The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many aspects of daily life. The purpose of this study was to identify how health behaviors, level of stress, financial and food security have been impacted by the pandemic among Canadian families with young children. Parents (mothers, n = 235 and fathers, n = 126) from 254 families participating in an ongoing study completed an online survey that included close and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the quantitative data and qualitative responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. More than half of our sample reported that their eating and meal routines have changed since COVID-19; most commonly reported changes were eating more snack foods and spending more time cooking. Screen time increased among 74% of mothers, 61% of fathers, and 87% of children and physical activity decreased among 59% of mothers, 52% of fathers, and 52% of children. Key factors influencing family stress include balancing work with childcare/homeschooling and financial instability. While some unhealthful behaviors appeared to have been exacerbated, other more healthful behaviors also emerged since COVID-19. Research is needed to determine the longer-term impact of the pandemic on behaviors and to identify effective strategies to support families in the post-COVID-19 context.

In nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, hepatic gene expression and fatty acid (FA) composition have been reported independently, but a comprehensive gene expression profiling in relation to FA composition is lacking. The aim was to assess this relationship. In a cross‐sectional study, hepatic gene expression (Illumina Microarray) was first compared among 20 patients with simple steatosis (SS), 19 with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and 24 healthy controls. The FA composition in hepatic total lipids was compared between SS and NASH, and associations between gene expression and FAs were examined. Gene expression differed mainly between healthy controls and patients (SS and NASH), including genes related to unsaturated FA metabolism. Twenty‐two genes were differentially expressed between NASH and SS; most of them correlated with disease severity and related more to cancer progression than to lipid metabolism. Biologically active long‐chain polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs; eicosapentaenoic acid + docosahexaenoic acid, arachidonic acid) in hepatic total lipids were lower in NASH than in SS. This may be related to overexpression of FADS1, FADS2, and PNPLA3. The degree and direction of correlations between PUFAs and gene expression were different among SS and NASH, which may suggest that low PUFA content in NASH modulates gene expression in a different way compared with SS or, alternatively, that gene expression influences PUFA content differently depending on disease severity (SS versus NASH). Conclusion: Well‐defined subjects with either healthy liver, SS, or NASH showed distinct hepatic gene expression profiles including genes involved in unsaturated FA metabolism. In patients with NASH, hepatic PUFAs were lower and associations with gene expression were different compared to SS. (Hepatology 2015;61:1565–1578)

No abstract