Background Early-life vitamin D deficiency may impair immune system development contributing to allergy and asthma onset. Findings from prospective studies are inconsistent. Objective To examine whether maternal and child vitamin D levels are associated with allergic and asthma-related symptoms throughout childhood in a Spanish birth cohort. Methods 25-Hydroxyvitamin D-3 (25(OH)D-3) levels were measured in the serum of pregnant women (N = 2525) and children (N = 803). Information on allergic and asthma-related symptoms was obtained from repeated questionnaires from 1 to 9 years. Results A total of 19% of mothers and 24% of children had deficient 25(OH)D-3 levels (<20 ng/ml). Higher child 25(OH)D-3 levels at 4 years were associated with lower odds of atopic eczema from 4 to 9 years (adjusted odds ratio = 0.90; 95% CI = 0.84-0.97 per 5 ng/ml). Higher maternal and child 25(OH)D-3 levels were associated with a lower prevalence of late-onset wheezing at the limit of statistical significance (adjusted relative risk ratio (RRRadj) = 0.86; 95% CI = 0.74-1.00 and RRRadj = 0.76; 95% CI = 0.58-1.02 per 5 ng/ml, respectively). All the remaining associations were null. Conclusion Child 25(OH)D-3 levels at pre-school age are associated with a reduced odds of atopic eczema in later childhood and both maternal and child levels may reduce the prevalence of late-onset wheezing. Impact In this Spanish birth cohort, with a total of 19% of mothers and 24% of children with deficient levels of vitamin D, higher child vitamin D at 4 years of age was associated with reduced odds of atopic eczema up to 9 years. There was also some evidence that higher maternal and child vitamin D levels reduced the prevalence of late-onset wheezing. Although these findings need replication, they may imply optimal vitamin D levels at pre-school age to prevent atopic eczema.

Participatory research (PR) is on the rise. In Spain, PR is scarce in the field of health, although there is an increasing interest in the matter. A comprehensive understanding of the meanings and practical implications of “public participation” is essential to promote participation in health research. The aim of the study is to explore the discursive positions on PR among individuals with experience in participatory processes in different areas and how this understanding translates into practice. We conducted a critical discourse analysis of 21 individuals with experience in PR and participatory processes (13 women, 8 men), mainly from the field of health and other areas of knowledge. Sixteen were Spanish and the rest were from the United Kingdom (3), United States (1), and Canada (1). Interviews were conducted in person or by telephone. The fieldwork was conducted between March 2019 and November 2019. The dominant discourses on public participation are situated along two axes situated on a continuum: the purpose of public participation and how power should be distributed in public participation processes. The first is instrumental public participation, which sees participatory research as a tool to improve research results and focuses on institutional interests and power-decision making is hold by researchers and institutions. The second, is transformative public participation, with a focus on social change and an equitable sharing of decision-making power between the public and researchers. All discursive positions stated that they do not carry out specific strategies to include the most socially disadvantaged individuals or groups. A shift in the scientific approach about knowledge, along with time and resources, are required to move towards a more balanced power distribution in the processes involving the public.

Objectives: We aimed to develop and validate a fracture risk algorithm for the automatic identification of subjects at high risk of imminent and long-term fracture risk. Research, design, and methods: A cohort of subjects aged 50-85, between 2007 and 2017, was extracted from the Catalan information system for the development of research in primary care database (SIDIAP). Participants were followed until the earliest of death, transfer out, fracture, or 12/31/2017. Potential risk factors were obtained based on the existing literature. Cox regression was used to model 1 and 5-year risk of hip and major fracture. The original cohort was randomly split in 80:20 for development and internal validation purposes respectively. External validation was explored in a cohort extracted from the Spanish database for pharmaco-epidemiological research in primary care. Results: A total of 1.76 million people were included from SIDIAP (50.7 % women with mean age of 65.4 years). Hip and major fracture incidence rates were 3.57 [95%CI 3.53 to 3.60] and 11.61 [95%CI 11.54 to 11.68] per 1000 person-years, respectively. The derived model included 19 risk factors. Internal validity showed good results on calibration and discrimination. The 1-year C-statistic for hip and major fracture were 0.851 (95%CI 0.853 to 0.864), and 0.717 (95%CI 0.742 to 0.749) respectively. The 5-year C-statistic for hip and major fracture were 0.849 (95%CI 0.847 to 0.852) and 0.724 (95%CI 0.721 to 0.727) respectively. External validation showed good performance for hip and major fracture risk prediction. Conclusions: We have developed and validated a clinical prediction tool for 1-and 5-year hip and major osteoporotic fracture risks using electronic primary care data. The proposed algorithm can be automatically estimated at the population level using the available primary care records. Future work is needed on the cost-effectiveness of its use for population-based screening and targeted prevention of osteoporotic fractures.