ESPE Abstracts

Background: There is increasing recognition that the in utero environment might influence obesity risk.Objective and Hypotheses: We explored the hypothesis that smoking and alcohol consumption in pregnancy are associated with offspring body composition using the Southampton Women’s Survey mother-offspring birth cohort study.Method: At 34 weeks’ gestation, maternal smoking and any alcohol intake in the preceding 1...

Background: Neonatal vitamin D deficiency (VDD) can result in symptomatic hypocalcemia, seizures and cardiomyopathy and has been associated with reduced bone mineralization in childhood, but is potentially preventable with antenatal cholecalciferol supplementation. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the vitamin D metabolism pathway are associated with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in adulthood. We assessed whether maternal and/or offspring SNPs in ...

Background: In later life, osteoporosis and poor cognitive function often co-exist. This has commonly been attributed to post-menopausal estrogen loss, but there is increasing recognition of cross-talk between the brain and bone. For example, in animal models, bone derived osteocalcin has positive associations with brain volume and cognitive function whilst brain-derived neurotransmitters appear to influence bone mass. Despite this, a common early life origin ...