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1. Risk factors for placental malaria, sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine doses, and birth outcomes in a rural to urban prospective cohort study on the Bandiagara Escarpment and Bamako, Mali

   https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-022-04125-6  

   Vincenz, Claudius ; Dolo, Zachary ; Saye, Serou ; Lovett, Jennie L. ; Strassmann, Beverly I. ( March 2022 , Malaria Journal)

   Malaria in Mali remains a primary cause of morbidity and mortality, with women at high risk during pregnancy for placental malaria (PM). Risk for PM and its association with birth outcomes was evaluated in a rural to urban longitudinal cohort on the Bandiagara Escarpment and the District of Bamako.

   Placental samples (N = 317) were collected from 249 mothers who were participants in a prospective cohort study directed by BIS in the years 2011 to 2019. A placental pathologist and research assistant evaluated the samples by histology in blinded fashion to assess PM infection stage and parasite density. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to model the odds of PM infection.

   In a multivariable model, pregnancies in Bamako, beyond secondary education, births in the rainy season (instead of the hot dry season), and births to women who had ≥ 3 doses of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) instead of no doses were associated with reduced odds of experiencing PM (active and past infections combined). Births in later years of the study were strongly associated with reduced odds of PM. Maternal age, which was positively associated with offspring year of birth, was significant as a predictor of PM only if offspring year of birth was omitted from the model. Gravidity was positively associated with both maternal age and offspring year of birth such that if either variable was included in the model, then gravidity was no longer significant. However, if maternal age or year of offspring birth were not adjusted for, then the odds of PM were nearly two-fold higher in primigravida compared to multigravida. Birth outcomes improved (+ 285 g birth weight, + 2 cm birth length, + 75 g placental weight) for women who had ≥ 3 doses of SP compared to no doses, but no difference was detected in birth weight or length for women who had 2 instead of ≥ 3 SP doses. However, at 2 instead of ≥ 3 doses placentas were 36 g lighter and the odds of low birth weight (< 2500 g) were 14% higher. Severe parasite densities (> 10% erythrocytes infected) were significantly associated with decreases in birth weight, birth length, and placental weight, as were chronic PM infections. The women who received no SP during pregnancy (7% of the study total) were younger and lacked primary school education. The women who received ≥ 3 doses of SP came from more affluent families.

   Women who received no doses of SP during pregnancy experienced the most disadvantageous birth outcomes in both Bamako and on the Bandiagara Escarpment. Such women tended to be younger and to have had no primary school education. Targeting such women for antenatal care, which is the setting in which SP is most commonly administered in Mali, will have a more positive impact on public health than focusing on the increment from two to three doses of SP, although that increment is also desirable.

    

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2. Effect of temperature on growth, survival, and chronic stress responses of Arctic Grayling juveniles

   https://doi.org/10.1002/tafs.10453  

   Carrillo‐Longoria, Javier‐Alonso ; Gaylord, Gibson ; Andrews, Lukas ; Powell, Madison ( December 2023 , Transactions of the American Fisheries Society)

   Arctic GraylingThymallus arcticusare Holarctically distributed, with a single native population in the conterminous United States occurring in the Big Hole River, Montana, where water temperatures can fluctuate throughout the year from 8°C to 18°C. A gradual increase in mean water temperature has been reported in this river over the past 20 years due to riparian habitat changes and climate change effects. We hypothesized that exposing Arctic Grayling to higher temperatures would result in lower survival, decreased growth, and increased stress responses.

   Over a 144‐day trial, Arctic Grayling juveniles were subjected to water temperatures ranging from 8°C to 26°C to measure the effects on growth, survival, gene expression, and antioxidant enzyme activity.

   Fish growth increased with increasing water temperature up to 18°C, beyond which survival was reduced. Fish did not survive at temperatures above 22°C. In response to temperatures above 16°C, 3.0‐fold and 1.5‐fold increases in gene expression were observed for superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), respectively, but no changes were seen in the gene expression ratio of heat shock protein 70 to heat shock protein 90. Activities of the SOD and GPx enzymes also rose at temperatures above 16°C, indicating heightened oxidative stress. Catalase gene expression and enzyme activity decreased with rising temperatures, suggesting a preference for the GPx pathway, as GPx could also be providing help with lipid peroxidation. An increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances was also recorded, which corresponded with rising temperatures.

   Our findings thus underscore the vulnerability of Arctic Grayling to minor changes in water temperature. Further increases in mean water temperature could significantly compromise the survival of Arctic Grayling in the Big Hole River.

    

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3. Prevalence and Correlates of Long COVID Symptoms Among US Adults

   https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.38804  

   Perlis, Roy H. ; Santillana, Mauricio ; Ognyanova, Katherine ; Safarpour, Alauna ; Lunz Trujillo, Kristin ; Simonson, Matthew D. ; Green, Jon ; Quintana, Alexi ; Druckman, James ; Baum, Matthew A. ; et al ( October 2022 , JAMA Network Open)

   Persistence of COVID-19 symptoms beyond 2 months, or long COVID, is increasingly recognized as a common sequela of acute infection.

   To estimate the prevalence of and sociodemographic factors associated with long COVID and to identify whether the predominant variant at the time of infection and prior vaccination status are associated with differential risk.

   This cross-sectional study comprised 8 waves of a nonprobability internet survey conducted between February 5, 2021, and July 6, 2022, among individuals aged 18 years or older, inclusive of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

   Long COVID, defined as reporting continued COVID-19 symptoms beyond 2 months after the initial month of symptoms, among individuals with self-reported positive results of a polymerase chain reaction test or antigen test.

   The 16 091 survey respondents reporting test-confirmed COVID-19 illness at least 2 months prior had a mean age of 40.5 (15.2) years; 10 075 (62.6%) were women, and 6016 (37.4%) were men; 817 (5.1%) were Asian, 1826 (11.3%) were Black, 1546 (9.6%) were Hispanic, and 11 425 (71.0%) were White. From this cohort, 2359 individuals (14.7%) reported continued COVID-19 symptoms more than 2 months after acute illness. Reweighted to reflect national sociodemographic distributions, these individuals represented 13.9% of those who had tested positive for COVID-19, or 1.7% of US adults. In logistic regression models, older age per decade above 40 years (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.15; 95% CI, 1.12-1.19) and female gender (adjusted OR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.73-2.13) were associated with greater risk of persistence of long COVID; individuals with a graduate education vs high school or less (adjusted OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.56-0.79) and urban vs rural residence (adjusted OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.64-0.86) were less likely to report persistence of long COVID. Compared with ancestral COVID-19, infection during periods when the Epsilon variant (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.69-0.95) or the Omicron variant (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.64-0.92) predominated in the US was associated with diminished likelihood of long COVID. Completion of the primary vaccine series prior to acute illness was associated with diminished risk for long COVID (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.60-0.86).

   This study suggests that long COVID is prevalent and associated with female gender and older age, while risk may be diminished by completion of primary vaccination series prior to infection.

    

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4. Hydration in relation to water insecurity, heat index, and lactation status in two small‐scale populations in hot‐humid and hot‐arid environments

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23447  

   Bethancourt, Hilary J. ; Swanson, Zane S. ; Nzunza, Rosemary ; Huanca, Tomas ; Conde, Esther ; Kenney, W. Larry ; Young, Sera L. ; Ndiema, Emmanuel ; Braun, David ; Pontzer, Herman ; et al ( June 2020 , American Journal of Human Biology)

   This study compared the prevalence of concentrated urine (urine specific gravity ≥1.021), an indicator of hypohydration, across Tsimane' hunter‐forager‐horticulturalists living in hot‐humid lowland Bolivia and Daasanach agropastoralists living in hot‐arid Northern Kenya. It tested the hypotheses that household water and food insecurity would be associated with higher odds of hypohydration.

   This study collected spot urine samples and corresponding weather data along with data on household water and food insecurity, demographics, and health characteristics among 266 Tsimane' households (N = 224 men, 235 women, 219 children) and 136 Daasanach households (N = 107 men, 120 women, 102 children).

   The prevalence of hypohydration among Tsimane' men (50.0%) and women (54.0%) was substantially higher (P < .001) than for Daasanach men (15.9%) and women (17.5%); the prevalence of hypohydration among Tsimane' (37.0%) and Daasanach (31.4%) children was not significantly different (P= .33). Multiple logistic regression models suggested positive but not statistically significant trends between household water insecurity and odds of hypohydration within populations, yet some significant joint effects of water and food insecurity were observed. Heat index (2°C) was associated with a 23% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09‐1.40,P= .001), 34% (95% CI: 1.18‐1.53,P < .0005), and 23% (95% CI: 1.04‐1.44,P= .01) higher odds of hypohydration among Tsimane' men, women, and children, respectively, and a 48% (95% CI: 1.02‐2.15,P= .04) increase in the odds among Daasanach women. Lactation status was also associated with hypohydration among Tsimane' women (odds ratio = 3.35, 95% CI: 1.62‐6.95,P= .001).

   These results suggest that heat stress and reproductive status may have a greater impact on hydration status than water insecurity across diverse ecological contexts.

    

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5. Brown adipose tissue, energy expenditure, and biomarkers of cardio‐metabolic health among the Yakut (Sakha) of northeastern Siberia

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23175  

   Levy, Stephanie B. ; Klimova, Tatiana M. ; Zakharova, Raisa N. ; Federov, Afanasiy I. ; Fedorova, Valentina I. ; Baltakhinova, Marina E. ; Leonard, William R. ( October 2018 , American Journal of Human Biology)

   This study provides the first investigation of non‐shivering thermogenesis (NST) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity among an indigenous circumpolar population, the Yakut of northeastern Siberia. The study also examines the health significance of BAT activity in this population by testing the relationships between BAT thermogenesis and biomarkers of cardio‐metabolic disease risk, such as percent body fat and blood glucose and cholesterol levels.

   Data were collected in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) for 31 men and 43 women. Change in energy expenditure and BAT thermogenesis were quantified after a 30‐minute mild cooling condition. Anthropometric dimensions, blood glucose, and lipid levels were also collected.

   On average, the skin temperature of the supraclavicular area was constant after cooling while the skin temperature of a point on the sternum dropped significantly (P < .001), thus suggesting the presence of active supraclavicular BAT among Yakut adults. Participants with evidence of greater BAT thermogenesis exhibited a larger percent change in energy expenditure (% ΔEE) and an increase in respiratory quotient (RQ) after cooling (P ≤ .05). While there was no relationship between BAT activity and blood lipid levels, BAT thermogenesis was positively associated with blood glucose levels (P < .01).

   Yakut adults exhibit evidence of active BAT deposits. Given that there is a significant relationship between BAT activity and % ΔEE, it is possible that BAT plays a role in NST among Yakut adults. While the relationship between BAT and body composition is inconclusive, participants with greater BAT seemed to preferentially utilize glucose during cold stress exposure.

    

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