Childhood overweight may increase risk for mood disorder in adulthood, especially among overweight girls who become obese women. These results suggest that prevention of childhood overweight is equally important in both sexes for reducing risk of diagnosed mood disorder in adulthood.

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BackgroundFew studies have investigated factors that influence physical activity behavior during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. This study explores the associations of sociodemographic, behavioral, sociocultural, attitudinal and physical factors measured in childhood and adolescence with physical activity behavior during the transition from adolescence to adulthood.MethodsChildhood and adolescent data (at ages 7-15 years) were collected as part of the 1985 Australian Health and Fitness Survey and subdivided into sociodemographics (socioeconomic status, parental education), behavioral (smoking, alcohol, sports diversity, outside school sports), sociocultural (active father, active mother, any older siblings, any younger siblings, language spoken at home), attitudinal (sports/recreational competency, self-rated health, enjoyment physical education/physical activity, not enjoying school sports) and physical (BMI, time taken to run 1.6 km, long jump) factors. Physical activity between the ages 15 and 29 years was reported retrospectively using the Historical Leisure Activity Questionnaire at follow-up in 2004-2006 by 2,048 participants in the Childhood Determinants of Adult Health Study (CDAH). Australia's physical activity recommendations for children and adults were used to categorize participants as persistently active, variably active or persistently inactive during the transition from adolescence to adulthood.ResultsFor females, perceived sports competency in childhood and adolescence was significantly associated with being persistently active (RR = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.39, 2.55). Smoking (RR = 0.31 CI = 0.12, 0.82) and having younger siblings (RR = 0.69 CI = 0.52, 0.93) were inversely associated with being persistently active after taking physical and attitudinal factors into account. For males, playing sport outside school (RR = 1.47 CI = 1.05, 2.08), having active fathers (RR = 1.25 CI = 1.01, 1.54) and not enjoying school sport (RR = 4.07 CI = 2.31, 7.17) were associated with being persistently active into adulthood. Time taken to complete the 1.6 km run was inversely associated with being persistently active into adulthood (RR = 0.85 CI = 0.78, 0.93) after adjusting for recreational competency.ConclusionsPerceived sports competency (females) and cardiorespiratory fitness, playing sport outside school and having active fathers (males) in childhood and adolescence were positively associated with being persistently active during the transition from adolescence to adulthood.

BackgroundAdults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) exhibit alterations in tryptophan metabolism, mainly via the kynurenine pathway, due to higher enzymatic activity induced mainly by inflammation. Indoles produced by gut-microflora are another group of tryptophan metabolites related to inflammation and conditions accompanying CKD. Disruptions in tryptophan metabolism have been associated with various neurological and psychological disorders. A high proportion of CKD patients self-report symptoms of depression and/or anxiety and decline in cognitive functioning. This pilot study examines tryptophan metabolism in CKD and explores associations with psychological and cognitive functioning.MethodsTwenty-seven adults with CKD were part of 49 patients recruited to participate in a prospective pilot study, initially with an eGFR of 15–29 mL/min/1.73 m2. Only participants with viable blood samples and complete psychological/cognitive data at a 2-year follow-up were included in the reported cross-sectional study. Serum samples were analysed by Liquid Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry, for tryptophan, ten of its metabolites, the inflammation marker neopterin and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis marker cortisol.ResultsThe tryptophan breakdown index (kynurenine / tryptophan) correlated with neopterin (Pearson R = 0.51 P = 0.006) but not with cortisol. Neopterin levels also correlated with indoxyl sulfate (R = 0.68, P < 0.0001) and 5 metabolites of tryptophan (R range 0.5–0.7, all P ≤ 0.01), which were all negatively related to eGFR (P < 0.05). Higher levels of kynurenic acid were associated with lower cognitive functioning (Spearman R = −0.39, P < 0.05), while indole-3 acetic acid (IAA) was correlated with anxiety and depression (R = 0.52 and P = 0.005, R = 0.39 and P < 0.05, respectively).ConclusionsThe results of this preliminary study suggest the involvement of inflammation in tryptophan breakdown via the kynurenine pathway, yet without sparing tryptophan metabolism through the 5-HT (serotonin) pathway in CKD patients. The multiple moderate associations between indole-3 acetic acid and psychological measures were a novel finding. The presented pilot data necessitate further exploration of these associations within a large prospective cohort to assess the broader significance of these findings.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12882-016-0387-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Findings from both prospective and retrospective analyses indicate a beneficial effect of habitual discretionary physical activity since childhood on risk of depression in young adulthood.