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Background. The study was planned to assess the prevalence of dental caries among tribal, suburban and urban children of Tiruchengode and Erode of Tamil Nadu state, India. The objective of the study was to assess the association of dental caries with family background, dental service availability, transportation and knowledge on preventive dental measures among these three groups. Design and methods. Cross-sectional study. A total of 1028 school children in the age range of 9-12 years from various government schools located in Palamalai and Kolli Hills (tribal), Tiruchengode (suburban) and Erode (urban), Tamil Nadu, were included in the study. Decayed, filled, and missing teeth (DMFT), decayed and filled teeth (dft) and Significant Caries Index were recorded. A specially prepared questionnaire was used to record all the data regarding oral hygiene practices, socioeconomic background, dental treatment availability, parent’s education level were used for the study. ANOVA t-test and post hoc test were used for comparing quantitative variables between the 3 subgroups. Results. The tribal school children had 89.3% caries prevalence, where as it was 77% in suburban and 55% in urban school children. The mean DMFT score among tribal, suburban and urban school children were statistically significant different (P=0.001) between the three groups. There was a highly significant difference (P=0.001) in the mean DMFT score based on brushing frequency. There was a statistically significant difference (P=0.018) in the mean DMFT scores in the urban group based on the mothers education status. There were no statistically significant differences in the mean DMFT scores based on the presence or absence of television in their house and the parents’ income. Conclusions. Oral hygiene practices, dietary habits and access to dental care services played an important role in prevalence of dental caries. It was observed that the socioeconomic status, parents’ educational status and mass media influenced the oral health of these children but without a significant contribution.

The paper studied the relationship between emotional experience in childhood and the quality of the existing partnerships. With a questionnaire, specifically designed by I. Tretjakova, 221 respondents aged 20–40 years were interviewed. The study leads to the conclusion that a positive emotional experience in childhood helps to develop emotionally healthy environment in marriage (including unregistered or civil partnership), and creates the desire to have children, and vice versa, emotionally negative experience in childhood disturbs the creation of an emotionally favourable environment for marriage and causes conflicts in relationships, provokes desire to divorce, but it cannot be stated that more interpersonal problems are the cause of lower birth rates than there are at fewer marital problems. The study confirms that a stable marriage can be an important factor contributing to the woman's desire to have children Thus it can be assumed that development of emotion regulation skills could be a contributing factor in order to form successful partnerships and promote birth of more children in the family context.

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Syphilis Gonorrhoea Chlamydia trachomatis infections Condyloma acuminata Hepatitis Bin children Genital herpes simplex virus infection Human immunodeficiency virus Trichomonas vaginalis infection Bacterial vaginitis References

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Biological Factors Psychological Factors Social Factors Summary References

Background Several recent observational studies have reported that gut microbiota composition is associated with preeclampsia. However, the causal effect of gut microbiota on preeclampsia-eclampsia is unknown. Methods A two-sample Mendelian randomization study was performed using the summary statistics of gut microbiota from the largest available genome-wide association study meta-analysis ( n =13,266) conducted by the MiBioGen consortium. The summary statistics of preeclampsia-eclampsia were obtained from the FinnGen consortium R7 release data (5731 cases and 160,670 controls). Inverse variance weighted, maximum likelihood, MR-Egger, weighted median, weighted model, MR-PRESSO, and cML-MA were used to examine the causal association between gut microbiota and preeclampsia-eclampsia. Reverse Mendelian randomization analysis was performed on the bacteria that were found to be causally associated with preeclampsia-eclampsia in forward Mendelian randomization analysis. Cochran’s Q statistics were used to quantify the heterogeneity of instrumental variables. Results Inverse variance weighted estimates suggested that Bifidobacterium had a protective effect on preeclampsia-eclampsia (odds ratio = 0.76, 95% confidence interval: 0.64–0.89, P = 8.03 × 10 −4 ). In addition, Collinsella (odds ratio = 0.77, 95% confidence interval: 0.60–0.98, P = 0.03), Enterorhabdus (odds ratio = 0.76, 95% confidence interval: 0.62–0.93, P = 8.76 × 10 −3 ), Eubacterium (ventriosum group) (odds ratio = 0.76, 95% confidence interval: 0.63–0.91, P = 2.43 × 10 −3 ), Lachnospiraceae (NK4A136 group) (odds ratio = 0.77, 95% confidence interval: 0.65–0.92, P = 3.77 × 10 −3 ), and Tyzzerella 3 (odds ratio = 0.85, 95% confidence interval: 0.74–0.97, P = 0.01) presented a suggestive association with preeclampsia-eclampsia. According to the results of reverse MR analysis, no significant causal effect of preeclampsia-eclampsia was found on gut microbiota. No significant heterogeneity of instrumental variables or horizontal pleiotropy was found. Conclusions This two-sample Mendelian randomization study found that Bifidobacterium was causally associated with preeclampsia-eclampsia. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to clarify the protective effect of probiotics on preeclampsia-eclampsia and their specific protective mechanisms.

Background The low birth rates and rapid population aging has drawn considerable attention from scholars and policymakers in China and around the world. In 2021, China launched the policy and supportive measures that allow up to 3 children per couple. This study aims to explore the influencing factors of the third-child fertility intention among women aged 20–34 years in China. Methods We draw data from the National Fertility Survey conducted in 2017. The nationally representative survey adopts a stratified, 3-stage, and probabilities proportional to size sampling method. A total of 61,588 valid samples aged 20–34 years old were obtained. Fertility desire and behavior, childbearing and service use, and potential influencing factors of fertility intention such as the history of pregnancy were assessed. Results In general, 5.01% of Chinese women of prime childbearing age had fertility intention for a third child, and the proportion varies by region across mainland China. Individual characteristics such as being ethnic minorities, being rural residents, and having more siblings are significantly positively correlated with the third-child fertility intention, while the intention was significantly lower among women with a higher income or education level, migrant women, and those engaged in the non-agricultural labor force. Women who already had a son had lower fertility intention for a third child. Moreover, it was the perceived acceptable costs of childcare services rather than the actual costs that mattered more for the fertility intention. Conclusions Our study concludes a series of socioeconomic factors, and previous childbearing and childrearing experiences are crucial for women’s fertility intention for a third child. These findings highlight the importance of launching supportive measures in addition to the introduction of the 3-child policy in promoting a fertility-friendly society.

Background Breastfeeding has long been associated with numerous benefits for both mothers and infants. While some observational studies have explored the relationship between breastfeeding and mental health outcomes in mothers and children, a systematic review of the available evidence is lacking. The purpose of this study is to systematically evaluate the association between breastfeeding and mental health disorders in mothers and children. Methods We systematically searched MEDLINE and EMBASE from inception to June 2, 2023. The inclusion criteria consisted of all studies evaluating links between breastfeeding and development of mental health disorders in children and mothers. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS) while grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) was used to assess the certainty of evidence. A random-effects meta-analysis was used if possible, to estimate the odds ratio for the association between breastfeeding and mental health outcomes. The Mantel–Haenszel method was utilised for pooling ORs across studies. Study heterogeneity was assessed using the I 2 statistic. Results Our review identified twenty-one original study. Of these, 18 focused on the association between breastfeeding and child health, assessing depressive disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, eating disorders and borderline personality disorder. Three studies evaluated the associations between breastfeeding and maternal mental health disorders. Three studies looking at outcomes in children showed no significant association between breastfeeding and occurrence of schizophrenia later in life (OR 0.98; 95% CI 0.57–1.71; I 2  = 29%). For depressive disorders (5 studies) and anxiety disorders (3 studies), we found conflicting evidence with some studies showing a small protective effect while others found no effect. The GRADE certainty for all these findings was very low due to multiple limitations. Three studies looking at association between breastfeeding and maternal mental health, were too heterogeneous to draw any firm conclusions. Conclusions We found limited evidence to support a protective association between breastfeeding and the development of mental health disorders in children later in life. The data regarding the association between breastfeeding and maternal mental health beyond the postnatal period is also limited. The methodological limitations of the published literature prevent definitive conclusions, and further research is needed to better understand the relationship between breastfeeding and mental health in mothers and children.

Background Early iron deficiency (ID) is a common risk factor for poorer neurodevelopment, limiting children’s potential and contributing to global burden. However, it is unclear how early ID alters the substrate of brain functions supporting high-order cognitive abilities and whether the timing of early ID matters in terms of long-term brain development. This study aimed to examine the effects of ID during fetal or early postnatal periods on brain activities supporting proactive and reactive cognitive control in pre-adolescent children. Methods Participants were part of a longitudinal cohort enrolled at birth in southeastern China between December 2008 and November 2011. Between July 2019 and October 2021, 115 children aged 8–11 years were invited to participate in this neuroimaging study. Final analyses included 71 children: 20 with fetal ID, 24 with ID at 9 months (postnatal ID), and 27 iron-sufficient at birth and 9 months. Participants performed a computer-based behavioral task in a Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner to measure proactive and reactive cognitive control. Outcome measures included accuracy, reaction times, and brain activity. Linear mixed modeling and the 3dlme command in Analysis of Functional NeuroImages (AFNI) were separately used to analyze behavioral performance and neuroimaging data. Results Faster responses in proactive vs. reactive conditions indicated that all groups could use proactive or reactive cognitive control according to contextual demands. However, the fetal ID group was lower in general accuracy than the other 2 groups. Per the demands of cues and targets, the iron-sufficient group showed greater activation of wide brain regions in proactive vs. reactive conditions. In contrast, such condition differences were reversed in the postnatal ID group. Condition differences in brain activation, shown in postnatal ID and iron-sufficient groups, were not found in the fetal ID group. This group specifically showed greater activation of brain regions in the reward pathway in proactive vs. reactive conditions. Conclusions Early ID was associated with altered brain functions supporting proactive and reactive cognitive control in childhood. Alterations differed between fetal and postnatal ID groups. The findings imply that iron supplement alone is insufficient to prevent persisting brain alterations associated with early ID. Intervention strategies in addition to the iron supplement should consider ID timing.

Enhancing pregnancy health is known to improve the mother’s and offspring’s life-long well-being. The maternal environment, encompassing genetic factors, impacts of social determinants, the nutritional/metabolic milieu, and infections and inflammation, have immediate consequences for the in utero development of the fetus and long-term programming into childhood and adulthood. Moreover, adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth or preeclampsia, often attributed to the maternal environmental factors listed above, have been associated with poor maternal cardiometabolic health after pregnancy. In this BMC Medicine article collection, we explore a broad spectrum of maternal characteristics across pregnancy and postnatal phenotypes, anticipating substantial cross-fertilization of new understanding and shared mechanisms around diverse outcomes. Advances in the ability to leverage ‘omics across different platforms (genome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome, microbiome, lipidome), large high-dimensional population databases, and unique cohorts are generating exciting new insights: The first articles in this collection highlight the role of placental biomarkers of preterm birth, metabolic influences on fetal and childhood growth, and the impact of common pre-existing maternal disorders, obesity and smoking on pregnancy outcomes, and the child’s health. As the collection grows, we look forward to seeing the connections emerge across maternal, fetal, and childhood outcomes that will foster new insights and preventative strategies for women.