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“Egg-timer” tests don’t predict fertility in older women

In older women of reproductive age, biomarker levels that indicate diminished ovarian reserve were not associated with reduced fertility, according to a study published by JAMA. Anti-Müllerian hormone, early follicular phase follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and inhibin B are collectively regarded as biomarkers of ovarian reserve; however, their ability to predict reproductive potential is uncertain. Between April 2008 and March 2016, researchers from the University of North Carolina conducted a prospective time-to-pregnancy cohort study, to determine the extent to which biomarkers of ovarian reserve were associated with reproductive potential. The Time to Conceive study included 981 women aged 30–44 years without a history of infertility who had been trying to conceive naturally for 3 months or less. A total of 750 women provided blood and urine samples and were included in the analysis. After adjusting for age, body mass index, ethnic background, current smoking status, and recent hormonal contraceptive use, the researchers found that neither low serum anti-Müllerian hormone levels nor high serum FSH levels were associated with reduced fecundability (probability of conception in a given menstrual cycle), nor were they associated with a lower cumulative probability of conceiving within 6 or 12 cycles of pregnancy attempt. Urinary FSH and early follicular phase inhibin B levels were also not predictive of fertility outcomes.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2656811

Ten times as many overweight children than in 1975

The number of obese children and adolescents aged 5–19 years worldwide has increased more than tenfold over the past four decades, from an estimated 5 million girls in 1975 to 50 million in 2016, and from 6 million to 74 million boys, according to a new analysis of trends in child and adolescent obesity in 200 countries published in The Lancet. The prevalence of child and adolescent obesity — defined by a body mass index (BMI) more than two standard deviations (SDs) above the age- and sex-specific median level of the World Health Organization growth reference — was 30% in parts of Polynesia, and 20% or higher in the United States, in some Middle Eastern and north African countries (including Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia), and in the Caribbean (Bermuda and Puerto Rico). Overall, the global prevalence of child and adolescent obesity increased from 0.7% to 5.6% for girls, and from 0.9% to 7.8% for boys. In addition, 213 million children and adolescents were in the overweight range (one to two SDs above the median). Despite the increase in child and adolescent obesity, more children are moderately or severely underweight (more than two SDs below the median level): 75 million girls and 117 million boys in 2016. Almost two-thirds of the world’s children and adolescents who are moderately or severely underweight lived in south Asia. The study, led by Imperial College London (UK) and the World Health Organization, brought together data from 2416 studies involving 128.9 million participants worldwide, including 31.5 million children and adolescents aged 5–19 years in 200 countries. Average child and adolescent BMI levels have been consistently high in many high income countries in North America and Europe, but have plateaued in recent years, while average BMI among adults continues to rise. In contrast, the rise in mean BMI has accelerated in many parts of Asia.

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)32129-3/fulltext