Vitamin C for Pregnant Smokers to Improve Infant Lung Function. An Orange a Day Keeps the Respirologist Away?
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Subbarao P
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6515870 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC8729567 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Exercise and increased physical activity are vital components of the standard treatment guidelines for many chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Although strenuous exercise cannot be recommended to people with numerous chronic conditions, walking is something most people can perform. In comparison to high-intensity training, the metabolic consequences of low-intensity walking have been less well studied. We present here a feasibility study of a subject who performed an exercise intervention of low-intensity, non-fatiguing walking on a deskmill/treadmill for 200 min daily, approximately the average time a German spends watching television per day. This low-impact physical activity has the advantages that it can be done while performing other tasks such as reading or watching TV, and it can be recommended to obese patients or patients with heart disease. We find that this intervention led to substantial weight loss, comparable to that of bariatric surgery. To study the metabolic changes caused by this intervention, we performed an in-depth metabolomic profiling of the blood both directly after walking to assess the acute changes, as well as 1.5 days after physical activity to identify the long-term effects that persist. We find changes in acylcarnitine levels suggesting that walking activates fatty acid beta oxidation, and that this mitochondrial reprogramming is still visible 1.5 days post-walking. We also find that walking mildly increases gut permeability, leading to increased exposure of the blood to metabolites from the gut microbiome. Overall, these data provide a starting point for designing future intervention studies with larger cohorts.
| S-EPMC10238728 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Smoking leads to the development of automatic tendencies that promote approach behavior toward smoking-related stimuli which in turn may maintain addictive behavior. The present study examined whether automatic approach tendencies toward smoking-related stimuli can be measured by using an adapted version of the Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT). Given that progression of addictive behavior has been associated with a decreased reactivity of the brain reward system for stimuli signaling natural rewards, we also used the AAT to measure approach behavior toward natural rewarding stimuli in smokers. During the AAT, 92 smokers and 51 non-smokers viewed smoking-related vs. non-smoking-related pictures and pictures of natural rewards (i.e. highly palatable food) vs. neutral pictures. They were instructed to ignore image content and to respond to picture orientation by either pulling or pushing a joystick. Within-group comparisons revealed that smokers showed an automatic approach bias exclusively for smoking-related pictures. Contrary to our expectations, there was no difference in smokers' and non-smokers' approach bias for nicotine-related stimuli, indicating that non-smokers also showed approach tendencies for this picture category. Yet, in contrast to non-smokers, smokers did not show an approach bias for food-related pictures. Moreover, self-reported smoking attitude could not predict approach-avoidance behavior toward nicotine-related pictures in smokers or non-smokers. Our findings indicate that the AAT is suited for measuring smoking-related approach tendencies in smokers. Furthermore, we provide evidence for a diminished approach tendency toward food-related stimuli in smokers, suggesting a decreased sensitivity to natural rewards in the course of nicotine addiction. Our results indicate that in contrast to similar studies conducted in alcohol, cannabis and heroin users, the AAT might only be partially suited for measuring smoking-related approach tendencies in smokers. Nevertheless, our findings are of special importance for current etiological models and smoking cessation programs aimed at modifying nicotine-related approach tendencies in the context of a nicotine addiction.
| S-EPMC4333198 | biostudies-other
Project description:Objective To model the effect on UK vascular mortality of all adults over 50 years old being prescribed either a statin or an apple a day. Design Comparative proverb assessment modelling study. Setting United Kingdom. Population Adults aged over 50 years. Intervention Either a statin a day for people not already taking a statin or an apple a day for everyone, assuming 70% compliance and no change in calorie consumption. The modelling used routinely available UK population datasets; parameters describing the relations between statins, apples, and health were derived from meta-analyses. Main outcome measure Mortality due to vascular disease. Results The estimated annual reduction in deaths from vascular disease of a statin a day, assuming 70% compliance and a reduction in vascular mortality of 12% (95% confidence interval 9% to 16%) per 1.0 mmol/L reduction in low density lipoprotein cholesterol, is 9400 (7000 to 12 500). The equivalent reduction from an apple a day, modelled using the PRIME model (assuming an apple weighs 100 g and that overall calorie consumption remains constant) is 8500 (95% credible interval 6200 to 10 800). Conclusions Both nutritional and pharmaceutical approaches to the prevention of vascular disease may have the potential to reduce UK mortality significantly. With similar reductions in mortality, a 150 year old health promotion message is able to match modern medicine and is likely to have fewer side effects.
| S-EPMC3898162 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC6680308 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Within the last decade, vitamin D has emerged as a central regulator of host defense against infections. In this regard, vitamin D triggers effective antimicrobial pathways against bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens in cells of the human innate immune system. However, vitamin D also mediates potent tolerogenic effects: it is generally believed that vitamin D attenuates inflammation and acquired immunity, and thus potentially limits collateral tissue damage. Nevertheless, several studies indicate that vitamin D promotes aspects of acquired host defense. Clinically, vitamin D deficiency has been associated with an increased risk for various infectious diseases in epidemiological studies; yet, robust data from controlled trials investigating the use of vitamin D as a preventive or therapeutic agent are missing. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding the effect of vitamin D on innate and acquired host defense, and speculate on the difficulties to translate the available molecular medicine data into practical therapeutic or preventive recommendations.
| S-EPMC4488779 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo determine the implications of supplemental vitamin C for pregnant tobacco smokers and its effects on the prevalence of pediatric asthma, asthma-related mortality, and associated costs.Study designA decision-analytic model built via TreeAge compared the outcome of asthma in a theoretical annual cohort of 480,000 children born to pregnant smokers through 18 years of life. Vitamin C supplementation (500 mg/day) with a standard prenatal vitamin was compared to a prenatal vitamin (60 mg/day). Model inputs were derived from the literature. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses assessed the impact of assumptions.ResultAdditional vitamin C during pregnancy would prevent 1637 cases of asthma at the age of 18 per birth cohort of pregnant smokers. Vitamin C would reduce asthma-related childhood deaths and save $31,420,800 in societal costs over 18 years per birth cohort.ConclusionVitamin C supplementation in pregnant smokers is a safe and inexpensive intervention that may reduce the economic burden of pediatric asthma.
| S-EPMC6414472 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC6680303 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Vitamin C (500 mg·day-1) supplementation for pregnant smokers has been reported to increase newborn pulmonary function and infant forced expiratory flows (FEFs) at 3 months of age. Its effect on airway function through 12 months of age has not been reported. To assess whether vitamin C supplementation to pregnant smokers is associated with a sustained increased airway function in their infants through 12 months of age. This is a prespecified secondary outcome of a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that randomised 251 pregnant smokers between 13 and 23 weeks of gestation: 125 to 500 mg·day-1 vitamin C and 126 to placebo. Smoking cessation counselling was provided. FEFs performed at 3 and 12 months of age were analysed by repeated measures analysis of covariance. FEFs were performed in 222 infants at 3 months and 202 infants at 12 months of age. The infants allocated to vitamin C had significantly increased FEFs over the first year of life compared to those allocated to placebo. The overall increased flows were: 40.2 mL·sec-1 for FEF75 (adjusted 95% CI for difference 6.6 to 73.8; p=0.025); 58.3 mL·sec-1 for FEF50 (95% CI 10.9 to 105.8; p=0.0081); and 55.1 mL·sec-1 for FEF25-75 (95% CI, 9.7 to 100.5; p=0.013). In offspring of pregnant smokers randomised to vitamin C versus placebo, vitamin C during pregnancy was associated with a small but significantly increased airway function at 3 and 12 months of age, suggesting a potential shift to a higher airway function trajectory curve. Continued follow-up is underway.
| S-EPMC8029653 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ImportanceFruit consumption is believed to have beneficial health effects, and some claim, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."ObjectiveTo examine the relationship between eating an apple a day and keeping the doctor away.Design, setting, and participantsA cross-sectional study of a nationally representative sample of the noninstitutionalized US adult population. A total of 8728 adults 18 years and older from the 2007-2008 and 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey completed a 24-hour dietary recall questionnaire and reported that the quantity of food they ate was reflective of their usual daily diet.ExposuresDaily apple eaters (consuming the equivalent of at least 1 small apple daily, or 149 g of raw apple) vs non-apple eaters, based on the reported quantity of whole apple consumed during the 24-hour dietary recall period.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome measure was success at "keeping the doctor away," measured as no more than 1 visit (self-reported) to a physician during the past year; secondary outcomes included successful avoidance of other health care services (ie, no overnight hospital stays, visits to a mental health professional, or prescription medications).ResultsOf 8399 eligible study participants who completed the dietary recall questionnaire, we identified 753 adult apple eaters (9.0%)--those who typically consume at least 1 small apple per day. Compared with the 7646 non-apple eaters (91.0%), apple eaters had higher educational attainment, were more likely to be from a racial or ethnic minority, and were less likely to smoke (P<.001 for each comparison). Apple eaters were more likely, in the crude analysis, to keep the doctor (and prescription medications) away: 39.0% of apple eaters avoided physician visits vs 33.9% of non-apple eaters (P=.03). After adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, however, the association was no longer statistically significant (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.93-1.53; P=.15). In the adjusted analysis, apple eaters also remained marginally more successful at avoiding prescription medications (odds ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.00-1.63). There were no differences seen in overnight hospital stay or mental health visits.Conclusions and relevanceEvidence does not support that an apple a day keeps the doctor away; however, the small fraction of US adults who eat an apple a day do appear to use fewer prescription medications.
| S-EPMC4420713 | biostudies-literature