Diet plays a crucial role in regulating individuals’ lifestyles and is closely related to health. The intake of animal-sourced foods (ASF) provides the human body with high-quality protein and various micronutrients. This study aimed to investigate whether the diversity of animal foods has a positive impact on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among residents. The data came from the Shaanxi baseline survey of the Northwest Chinese Regional Ethnic Cohort Study, which recruited more than 100 thousand participants aged 35 to 74 from five provinces between June 2018 and May 2019. A total of 39,997 participants in Shaanxi (mean age: 50 years; 64% women) were finally included in this current study. The animal source food diet diversity score (ASFDDS) was established based on the frequency of consuming pork, mutton, beef, poultry, seafood, eggs, pure milk, and yogurt. The physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS), ranging from 0 to 100 on the 12-Item Short Form Survey (SF-12), were used to assess participants’ HRQoL. Better PCS/MCS was defined as scores higher than the 90th percentile. The results showed that men had a higher intake of ASF and ASFDDS than women. After adjusting for potential confounders, compared with those who never or rarely consumed animal foods, the likelihood of having better PCS and MCS increased by 16% (OR = 1.16, 95%CI: 1.01–1.34) and 24% (OR = 1.24, 95%CI: 1.03–1.448), respectively, in men with an ASFDDS ≥ 2. In women, a 34% increase (OR = l.34, 95%CI: 116–l.54) likelihood for better PCS was observed for an ASFDDS ≥ 2, but no association was observed for MCS. Increasing each specific animal source’s food intake was associated with better PCS after adjusting for all covariates. However, for MCS, positive associations were only observed in seafood consumption among men and eggs among women. Restricted cubic splines showed a substantial dose-response association between intake frequency of animal-source foods and PCS, both in men and women. The study suggests that a diverse intake of animal-sourced foods can potentially improve the HRQoL of Chinese adults.

Studies on the association between maternal dietary diversity and birth weight in offspring are limited, and the impact of such an adjustable factor on birth weight requires investigation to promote neonatal health. This study used data from a larger-scale population-based survey conducted in northwest China to evaluate the association of maternal dietary diversity with neonatal birth weight with a generalized estimating equation model. The results found that maternal dietary diversity was positively associated with neonate birth weight. Furthermore, a higher minimum dietary diversity for women (MDD-W) score during pregnancy was related to a lower risk of low birth weight (LBW) in offspring. The mothers with the highest MDD-W score had a 38% (OR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.43–0.89) lower risk of LBW than those with the lowest score. Similarly, the mothers with the highest animal-based food dietary diversity score (DDS) had 39% (OR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.38–0.98) lower risk of LBW in offspring compared with those with the lowest animal-based food DDS. Moreover, the ratio of animal-based food DDS to non-animal-based food DDS could play an important role in predicting neonate birth weight. In conclusion, increasing maternal dietary diversity would improve birth weight in offspring, especially by increasing the intake of animal-based foods among the Chinese population.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify individual-level factors that affect malnutrition outcomes among children and adolescents living with HIV/AIDS in Tanzania. Methods: We used data from the National AIDS Control Programme. 70,102 participants aged 5 to 19 years attending care and treatment clinics between January to December 2021 were included. Nutritional assessments were performed by anthropometric measurement. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate risk factors. We further estimated marginal prevalence and adjusted predictions by marginal effects. Supplementary analysis assessed the accuracy of the final fitted model. Results: Prevalence of malnutrition for stunting, underweight, wasting, and anthropometric failure (CIAF) were 36.0%, 28.9%, 13.0%, and 48.0%, respectively. Several individual-level factors were significant determinants of malnutrition. Boys, participants aged 15-19 years, those switched to second- or third-line antiretroviral therapy (ART), initiated ART at ages of 5-14 years, ART duration less than 3 years, and were in advanced stages of WHO HIV clinical status had increased adjusted odds ratios and marginal prevalence. The larger AUC values for all models implied importance of identified factors accounted for malnutrition. Conclusions: On long-term ART, nutritional interventions should be context-specific guidelines to improve growth, especially at ART initiation, ART regimen, and ART duration reckoning with age and sex.

Maternal hemorrhage (MH) remains a leading preventable cause of maternal health, yet global disparities on its burden remain poorly quantified. Using the Global Burden of Disease 2021 data, we analyzed global, regional, and national trends in age-standardized maternal mortality ratio (ASR_MMR) attributed to MH from 1990 to 2021. We applied Joinpoint regression, age–period–cohort modeling, inequality indices and frontier analysis. This descriptive–analytical ecological study is based on modeled secondary data. Globally, the proportion of ASR_MMR attributed to MH declined from 33.31% in 1990 to 24.52% in 2021 (relative reduction: 24.24%). ASR_MMR attributed to MH consistently declined, with an estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) of −3.17 (95% UI: −3.42, −2.91). In 2021, Central and West Africa countries reported ASR_MMR attributed to MH exceeding 300 per 100,000 live births, while the Caribbean experienced a temporary increase. ASR_MMR attributed to MH was strongly inversely correlated with the socio-demographic index (SDI). Absolute inequality (slope index of inequality) narrowed by 49.4%, while relative inequality (concentration index) increased by approximately 27.5%. Countries with the largest negative deviations from the frontier included Somalia, the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, and Afghanistan. While substantial global progress has been made, socioeconomic inequities continue to drive persistent disparities in MMR attributed to MH. Policies must not only address average reductions but also the widening relative gap between advantaged and disadvantaged populations.

A healthy lifestyle is related to metabolic syndrome (MetS), but the mechanism is not fully understood. This study aimed to examine the association of components of MetS with lifestyle in a Chinese population and potential mediation role of serum uric acid (SUA) in the association between lifestyle behaviors and risk of components of MetS. Data were derived from a baseline survey of the Shaanxi urban cohort in the Regional Ethnic Cohort Study in northwest China. The relationship between components of MetS, healthy lifestyle score (HLS), and SUA was investigated by logistic or linear regression. A counterfactual-based mediation analysis was performed to ascertain whether and to what extent SUA mediated the total effect of HLS on components of MetS. Compared to those with 1 or less low-risk lifestyle factors, participants with 4–5 factors had 43.6% lower risk of impaired glucose tolerance (OR = 0.564; 95%CI: 0.408~0.778), 60.8% reduction in risk of high blood pressure (OR = 0.392; 95%CI: 0.321~0.478), 69.4% reduction in risk of hypertriglyceridemia (OR = 0.306; 95%CI: 0.252~0.372), and 47.3% lower risk of low levels of HDL cholesterol (OR = 0.527; 95%CI: 0.434~0.641). SUA mediated 2.95% (95%CI: 1.81~6.16%) of the total effect of HLS on impaired glucose tolerance, 14.68% (95%CI: 12.04~18.85%) on high blood pressure, 17.29% (95%CI: 15.01~20.5%) on hypertriglyceridemia, and 12.83% (95%CI: 10.22~17.48%) on low levels of HDL cholesterol. Increased HLS tends to reduce risk of components of MetS partly by decreasing the SUA level, which could be an important mechanism by which lifestyle influences MetS.