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Few studies have addressed the effect of maternal employment on late pregnancy outcomes. The National Maternal and Infant Health Survey, a probability sample of U.S. livebirths, stillbirths, and infant deaths in 1988, provided an opportunity to evaluate mothers' jobs in relation to preterm delivery, very low birthweight ( < 1,500 gm), moderately low birthweight (1,500-2,499 gm), small-for-gestational-age (SGA) birth, stillbirth, and infant death. We aggregated mothers' jobs, which were ascertained by mailed questionnaire or telephone interview, into categories for analysis. We considered jobs held at any time during pregnancy and jobs held during the fifth month of pregnancy. Relative to the referent group of clerks, textile workers had adjusted odds ratios of 1.5 or greater for all outcomes, with elevated risks also found sporadically for food service workers (preterm delivery, SGA birth, stillbirth) and electrical equipment operators (all outcomes except for still-birth and infant death). Janitors had elevated adjusted odds ratios of 2.0 or greater for preterm delivery and stillbirth. Relative to clerks, teachers and librarians tended to have reduced risks for adverse outcomes.

objective: We applied a comparative functional genomics approach to evaluate whether diet-induced obese (DIO) rats serve as an effective obesity model. Methods and Procedures: Gene-expression profiles of epididymal fat from DIO and lean rats were generated using microarrays and compared with the published array data of obese and non-obese human subcutaneous adipocytes. Results: Caloric intake and fuel efficiency were significantly higher in DIO rats, which resulted in increased body weight and adiposity. Circulating glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, insulin, and leptin levels in DIO rats were significantly higher than those in the lean controls. DIO rats also exhibited impaired insulin sensitivity. A direct comparison of gene-expression profiles from DIO and lean rats and those from obese and non-obese humans revealed that global gene-expression patterns in DIO rat fat resemble those of obese human adipocytes. Differentially expressed genes between obese and non-obese subjects in both human and rat studies were identified and associated with biological pathways by mapping genes to Gene Ontology (GO) categories. Immune response-related genes and angiogenesis-related genes exhibited significant upregulation in both obese humans and DIO rats when compared with non-obese controls. However, genes in fatty acid metabolism and oxidation exhibited a broad downregulation only in obese human adipocytes but not in DIO rat epididymal fat. Discussion: Our study based on gene-expression profiling suggested that DIO rats in general represent an appropriate obesity model. However, the discrepancies in gene-expression alterations between DIO rats and obese humans, particularly in the metabolic pathways, may explain the limitations of using DIO rodent models in obesity research and drug discovery.