CONTEXT Women's behaviors before and during pregnancy can affect their infants' health. Particularly because many births in the United States are unintended, it is important to understand women's health behaviors and pregnancy planning status before they become pregnant. METHODS A telephone survey of nonpregnant women of childbearing age who belonged to a Southern California managed care plan...

A multifaceted analysis of the nutritional status of 196 subjects, aged over 65, institutionalized in hospitals, residential accomodation, and sheltered dwellings and of noninstituionalized subjects was untaken. Subjects of hospital and home, with or without multivitamin supplementation, were grouped separately. The study comprised of 3-day weighed dietary record, biochemical determinations, an...

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and identify the relation between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-(OH)D) levels and the consumption of dietary sources of vitamin D or exposure to anticonvulsants in girls and women with Rett syndrome (RTT). SUBJECTS AND METHODS Retrospective review of the medical records of 284 girls and women with RTT to determi...

Supplementation with vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients may be beneficial for cognition, especially in older adults. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of multivitamin supplementation in older adults on cognitive function and associated blood biomarkers. In a randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial, healthy women (n = 68) and men (n = 48) aged 55-65 years were supplem...

Previous research suggests that multivitamin use before and during pregnancy can diminish diet-related deficiencies of certain micronutrients and potentially prevent preterm birth. To assess this association, the authors performed an analysis by using data from the Pregnancy, Infection, and Nutrition Study (n = 2,010). Women were recruited at 24-29 weeks of pregnancy from four prenatal care cli...

BACKGROUND: Observational studies have suggested that low serum vitamin levels are associated with increased mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV and increased preterm delivery. We aimed to determine the efficacy of vitamins on the prevention of MTCT and preterm delivery by systematically reviewing the available randomized controlled trials [RCTs]. We conducted systematic searches of 7 el...

OBJECTIVES Hyperthyroidism is often associated with various neuromuscular disorders, most commonly proximal myopathy. Peripheral nerve involvement in hyperthyroidism is very uncommon and has rarely been reported. We describe a 29-year-old woman with untreated hyperthyroidism who presented with chronic severe axonal sensory-motor polyneuropathy. Peripheral nerve involvement developed together wi...

Diet, particularly vitamin deficiency, is associated with the risk of birth defects. The aim of this review paper is to show the characteristics of common and severe neural-tube defects together with congenital heart defects (CHD) as vitamin deficiencies play a role in their origin. The findings of the Hungarian intervention (randomized double-blind and cohort controlled) trials indicated that ...