Browsing by Author "Yakah, William"

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    Serum n-6 Fatty Acids are Positively Associated with Growth in 6-to-10-Year Old Ugandan Children Regardless of HIV Status—A Cross-Sectional Study
    (Licensee MDPI, 2019) Jain, Raghav; Ezeamama, Amara; Sikorskii, Alla; Yakah, William; Zalwango, Sarah; Musoke, Philippa; Boivin, Michael; Fenton, Jenifer
    Fatty acids (FAs) are crucial in child growth and development. In Uganda, antiretroviral therapy (ART) has drastically reduced perinatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection of infants, however, the interplay of FAs, ART, and HIV in relation to child growth is not well understood. To investigate this, serum was collected from 240 children between 6–10 years old in Uganda and analyzed for FAs using gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry. HIV status and anthropometric measurements were taken, and relationships with FAs were assessed. No significant differences in growth parameters or serum FAs were found between HIV uninfected children with and without exposure to ART. HIV positive children had significantly lower height-for-age-z-scores (HAZ) than uninfected children (p < 0.001). HIV-positive children had higher arachidonic acid than uninfected children (p = 0.003). Total omega-6 FAs were significantly associated with HAZ regardless of HIV status (p = 0.035). Mean total omega-3 FAs (2.90%) were low in this population compared to other cohorts in Africa. These results provide reference serum FA values for 6–10-year-old children in Uganda and may be used to inform lipid supplementation programs to promote child growth. Future studies should investigate the relationships between child growth trajectories in relation to HIV status and serum FAs.
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    Serum n-6 Fatty Acids are Positively Associated with Growth in 6-to-10-Year Old Ugandan Children Regardless of HIV Status—A Cross-Sectional Study
    (Nutrients, 2019) Jain, Raghav; Ezeamama, Amara E.; Sikorskii, Alla; Yakah, William; Zalwango, Sarah; Musoke, Philippa; Boivin, Michael J.; Fenton, Jenifer I.
    Fatty acids (FAs) are crucial in child growth and development. In Uganda, antiretroviral therapy (ART) has drastically reduced perinatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection of infants, however, the interplay of FAs, ART, and HIV in relation to child growth is not well understood. To investigate this, serum was collected from 240 children between 6–10 years old in Uganda and analyzed for FAs using gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry. HIV status and anthropometric measurements were taken, and relationships with FAs were assessed. No significant differences in growth parameters or serum FAs were found between HIV uninfected children with and without exposure to ART. HIV positive children had significantly lower height-for-age-z-scores (HAZ) than uninfected children (p < 0.001). HIV-positive children had higher arachidonic acid than uninfected children (p = 0.003). Total omega-6 FAs were significantly associated with HAZ regardless of HIV status (p = 0.035). Mean total omega-3 FAs (2.90%) were low in this population compared to other cohorts in Africa. These results provide reference serum FA values for 6–10-year-old children in Uganda and may be used to inform lipid supplementation programs to promote child growth. Future studies should investigate the relationships between child growth trajectories in relation to HIV status and serum FAs. View Full-Text
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    Serum Vitamin D is Di erentially Associated with Socioemotional Adjustment in Early School-Aged Ugandan Children According to Perinatal HIV Status and In Utero/Peripartum Antiretroviral Exposure History
    (Nutrients, 2019) Yakah, William; Fenton, Jenifer I.; Sikorskii, Alla; Zalwango, Sarah K.; Tuke, Robert; Musoke, Philippa; Boivin, Michael J.; Giordani, Bruno; Ezeamama, Amara E.
    An impact of vitamin D in neurocognitive function has been theorized but it remains unknown whether vitamin-D insufficiency (VDI) is associated with worse socio-emotional adjustment (SEA) in vulnerable early school-aged children. This study examines the thesis that deficits in SEA are related to VDI using longitudinal data from 254 children that are perinatally HIV-infected (PHIV), exposed-uninfected (HEU), or unexposed-uninfected (HUU). In utero/peripartum antiretroviral (IPA) exposure was established per medical record documentation of biological mother’s ART regimen in pregnancy. Four caregiver-reported age- and sex-standardized measures of SEA were obtained at months 0, 6, and 12 for dependent children aged 6–10 years: externalizing problems (EPC), internalizing problems (IPC), behavioral symptoms index (BSI), and adaptive skills index (ASI). VDI was highly prevalent (74%, n = 188), and its association with change in SEA measures over 12 months varied by HIV-status (VDI*HIV, all p-values < 0.03). There was further variation in relationship of vitamin-D to SEA by IPA among PHIV (for ASI, BSI, and EPC, vitamin-D*IPA, p-value ≤ 0.01) and HEU (for BSI and EPC, vitamin-D*IPA, p-value ≤ 0.04). Among HUU, BSI (β = −0.32, 95% CI: −0.50, −0.13), IPC (β = −0.28, 95% CI: −0.47, −0.09), and EPC (β = −0.20, 95% CI: −0.37, −0.02) all declined moderately per quartile increment in VD. Among PHIV, on the one hand higher vitamin D predicted ASI gains (moderate vs. low VD, β = 0.52, p = 0.002), but this protective association was absent for BSI, EPC, and IPC (β = 0.36–0.77, p < 0.05). In absence of IPA-exposure, increasing vitamin-D predicted declines in BSI and EPC (moderate vs. low Vitamin D, β = −0.56 to −0.71, p ≤ 0.02) among HEU. However, given IPA exposure among HEU, higher VDI predicted moderate elevation in BSI (β = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.00, 0.78) and IPC (β = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.92). Interaction between VD and IPA exposure for SEA outcomes among HEU and PHIV children warrants further investigation. The vitamin-D associated SEA improvement among HUU and HEU without IPA exposure suggests vitamin-D supplementation may remediate behavioral and adaptive deficits in this groups. View Full-Text