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Brazil is one of the countries that experienced an epidemic of microcephaly and other congenital manifestations related to maternal Zika virus infection which can result in Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS). Since the Zika virus can modulate the immune system, studying mothers' and children's immune profiles become essential to better understanding CZS development. Therefore, we investigated the lymphocyte population profile of children who developed CZS and their mothers' immune response in this study. The study groups were formed from the Plaque Reduction Neutralization Test (PRNT) (CZS+ group) result. To evaluate the lymphocyte population profile, we performed phenotyping of peripheral lymphocytes and quantification of serum cytokine levels. The immunophenotyping and cytokine profile was correlated between CSZ+ children and their mothers. Both groups exhibited increased interleukin-17 levels and a reduction in the subpopulation of CD4+ T lymphocytes. In contrast, the maternal group showed a reduction in the population of B lymphocytes. Thus, the development of CZS is related to the presence of an inflammatory immune profile in children and their mothers characterized by Th17 activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire is a self-report questionnaire designed to screen disorders of the mother-infant relationship, which has been adapted to several countries. The aim of this study was to investigate validity evidence of the Brazilian version of the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ-Br) based on its internal structure (dimensionality, reliability, and measurement invariance between mothers with and without depressive symptoms) and on relations to other variables (depression). The present study is part of the Ribeirão Preto and São Luís Brazilian Cohort Studies, encompassing data collected from February 2011 to September 2013. Data were available for 2207 mothers from the general population of Ribeirão Preto and São Luís cities, who were assessed using the PBQ and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Regarding internal structure, the results of confirmatory factor analyses did not support the original four-factor model, nor the alternative structures tested. Exploratory factor analysis suggested a one-factor model with eight items for the collected data, accounting for 38.7% of the total variance with good internal consistency (α = 0.83). Concerning validity evidence based on relations to other variables, the mean PBQ-Br score for mothers with depressive symptoms was significantly higher than for mothers with no depressive symptoms. In conclusion, we found good validity evidence and the PBQ-Br proved to be a useful tool for assessing the mother-infant relationship in the Brazilian general population rather than for its original purpose, i.e., assessing bonding disorders. The results also highlight the importance of developing cross-cultural studies in order to provide useful measures for specific populations. Highlights: PBQ-Br proved to be a useful tool for assessing the mother-infant relationship in Brazil. PBQ-Br is more suitable for assessing routine issues of the mother-infant relationship rather than for its original purpose, i.e., assessing bonding disorders. Data for PBQ-Br validity evidence were available for 2207 Brazilian mothers. The results indicated a one-factor model with eight items as the best factor structure. The results highlight the importance of developing further cross-cultural research in order to assess this construct and measure it in other contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Periodontal disease is associated with metabolic syndrome, and during pregnancy, it is linked to preeclampsia and preterm birth. We hypothesized that soft drink consumption, which has also been associated with metabolic disorders, may also be linked to periodontal disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between soft drink consumption and periodontal status in pregnancy.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study nested in BRISA (Brazilian Ribeirão Preto and São Luís Birth Cohort Studies). Pregnant women (n = 1,185) completed a questionnaire and underwent periodontal examination from the 22nd to 25th week of pregnancy. The explanatory variable was the frequency of soft drink consumption (times per week). The outcome was periodontal status measured as the number of teeth with probing depth ≥4 mm with bleeding on probing (PD/BOP) or with clinical attachment level ≥4 mm (CAL). Means ratio (MR) was estimated using zero-inflated Poisson, adjusted for maternal age and income.Results: The higher tertile of consumption of soft drinks during pregnancy was associated with PD/BOP (MR = 1.34; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03 to 1.75); while the highest tertile of diastolic blood pressure was also associated to CAL (MR = 1.21; 95% CI 1:07 to 1.35).Conclusion: High soft drink consumption was associated with the number of teeth with PD/BOP in pregnant women, suggesting that beverage consumption is a factor that contributes to the systemic inflammatory burden, which is common to periodontal disease, metabolic syndrome, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the effect of height catch-up at school age on the bone mass of adolescents of a Brazilian birth cohort., Methods: A cohort study using data obtained from the three moments (birth, 7/9 years and 18/19 years of age) of the Cohorts-RPS study. Height catch-up was defined based on the difference between the schoolchild's z-score and birth z-score. The adolescents' bone mineral mass was analyzed using the z-score index for the lumbar spine measured by dual emission X-ray absorptiometry. A theoretical model was developed for the proposed analysis using directed acyclic graphs paired through the nearest-neighbor matching propensity score using the STATA software, version 14.0. The level of significance was set at 5%., Results: Of the 297 studied children, 24.5% achieved height catch-up. The bone mass below the expected for age was observed in 5.39% of the subjects. The mean lumbar spine z-score was -0.34 (±1.01). After the adjustment, no effect was observed between height catch-up at school age and bone mass in adolescents (Coeff=0.598; 95% CI -0.117 to 1.313; p=0.101)., Conclusion: Even using the directed acyclic graphs and the causal inference method by adjusting the propensity score, the height catch-up did not seem to affect bone mass in adolescents, a result perhaps related to the sample size., (Copyright © 2018 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)