Does Food Intake of Australian Toddlers 12–24 Months Align with Recommendations: Findings from the Australian Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (OzFITS) 2021

(1) Background: Food-based dietary guidelines promote population health and well-being through dietary patterns that reduce chronic disease risk while providing adequate energy and nutrients. In Australia, recommended dietary patterns based on servings per day from the five food groups—fruits, vegetables, cereals and grains, meats and alternatives, and dairy—have been developed for toddlers 1–2 years of age. However, no study has assessed the intake of the five food groups in this age group nationally. (2) Aim: To compare daily servings and the percentage of energy from the five food groups and discretionary foods in toddlers 1–2 years old to the Australian Dietary Guidelines. (3) Methods: Dietary intake was assessed using a one-day food record for 475 toddlers. (4) Results: Apart from fruit and dairy, servings of the five food groups were below the recommendations. Two-thirds of toddlers did not consume enough vegetables, and only 10% consumed the recommended number of servings for cereals and grains. On average, toddlers consumed only half the recommended servings of meat and alternatives. Nearly all toddlers (89%) consumed discretionary foods, which accounted for ~12% of total energy. Forty-five percent of toddlers received breastmilk. On average, breastfed toddlers consumed fewer servings from the five food groups than non-breastfed toddlers. Dairy contributed 20% of daily energy in all toddlers; however, this food group accounted for 13% in breastfed and 32% in non-breastfed toddlers on the day of the food record. (4) Conclusions: Compared to the recommendations, alignment with the servings of the five food group foods was not achieved by most toddlers, except for fruit and dairy. Discretionary foods may have displaced nutritious family foods. Consistent with Australian Infant Feeding Guidelines, many toddlers in this study continued to receive breastmilk but the recommended dietary patterns do not include breastmilk. Dietary modeling, including breastmilk as the primary milk source, is urgently needed, along with practical advice on incorporating breastmilk in a toddler’s diet while optimizing food consumption.     

Exposure to non-core foods and beverages in the first year of life: Results from a cohort study

Aim: To report the proportion of Australian infants who were introduced to non-core foods and beverages and to identify factors that are associated with the introduction of non-core foods and beverages to infants in the first year of life. Methods: Participants were 587 women recruited from two maternity hospitals in Perth and followed up by telephone interview at 4, 10, 16, 22, 32, 40 and 52 weeks post-partum to collect information on infant feeding practices. Factors associated with introduction of non-core foods and beverages by 52 weeks post-partum were identified using multivariate logistic regression. Results: The three non-core foods most commonly introduced to infants by 52 weeks post-partum were biscuits and cakes (91.6%, n = 415), hot chips/French fries (78.6%, n = 356) and ice-cream (68.2%, n = 309). Independent predictors of introduction of non-core foods and beverages by 52 weeks post-partum were age at which solids were first introduced and the presence of older siblings. Conclusion: Identifying factors associated with the introduction of non-core foods and beverages to infants is important to help health professionals better target early feeding interventions. Consistent recommendations are required to ensure clear understanding of what foods are suitable and not suitable for infants.     

辅食添加对中国西部农村地区婴幼儿体重指数生长轨迹影响的出生队列研究

目的 描述婴幼儿体重指数(BMI)生长轨迹,探讨辅食添加的时间和质量对婴幼儿BMI生长轨迹的影响.方法 采用队列研究设计,对符合纳入条件的1388名新生儿进行随访,1岁内每三个月一次,1～2岁每半年一次,随访内容包括:体格测量、喂养、户外活动、患病等.采用潜变量增长混合模型拟合0～2岁BMI生长轨迹,运用多水平Logi...     

Introducing solid foods using baby‐led weaning vs. spoon‐feeding: A focus on oral development,nutrient intake and quality of research to bring balance to the debate

The World Health Organization recommends that infants be introduced to first solid foods from 6 months of age to complement milk feeds. The introduction of complementary foods is required to help infants meet their changing nutritional requirements. In recent years, baby‐led weaning and spoon‐feeding have been discussed as mutually exclusive approaches to introducing first solids. Baby‐led weaning advocates that babies direct and control the process of weaning, deciding what they will eat, how much and how quickly. There is an emphasis on parents providing chunks of soft food that babies can pick up and chew. A traditional spoon‐feeding approach involves introducing smooth runny purees as the texture for first foods and progressing to chewable solids as oral motor skills develop. Spoon‐feeding provides an opportunity for infants to develop oral skills necessary for safe management of solids and may facilitate intake of iron‐rich foods at weaning, whilst baby‐led weaning promotes greater participation in family meals and exposure to family foods. The need to supervise infants whilst eating to avoid risk of choking on food is required for both approaches. The review highlights the need for quality, well‐designed research on different approaches to the introduction of first solid foods and suggests that a combined approach to baby‐led weaning should be considered.     

The Need for an Evidence-Based Program in Sweden to Support Parents to Create Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors from the Start of Life—Parental Perceptions

In Sweden, there have been no interventions promoting the development of healthy lifestyle behaviors starting in infancy. Thus this paper aims to: (i) investigate Swedish parents’ experiences regarding feeding of solid foods, screen time, and physical activity in healthy infants; (ii) investigate parents’ needs and perceptions regarding information/support provided in primary child healthcare (CHC) and (iii) explore whether a parenting program focused on child diet and active play would be relevant and utilized. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 parents. These were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis. Seven themes emerged: Feeling excited to enter a new phase; Parents’ responsibility of doing it “right” can be stressful; Motivated to learn during specific time windows; Information to trust; The importance of social support from peers; Experiences of support received from CHC; and the Infant, Feeding, Activity, and Nutrition Trial (INFANT) for a Swedish context. Parents were excited to enter new phases in their child’s development. However, this came with worry they were doing things “right”, leading parents to want more information/support. Overall, Swedish parents were very positive about the prospects of engaging in a primary CHC delivered program to support them to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors from birth and felt this could complement the care currently provided.     

Increased burden of respiratory disease in the first six months of life due to prenatal environmental tobacco smoke: Krakow birth cohort study

The main purpose of our study was to assess the effects of prenatal tobacco smoke on respiratory symptoms and on doctor consultations in a birth cohort of 445 infants who had no smoking mothers and who had no postnatal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Before and after delivery, questionnaires and interviews with mothers were administered to solicit information on prenatal and postnatal ETS exposure. Newborns were followed-up over six months of life, and respiratory outcomes such as runny or stuffed nose, cough with or without cold, difficult (puffed) breathing, wheezing or whistling in the chest irrespective of respiratory infection were considered. In addition, medical visits related to the occurrence of respiratory symptoms were recorded for each child over a six-month study period. In the multivariate Poisson regression analysis, a set of potential confounders has been taken into account such as gender of child, season of birth, gestational age, maternal education, maternal atopy, presence of moulds in households and prenatal level of personal exposure to fine particles. The adjusted rate ratio (RR) estimated for the occurrence of episodes of running nose was significantly higher in infants exposed to prenatal ETS (1.40; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.11-1.68) and the corresponding RR estimates for cough, difficult breathing and wheezing were 1.49 (95% CI: 1.15-1.93), 1.96 (95% CI: 1.22-3.16) and 5.12 (95% CI: 2.86-9.16). The rate ratios of doctor consultations attributable to prenatal ETS because of cough was 1.94 (95% CI: 1.49-2.54). The risk estimate for consultations due to difficult breathing was 2.77 (95% CI: 1.76-4.36), and that for wheezing was 5.86 (95% CI: 3.56-9.64). The data strongly support the view about the impact of the in-utero effect of passive smoking on children's respiratory health. Higher utilization rates of doctor consultations in infants attributable to prenatal ETS exposure demand the revision of public health policy, which should be focused also on cessation of smoking practices by all household members during and after the pregnancy period.     

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine immunization coverage in children under 2 years old in Ontario,Canada: A retrospective cohort study

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused a disruption in childhood immunization coverage around the world. This study aimed to determine the change in immunization coverage for children under 2 years old in Ontario, Canada, comparing time periods pre-pandemic to during the first year of the pandemic.MethodsObservational retrospective open cohort study, using primary care electronic medical record data from the University of Toronto Practice-Based Research Network (UTOPIAN) database, from January 2019 to December 2020. Children under 2 years old who had at least 2 visits recorded in UTOPIAN were included. We measured up-to-date (UTD) immunization coverage rates, overall and by type of vaccine (DTaP-IPV-Hib, PCV13, Rota, Men-C-C, MMR, Var), and on-time immunization coverage rates by age milestone (2, 4, 6, 12, 15, 18 months). We compared average coverage rates over 3 periods of time: January 2019-March 2020 (T1); March-July 2020 (T2); and August-December 2020 (T3).Results12,313 children were included. Overall UTD coverage for all children was 71.0% in T1, dropped by 5.7% (95% CI: ?6.2, ?5.1) in T2, slightly increased in T3 but remained lower than in T1. MMR vaccine UTD coverage slightly decreased in T2 and T3 by approximately 2%. The largest decreases were seen at ages 15-month and 18-month old, with drops in on-time coverage of 14.7% (95% CI: ?18.7, ?10.6) and 16.4% (95% CI: ?20.0, ?12.8) respectively during T2. When stratified by sociodemographic characteristics, no specific subgroup of children was found to have been differentially impacted by the pandemic.ConclusionChildhood immunization coverage rates for children under 2 years in Ontario decreased significantly during the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic and only partially recovered during the rest of 2020. Public health and educational interventions for providers and parents are needed to ensure adequate catch-up of delayed/missed immunizations to prevent potential outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.     

Immunogenicity of a bivalent virus-like particle norovirus vaccine in children from 1 to 8 years of age: A phase 2 randomized,double-blind study

BackgroundYoung children can suffer severe consequences of norovirus gastroenteritis. We performed a dose-finding study of a bivalent virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine candidate (TAK-214) in healthy 1–8-year-old children.MethodsIn this phase 2 study two age cohorts (1–3 and 4–8 years of age inclusive, N = 120 per cohort) of children enrolled from Finland, Panama and Colombia were initially randomized 1:1:1:1 to four groups which were further split into two equal subgroups, to receive one or two intramuscular doses of four TAK-214 formulations containing 15/15, 15/50, 50/50 or 50/150 μg of GI.1/GII.4c genotype VLPs and 0.5 mg Al(OH)₃ at 28 days interval. ELISA Pan-Ig and histoblood group antigen-blocking (HBGA) antibodies against each VLP were measured on days 1, 29, 57 and 210. Parents/guardians recorded solicited local and systemic adverse events (AE) and any unsolicited or serious AEs (SAE).ResultsAll formulations were well-tolerated across both age cohorts and dosage groups with no vaccine-related SAEs reported. Solicited AEs were mostly mild-to-moderate, resolved quickly, and did not increase after the second dose. Pan-Ig and HBGA responses induced after one dose were only slightly increased by the second dose. Across dose groups at Day 29 after one dose GI.1 Pan Ig seroresponse rates (SRR) were 82–97% and 81–96% and GII.4c SRR were 79–97% and 80–91% in 1–3 and 4–8 year-olds, respectively. Respective rates were to 92–93% and 73–92% for GI.1, and 77–100% and 62–83% for GII.4c at Day 57 following two doses. HBGA responses had similar profiles. Both Pan Ig and HBGA geometric mean titers persisted above baseline up to Day 210.ConclusionsAll dosages of TAK-214 displayed acceptable reactogenicity in 1–8-year-old children and induced robust, durable immune responses after one dose which are further increased after two doses.     

Antibody response to second dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine in the first 12 weeks in South Korea: A prospective longitudinal study

ObjectivesTo characterise the antibody response for 12 weeks following second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine in hospital workers of a Korean general hospital.MethodsWe measured the level of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) anti-receptor binding domain (anti-RBD) and neutralising antibodies every week in the first 4 weeks, and at weeks 8 and 12 following the second dose of vaccination in 71 hospital workers.ResultsThe initial median level of anti-RBD and neutralising antibodies were 3898.0 U/mL (interquartile range [IQR], 2107.5–5478.5) and 97.54 % (IQR, 96.85–97.81), respectively. The levels declined the fastest and the most significantly between weeks 1 and 2 (p < 0.01, both), and continuously decreased thereafter, and were 1163.0 U/mL (683.4–1743.0) and 94.87% (89.24–96.99) at weeks 12. The antibodies levels showed a trend of rapid decrease in the older group over time. The slope of the decrease in the antibodies level was observed for each individual. Within 8 weeks, the anti-RBD antibody levels decreased to less than half of the initial levels in most of the participants (88.7%: 63/71). The SARS-CoV-2 anti-RBD and neutralising antibodies levels showed a strong positive correlation (Spearman’s coefficient = 0.7833).ConclusionsConsiderably high levels of SARS-CoV-2 anti-RBD and neutralising antibodies were produced following the second dose of vaccination. The levels decreased continuously, showing a tendency to decline over time; however, reasonable levels persisted up to weeks 12. Moreover, considering individual variations in antibody response following vaccination, a further inter-individual analysis is needed.     

Relative effectiveness of a 2nd booster dose of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine up to four months post administration in individuals aged 80 years or more in Italy: A retrospective matched cohort study

Several countries started a 2nd booster COVID-19 vaccination campaign targeting the elderly population, but evidence around its effectiveness is still scarce. This study aims to estimate the relative effectiveness of a 2nd booster dose of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in the population aged ≥ 80 years in Italy, during predominant circulation of the Omicron BA.2 and BA.5 subvariants.We linked routine data from the national vaccination registry and the COVID-19 surveillance system. On each day between 11 April and 6 August 2022, we matched 1:1, according to several demographic and clinical characteristics, individuals who received the 2nd booster vaccine dose with individuals who received the 1st booster vaccine dose at least 120 days earlier. We used the Kaplan-Meier method to compare the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 (hospitalisation or death) between the two groups, calculating the relative vaccine effectiveness (RVE) as (1 – risk ratio)X100.Based on the analysis of 831,555 matched pairs, we found that a 2nd booster dose of mRNA vaccine, 14–118 days post administration, was moderately effective in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to a 1st booster dose administered at least 120 days earlier [14.3 %, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 2.2–20.2]. RVE decreased from 28.5 % (95 % CI: 24.7–32.1) in the time-interval 14–28 days to 7.6 % (95 % CI: ?14.1 to 18.3) in the time-interval 56–118 days. However, RVE against severe COVID-19 was higher (34.0 %, 95 % CI: 23.4–42.7), decreasing from 43.2 % (95 % CI: 30.6–54.9) to 27.2 % (95 % CI: 8.3–42.9) over the same time span.Although RVE against SARS-CoV-2 infection was much reduced 2–4 months after a 2nd booster dose, RVE against severe COVID-19 was about 30 %, even during prevalent circulation of the Omicron BA.5 subvariant. The cost-benefit of a 3rd booster dose for the elderly people who received the 2nd booster dose at least four months earlier should be carefully evaluated.     

Immunogenicity and safety of a SARS-CoV-2 inactivated vaccine (CoronaVac) co-administered with an inactivated quadrivalent influenza vaccine: A randomized,open-label,controlled study in healthy adults aged 18 to 59 years in China

BackgroundStudies are needed for evidence of inactivated COVID-19 vaccine co-administered with influenza vaccine.MethodsA randomized, open-label, controlled study was conducted in Zhejiang Province, China. Eligible healthy adults aged 18–59 years underwent randomization at a ratio of 1:1:2 to receive inactivated quadrivalent influenza vaccine (IIV4) either concomitantly with the first (C1 subgroup) or the second (C2 subgroup) dose of CoronaVac, or 14 days after the first dose of CoronaVac (S group). The primary purpose of the study was to prove the non-inferiority in seroconversion rate of antibody against SARS-CoV-2.ResultsOverall, 480 participants were enrolled, with 120, 120, and 240 randomly assigned to the C1, C2, and S groups, respectively. As lower bound of the two-sided 95% confidence interval (CI) of the difference for the seroconversion rate of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 was over ?10%, the immune response for CoronaVac in the C group (93.1% [89.0, 96.0]) was non-inferior to that in the S group (95.2% [91.5, 97.6]) in the per-protocol set. A lower GMT of antibody against SARS-CoV-2 was observed in the C group as compared to the S group (27.5 vs. 38.1, P = 0.0001). Decrease of immune response to CoronaVac was mainly observed in participants received IIV4 concomitantly with their second dose of CoronaVac (C2 subgroup), with a seroconversion rate of 89.7% (95CI: 82.6%-94.5%) and a GMT of 23.3. The occurrences of vaccine related adverse reactions were no more than 20% and comparable among different groups. Most of the adverse reactions were mild and moderate.ConclusionCo-administration of inactivated COVID-19 vaccine and seasonal influenza vaccine, especially the administration regimen that the seasonal influenza vaccine co-administered with the first dose of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine, would be feasible.     

A phase 3, randomized,controlled, open-label study to evaluate the persistence up to 5 years of 1 or 2 doses of meningococcal conjugate vaccine MenACWY-TT given with or without 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in 12–14-month-old children

BackgroundImmunogenicity and safety up to 5 years after administration of 1 or 2 doses of quadrivalent meningococcal serogroup A, C, W, and Y tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine (MenACWY-TT) given alone or with 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in children was investigated.MethodsThis phase 3 study randomized healthy 12–24-month-olds to MenACWY-TT at Month 0 (ACWY1d), MenACWY-TT at Months 0 and 2 (ACWY2d), MenACWY-TT and PCV13 at Month 0 (Co-Ad), or PCV13 at Month 0 and MenACWY-TT at Month 2 (PCV13/ACWY). Immune responses 1, 3, and 5 years after primary vaccination were evaluated with serum bactericidal activity using rabbit complement (rSBA) titers ≥ 1:8 and geometric mean titers (GMTs). Evaluation of serious adverse events up to 5 years after primary vaccination are reported.ResultsOf the 802 children randomized in the study, 619 completed the study through Year 5. Immune responses after vaccination declined over time but were higher 5 years after vaccination compared with levels before vaccination. At Year 5, the percentages of children with rSBA titers ≥ 1:8 across all serogroups were 20.5 %?58.6 %, 28.4 %?65.8 %, 23.9 %?52.8 %, and 19.4 %?55.8 % in the ACWY1d, ACWY2d, Co-Ad, and PCV13/ACWY groups, respectively. Comparable antibody persistence at Year 5 was observed for participants receiving 1 or 2 doses of MenACWY-TT, although GMTs were elevated in those who received 2 versus 1 dose. The percentage of children with protective antibody titers at Year 5 was similar in participants who received PCV13 and MenACWY-TT compared with that observed for participants who only received 1 or 2 MenACWY-TT doses. No new safety concerns were identified during the study period.ConclusionAntibody responses persisted in the majority of children up to 5 years after primary vaccination with MenACWY-TT administered in a 1- or 2-dose regimen with or without PCV13, with no new safety concerns identified.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01939158; EudraCT number 2013–001083-28.