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BACKGROUND: Exposure to a nutritionally deficient environment during fetal life and early infancy may adversely alter the ontogeny of the immune system and affect an infant's ability to mount an optimal immune response to vaccination. We examined the effects of maternal nutritional supplementation during pregnancy on infants' antibody responses to the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine included in the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI). METHODS AND FINDINGS: The Early Nutrition and Immune Development (ENID) trial was a randomised, partially blinded trial conducted between April 2010 and February 2015 in the rural West Kiang region of The Gambia, a resource-poor region affected by chronic undernutrition. Pregnant women (<20 weeks' gestation) with a singleton pregnancy (n = 875) were randomised to receive one of four supplements: iron-folic acid (FeFol; standard of care), multiple micronutrient (MMN), protein-energy (PE), or PE + MMN daily from enrolment (mean [SD] 13.7 [3.3] weeks' gestation) until delivery. Infants were administered the DTP vaccine at 8, 12, and 16 weeks of age according to the Gambian Government protocol. Results for the primary outcome of the trial (infant thymic size) were described previously; here, we report on a secondary outcome, infant antibody response to vaccination. The effects of supplementation on mean DTP antibody titres measured in blood samples collected from infants at 12 weeks (n = 710) and 24 weeks (n = 662) were analysed with adjustment for confounders including maternal age, compliance to supplement, and infant sex and season. At 12 weeks, following a single dose of the vaccine, compared with FeFol (mean 95% confidence interval [CI]; 0.11 IU/mL, 0.09-0.12), antenatal supplementation with MMN or MMN + PE resulted in 42.4% (95% CI 20.1-64.6; p < 0.001) and 29.4% (6.4-52.5; p = 0.012) higher mean anti-diphtheria titres, respectively. Mean anti-tetanus titres were higher by 9.0% (5.5-12.5), 7.8% (4.3-11.4), and 7.3% (4.0-10.7) in MMN, PE, and PE + MMN groups (all, p < 0.001), respectively, than in the FeFol group (0.55 IU/mL, 0.52-0.58). Mean anti-pertussis titres were not significantly different in the FeFol, MMN, and PE + MNN groups but were all higher than in the PE group (all, p < 0.001). At 24 weeks, following all three doses, no significant differences in mean anti-diphtheria titres were detected across the supplement groups. Mean anti-tetanus titres were 3.4% (0.19-6.5; p = 0.038) higher in the PE + MMN group than in the FeFol group (3.47 IU/mL, 3.29-3.66). Mean anti-pertussis titres were higher by 9.4% (3.3-15.5; p = 0.004) and 15.4% (9.6-21.2; p < 0.001) in PE and PE + MMN groups, compared with the FeFol group (74.9 IU/mL, 67.8-82.8). Limitations of the study included the lack of maternal antibody status (breast milk or plasma) or prevaccination antibody measurements in the infants. CONCLUSION: According to our results from rural Gambia, maternal supplementation with MMN combined with PE during pregnancy enhanced antibody responses to the DTP vaccine in early infancy. Provision of nutritional supplements to pregnant women in food insecure settings may improve infant immune development and responses to EPI vaccines. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN49285450.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to a nutritionally deficient environment during fetal life and early infancy may adversely alter the ontogeny of the immune system and affect an infant's ability to mount an optimal immune response to vaccination. We examined the effects of maternal nutritional supplementation during pregnancy on infants' antibody responses to the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine included in the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI). METHODS AND FINDINGS: The Early Nutrition and Immune Development (ENID) trial was a randomised, partially blinded trial conducted between April 2010 and February 2015 in the rural West Kiang region of The Gambia, a resource-poor region affected by chronic undernutrition. Pregnant women (<20 weeks' gestation) with a singleton pregnancy (n = 875) were randomised to receive one of four supplements: iron-folic acid (FeFol; standard of care), multiple micronutrient (MMN), protein-energy (PE), or PE + MMN daily from enrolment (mean [SD] 13.7 [3.3] weeks' gestation) until delivery. Infants were administered the DTP vaccine at 8, 12, and 16 weeks of age according to the Gambian Government protocol. Results for the primary outcome of the trial (infant thymic size) were described previously; here, we report on a secondary outcome, infant antibody response to vaccination. The effects of supplementation on mean DTP antibody titres measured in blood samples collected from infants at 12 weeks (n = 710) and 24 weeks (n = 662) were analysed with adjustment for confounders including maternal age, compliance to supplement, and infant sex and season. At 12 weeks, following a single dose of the vaccine, compared with FeFol (mean 95% confidence interval [CI]; 0.11 IU/mL, 0.09-0.12), antenatal supplementation with MMN or MMN + PE resulted in 42.4% (95% CI 20.1-64.6; p < 0.001) and 29.4% (6.4-52.5; p = 0.012) higher mean anti-diphtheria titres, respectively. Mean anti-tetanus titres were higher by 9.0% (5.5-12.5), 7.8% (4.3-11.4), and 7.3% (4.0-10.7) in MMN, PE, and PE + MMN groups (all, p < 0.001), respectively, than in the FeFol group (0.55 IU/mL, 0.52-0.58). Mean anti-pertussis titres were not significantly different in the FeFol, MMN, and PE + MNN groups but were all higher than in the PE group (all, p < 0.001). At 24 weeks, following all three doses, no significant differences in mean anti-diphtheria titres were detected across the supplement groups. Mean anti-tetanus titres were 3.4% (0.19-6.5; p = 0.038) higher in the PE + MMN group than in the FeFol group (3.47 IU/mL, 3.29-3.66). Mean anti-pertussis titres were higher by 9.4% (3.3-15.5; p = 0.004) and 15.4% (9.6-21.2; p < 0.001) in PE and PE + MMN groups, compared with the FeFol group (74.9 IU/mL, 67.8-82.8). Limitations of the study included the lack of maternal antibody status (breast milk or plasma) or prevaccination antibody measurements in the infants. CONCLUSION: According to our results from rural Gambia, maternal supplementation with MMN combined with PE during pregnancy enhanced antibody responses to the DTP vaccine in early infancy. Provision of nutritional supplements to pregnant women in food insecure settings may improve infant immune development and responses to EPI vaccines. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN49285450.

An analysis of early growth patterns in children from 54 resource-poor countries in Africa and Southeast Asia shows a rapid falloff in the height-for-age z score during the first 2 y of life and no recovery until ≥5 y of age. This finding has focused attention on the period -9 to 24 mo as a window of opportunity for interventions against stunting and has garnered considerable political backing for investment targeted at the first 1000 d. These important initiatives should not be undermined, but the objective of this study was to counteract the growing impression that interventions outside of this period cannot be effective. We illustrate our arguments using longitudinal data from the Consortium of Health Oriented Research in Transitioning collaboration (Brazil, Guatemala, India, Philippines, and South Africa) and our own cross-sectional and longitudinal growth data from rural Gambia. We show that substantial height catch-up occurs between 24 mo and midchildhood and again between midchildhood and adulthood, even in the absence of any interventions. Longitudinal growth data from rural Gambia also illustrate that an extended pubertal growth phase allows very considerable height recovery, especially in girls during adolescence. In light of the critical importance of maternal stature to her children's health, our arguments are a reminder of the importance of the more comprehensive UNICEF/Sub-Committee on Nutrition Through the Life-Cycle approach. In particular, we argue that adolescence represents an additional window of opportunity during which substantial life cycle and intergenerational effects can be accrued. The regulation of such growth is complex and may be affected by nutritional interventions imposed many years previously.

Public–private partnerships are an effective way to address the global double burden of malnutrition. While public–private partnerships operate in multiple forms, their leadership usually falls to governments, public health agencies, or nongovernmental organizations, with the private sector taking a subordinate role. The rapid ascent of social media and mass communications worldwide has provided a disruptive technology for new nutrition intervention programs. A new model, provisionally called private–public engagement, takes advantage of social media, mass media, and integrated social marketing to reach parents, families, and communities directly. These new private–public engagement initiatives need to be managed in ways suggested for public–private partnerships by the World Health Organization, especially if the private sector is in the lead. Once the rationale for engagement is defined, there is a need to mobilize resources, establish in-country partnerships and codes of conduct, and provide a plan for monitoring, evaluation, and accountability. Provided here is an example consistent with the private–public engagement approach, ie, the United for Healthier Kids program, which has been aimed at families with children aged less than 12 years. Materials to inspire behavioral change and promote healthier diets and lifestyle were disseminated in a number of countries through both digital and physical channels, often in partnership with local or regional governments. A description of this program, along with strategies to promote transparency and communication among stakeholders, serves to provide guidance for the development of future effective private–public engagements.

Public-private partnerships are an effective way to address the global double burden of malnutrition. While public-private partnerships operate in multiple forms, their leadership usually falls to governments, public health agencies, or nongovernmental organizations, with the private sector taking a subordinate role. The rapid ascent of social media and mass communications worldwide has provided a disruptive technology for new nutrition intervention programs. A new model, provisionally called private-public engagement, takes advantage of social media, mass media, and integrated social marketing to reach parents, families, and communities directly. These new private-public engagement initiatives need to be managed in ways suggested for public-private partnerships by the World Health Organization, especially if the private sector is in the lead. Once the rationale for engagement is defined, there is a need to mobilize resources, establish in-country partnerships and codes of conduct, and provide a plan for monitoring, evaluation, and accountability. Provided here is an example consistent with the private-public engagement approach, ie, the United for Healthier Kids program, which has been aimed at families with children aged less than 12 years. Materials to inspire behavioral change and promote healthier diets and lifestyle were disseminated in a number of countries through both digital and physical channels, often in partnership with local or regional governments. A description of this program, along with strategies to promote transparency and communication among stakeholders, serves to provide guidance for the development of future effective private-public engagements.

Climate change and environmental degradation are among the greatest threats to human health. Youth campaigners have very effectively focused global attention on the crisis, however children from the Global South are often under-represented (sometimes deliberately) in the dialogue. In The Gambia, West Africa, the impacts of climate change are already being directly experienced by the population, and this will worsen in coming years. There is strong government and community commitment to adapt to these challenges, as evidenced by The Gambia currently being the only country on target to meet the Paris agreement according to the Nationally Determined Contributions, but again children's voices are often missing—while their views could yield valuable additional insights. Here, we describe a "Climate Change Solutions Festival" that targeted and engaged school children from 13 to 18 years, and is to our knowledge, the first peer-to-peer (and student-to-professional) learning festival on climate change solutions for students in The Gambia. The event gave a unique insight into perceived climate change problems and scalable, affordable and sometimes very creative solutions that could be implemented in the local area. Logistical and practical methods for running the festival are shared, as well as details on all solutions demonstrated in enough detail to be duplicated. We also performed a narrative review of the most popular stalls to explore the scientific basis of these solutions and discuss these in a global context. Overall, we find extremely strong, grass-roots and student engagement in the Gambia and clear evidence of learning about climate change and the impacts of environmental degradation more broadly. Nevertheless, we reflect that in order to enact these proposed local solutions further steps to evaluate acceptability of adoption, feasibility within the communities, cost-benefit analyses and ability to scale solutions are needed. This could be the focus of future experiential learning activities with students and ...

Introduction: lifestyle modification is the mainstay of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) prevention. However, clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of diet or physical activity (PA) in low-income and middle-income settings such as Africa and India are lacking. This trial aims to evaluate the efficacy of yoghurt consumption and increased PA (daily walking) in reducing GDM incidence in high-risk pregnant women. Methods and analysis: the study is a 2×2 factorial, open-labelled, multicentre randomised controlled trial to be conducted in Vellore, South India and The Gambia, West Africa. 'High-risk' pregnant women (n=1856) aged ≥18 years and ≤16 weeks of gestational age, with at least one risk factor for developing GDM, will be randomised to either (1) yoghurt (2) PA (3) yoghurt +PA or (4) standard antenatal care. Participants will be followed until 32 weeks of gestation with total active intervention lasting for a minimum of 16 weeks. The primary endpoint is GDM incidence at 26–28 weeks diagnosed using International Association of the Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups criteria or elevated fasting glucose (≥5.1 mmol/L) at 32 weeks. Secondary endpoints include absolute values of fasting plasma glucose concentration at 32 weeks gestation, maternal blood pressure, gestational weight gain, intrapartum and neonatal outcomes. Analysis will be both by intention to treat and per-protocol. Continuous outcome measurements will be analysed using multiple linear regression and binary variables by logistic regression. Ethics and dissemination: the study is approved by Oxford Tropical Research Ethics Committee (44–18), ethics committees of the Christian Medical College, Vellore (IRB 11367) and MRCG Scientific Coordinating Committee (SCC 1645) and The Gambia Government/MRCG joint ethics committee (L2020.E15). Findings of the study will be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented in conferences.

Seasonal variations are rarely considered a contributing component to human tissue function or health, although many diseases and physiological process display annual periodicities. Here we find more than 4,000 protein-coding mRNAs in white blood cells and adipose tissue to have seasonal expression profiles, with inverted patterns observed between Europe and Oceania. We also find the cellular composition of blood to vary by season, and these changes, which differ between the United Kingdom and The Gambia, could explain the gene expression periodicity. With regards to tissue function, the immune system has a profound pro-inflammatory transcriptomic profile during European winter, with increased levels of soluble IL-6 receptor and C-reactive protein, risk biomarkers for cardiovascular, psychiatric and autoimmune diseases that have peak incidences in winter. Circannual rhythms thus require further exploration as contributors to various aspects of human physiology and disease. ; The Gambian study providing data for analysis was supported by core funding MC-A760-5QX00 to the International Nutrition Group by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and the UK Department for the International Development (DFID) under the MRC/DFID Concordat agreement. This work was supported by the JDRF UK Centre for Diabetes-Genes, Autoimmunity and Prevention (D-GAP; 4-2007-1003), the JDRF (9-2011-253), the Wellcome Trust (WT061858/091157), the National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (CBRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) Cusrow Wadia Fund. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's 7th Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement no.241447 (NAIMIT). The Cambridge Institute for Medical Research (CIMR) is in receipt of a Wellcome Trust Strategic Award (WT100140). X.C.D. was a University of Cambridge/Wellcome Trust Infection and Immunity PhD student. R.C.F. is funded by a JDRF post-doctoral fellowship (3-2011-374). C.W. and H.G are funded by ...