (NYC). Methods: Recruitment used flyers, social media and personal outreach. Participants gave oral consent and received a $50 gift card. The questionnaire had 26 food groups, and participants were asked how often they ate each food group, and to name the three most common foods in each group. Results: Of the 70 adult Ghanaian respondents (53% female, ages 18–68y) living in NYC, more than half (52%) had lived in the US≥ 15 years, and 5.7% had type 2 diabetes. All participants ate rice, and 83% said that they ate rice≥ 3 times a week. Most common dishes were Jollof rice, plain white rice, Waakye (rice and beans). All participants ate Cereals and Grains (excluding rice) and 76% ate cereals and grains≤ 3 times a week. Most common cereals and grains were oatmeal, banku (corn and cassava), and kenkey (corn). Plantains and starchy roots are daily staples in Ghana, yet 67% of participants said they eat them≤ 2 times/week. Most common were fried plantain, boiled yam, and boiled plantain. In contrast, 71% ate fruits and …