Browsing by Author "Von Hurst P"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Adherence to Infant Feeding Guidelines in the First Foods New Zealand Study.
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2023-11-02) Brown KJ; Beck KL; Von Hurst P; Heath A-L; Taylor R; Haszard J; Daniels L; Te Morenga L; McArthur J; Paul R; Jones E; Katiforis I; Rowan M; Casale M; McLean N; Cox A; Fleming E; Bruckner B; Jupiterwala R; Wei A; Conlon C; Rodríguez Martínez G
    Infant feeding guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations to support optimal infant health, growth, and development, and exploring adherence to guidelines is a useful way of assessing diet quality. The aim of this study was to determine adherence to the recently updated Ministry of Health "Healthy Eating Guidelines for New Zealand Babies and Toddlers (0-2 years old)". Data were obtained from First Foods New Zealand, a multicentre observational study of 625 infants aged 7.0-10.0 months. Caregivers completed two 24-h diet recalls and a demographic and feeding questionnaire. Nearly all caregivers (97.9%) initiated breastfeeding, 37.8% exclusively breastfed to around six months of age, and 66.2% were currently breastfeeding (mean age 8.4 months). Most caregivers met recommendations for solid food introduction, including appropriate age (75.4%), iron-rich foods (88.3%), puréed textures (80.3%), and spoon-feeding (74.1%). Infants consumed vegetables (63.2%) and fruit (53.9%) more frequently than grain foods (49.5%), milk and milk products (38.6%), and meat and protein-rich foods (31.8%). Most caregivers avoided inappropriate beverages (93.9%) and adding salt (76.5%) and sugar (90.6%). Our findings indicated that while most infants met the recommendations for the introduction of appropriate solid foods, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding could be improved, indicating that New Zealand families may need more support.
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    Green-lipped (greenshell™) mussel (Perna canaliculus) extract supplementation in treatment of osteoarthritis: a systematic review
    (Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2021-08) Abshirini M; Coad J; Wolber FM; Von Hurst P; Miller MR; Tian HS; Kruger MC
    OBJECTIVES: Intervention studies using New Zealand green-lipped or greenshell™ mussel (GSM) (Perna canaliculus) extract in osteoarthritis (OA) patients have shown effective pain relief. This systematic review summarises the efficacy of GSM extracts in the treatment of OA. METHODS: A literature search of the three databases EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Scopus was performed to identify relevant articles published up to March 2020. Inclusion criteria were clinical trials published in English measuring the effect of supplementation of whole or a lipid extract from GSM on pain and mobility outcomes in OA patients. RESULTS: A total of nine clinical trials were included in systematic review, from which five studies were considered appropriate for inclusion in a forest plot. Pooled results showed that GSM extracts (lipid extract or whole powder) provide moderate and clinically significant treatment effects on a visual analogue scale (VAS) pain score (effect size: - 0.46; 95% CI - 0.82 to - 0.10; p = 0.01). The whole GSM extract improved gastrointestinal symptoms in OA patients taking anti-inflammatory medications. The GSM extract was considered to be generally well tolerated in most of the studies. CONCLUSION: The overall analysis showed that GSM provided moderate and clinically meaningful treatment effects on OA pain. However, the current evidence is limited by the number and quality of studies, and further larger and high-quality studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness and to identify the optimal GSM format. Nevertheless, it is worth considering using GSM extracts especially for patients seeking alternative pain relief treatments with fewer side effects compared to conventional treatment.
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    Knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards vitamin D and sun exposure of parents of infants and young children and health professionals in New Zealand.
    (SAGE Publications, 2023-07-02) Von Hurst P; Mazahery H; Reynolds E; Thomson A; Franklin M; Conlon C
    BACKGROUND: Vitamin D deficiency may result in adverse long-term health consequences in adulthood if it occurs during fetal development, infancy and childhood. To effectively improve vitamin D status of infants/toddlers, there needs to be knowledge and awareness of vitamin D among parents and health professionals. AIMS: The aim of this study was to investigate parents' and health professionals' knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards vitamin D and sun exposure over two timepoints. METHODS: The study was an ecological study over two timepoints (Parents 2009 and 2021; Health professionals 2010 and 2019) and used an online questionnaire. RESULTS: The analysis included 9834 parents (2009 n = 8032; 2021 n = 1802) and 283 health professionals (2010 n = 193; 2019 n = 90). Parents and health professionals had good knowledge of vitamin D sources, roles and risk factors for deficiency over two timepoints. There were however some confusions regarding the vitamin D content of breast milk, exclusive breastfeeding as a risk factor for deficiency, and ineffectiveness of sun exposure through glass windows in relation to vitamin D synthesis. In 2019, only 37% of health professionals indicated giving advice on supplements for infants/toddlers. Most parents and health professionals believed there was not enough information available to parents regarding vitamin D (>90%) and that skin cancer prevention messages make it difficult to get information about vitamin D across (>70%). CONCLUSION: Although parents and health professionals had good knowledge in most areas, knowledge of some specific sources and risk factors for vitamin D deficiency was poor.
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    Parent-reported offering of allergen foods to infants during complementary feeding: An observational study of New Zealand infants
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2024-12-01) Medemblik JM; Conlon CA; Haszard JJ; Heath A-LM; Taylor RW; Von Hurst P; Beck KL; Te Morenga L; Daniels L; Keller K
    The prevalence of food allergies in New Zealand infants is uncertain but is believed to be similar to Australia, exceeding 10%. Current recommendations for reducing food allergy risk are to offer all major food allergens to infants from as early as six months of age (start of complementary feeding), and before 12 months of age. However, little is known regarding parental practices around introducing major food allergens. This study aimed to explore parental offering of major food allergens to infants during complementary feeding, and parent-reported food allergies. The cross-sectional study is a secondary analysis of the multi-centre (Auckland and Dunedin) First Foods New Zealand study of 625 parent-infant dyads. Participants were recruited in 2020-2022 when infants were 7-10 months of age. Questionnaires assessed sociodemographic characteristics, complementary feeding approach, infant pouch use and parental responses to five food allergy questions. All major food allergens had been offered to only 17% of infants by 9-10 months of age. Having offered egg, peanut, tree nuts, sesame, soy and seafood was more commonly associated with using a baby-led complementary feeding approach than a parent-led approach (p < 0.001). Frequent baby food pouch use was associated with a lower likelihood of offering egg and peanut (both p < 0.001). Overall, 12.6% of infants had a reported food allergy, with symptomatic response after exposure being the most common diagnostic tool. Most infants are not offered all major food allergens during early complementary feeding, with some parents actively avoiding major food allergens in the first year of life. These results provide up-to-date knowledge of parental practices, highlighting the need for more targeted advice and strategies to improve parental engagement with allergy prevention and diagnosis.