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Article
Open AccessGut microbiota and fecal short chain fatty acids differ with adiposity and country of origin: the METS-microbiome study
The relationship between microbiota, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and obesity remains enigmatic. We employ amplicon sequencing and targeted metabolomics in a large (n = 1904) African origin cohort from Ghana,...
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Article
Total daily energy expenditure has declined over the past three decades due to declining basal expenditure, not reduced activity expenditure
Obesity is caused by a prolonged positive energy balance1,2. Whether reduced energy expenditure stemming from reduced activity levels contributes is debated3,4. Here we show that in both sexes, total energy expen...
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Article
Association between short-term exposure to ambient PM1 and PM2.5 and forced vital capacity in Chinese children and adolescents
This study aims to examine the association between short-term exposure to ambient PM1, PM1-2.5, and PM2.5 and forced vital capacity (FVC). Population data were obtained from a school-based cross-sectional survey ...
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Article
Open AccessMaternal cigarette smoking before or during pregnancy increases the risk of birth congenital anomalies: a population-based retrospective cohort study of 12 million mother-infant pairs
The associations of maternal cigarette smoking with congenital anomalies in offspring have been inconsistent. This study aimed to clarify the associations of the timing and intensity of maternal cigarette smok...
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Article
Open AccessTotal energy expenditure is repeatable in adults but not associated with short-term changes in body composition
Low total energy expenditure (TEE, MJ/d) has been a hypothesized risk factor for weight gain, but repeatability of TEE, a critical variable in longitudinal studies of energy balance, is understudied. We examin...
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Open AccessThe associations between alcohol intake and cardiometabolic risk in African-origin adults spanning the epidemiologic transition
Cardiometabolic (CM) risk affects approximately 25% of adults globally, and is diagnosed by meeting 3 out of 5 of the following CM risk factors: elevated blood pressure, high triglycerides, elevated blood suga...
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Article
Trends in the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity among Chinese adults between 1993 and 2015
Most previous studies on trends in the prevalence of obesity or abdominal obesity in Chinese adults were based on regional data and/or short time intervals, and recent trends are not available. We aimed to exa...
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Article
Open AccessTrends in mortality from external causes in the Republic of Seychelles between 1989 and 2018
Data on injury-related mortality are scarce in the African region. Mortality from external causes in the Seychelles was assessed, where all deaths are medically certified and the population is regularly enumer...
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Article
Monitoring caffeine intake in children with a questionnaire and urine collection: a cross-sectional study in a convenience sample in Switzerland
The objectives of this study were (1) to estimate caffeine intake and identify the main sources of intake using a dietary questionnaire, (2) to assess 24-h urinary excretion of caffeine and its metabolites, an...
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Article
Spot urine samples to estimate 24-hour urinary calcium excretion in school-age children
Urinary calcium/creatinine ratio (UCa/Cr) on a single spot urine sample is frequently used in children to evaluate calciuria, but its accuracy to estimate 24-h urinary calcium excretion (24hUCa) has not been p...
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Article
Population biomonitoring of micronutrient intakes in children using urinary spot samples
Urinary spot samples are a promising method for the biomonitoring of micronutrient intake in children. Our aim was to assess whether urinary spot samples could be used to estimate the 24-h urinary excretion of...
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Article
Open AccessSociodemographic inequities associated with participation in leisure-time physical activity in sub-Saharan Africa: an individual participant data meta-analysis
Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) is an important contributor to total physical activity and the focus of many interventions promoting activity in high-income populations. Little is known about LTPA in sub...
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Article
Estimating the effect of a reduction of sodium intake in childhood on cardiovascular diseases later in life
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Open AccessThe epidemiological burden of obesity in childhood: a worldwide epidemic requiring urgent action
In recent decades, the prevalence of obesity in children has increased dramatically. This worldwide epidemic has important consequences, including psychiatric, psychological and psychosocial disorders in child...
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Article
Estimation of salt intake and excretion in children in one region of Switzerland: a cross-sectional study
Salt intake among children in Switzerland is unknown. The objectives of this study were to determine salt excretion and to identify the main dietary sources of salt intake among children in one region of Switz...
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Article
Height-specific blood pressure cutoffs for screening elevated and high blood pressure in children and adolescents: an International Study
Pediatric blood pressure (BP) reference tables are generally based on sex, age, and height and tend to be cumbersome to use in routine clinical practice. In this study, we aimed to develop a new, height-specif...
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Article
A simple table based on height to assess elevated and high blood pressure in children
The 2017 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guideline for assessing “elevated blood pressure (BP) (90th BP percentile)” and “high BP (95th BP percentile)” includes a large number of BP cut-offs based on sex, ag...
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Article
Open AccessGut microbiota, short chain fatty acids, and obesity across the epidemiologic transition: the METS-Microbiome study protocol
While some of the variance observed in adiposity and weight change within populations can be accounted for by traditional risk factors, a new factor, the gut microbiota, has recently been associated with obesi...
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Article
Performance of modified blood pressure-to-height ratio for identifying hypertension in Chinese and American children
Blood pressure-to-height ratio (BPHR) has been reported to perform well for identifying hypertension (HTN) in adolescents but not in young children. Our study was aimed to evaluate the performance of BPHR and ...
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Article
Open AccessIndependent association of resting energy expenditure with blood pressure: confirmation in populations of the African diaspora
Obesity is a major risk factor for hypertension, however, the physiologic mechanisms linking increased adiposity to elevations in blood pressure are not well described. An increase in resting energy expenditur...
