Inadequate iodine intake during pregnancy increases the risk of neonatal morbidity and mortality. We aimed to evaluate whether prenatal supplements containing iodine affect urinary iodine concentrations (UIC) of pregnant women in Malawi.

A randomised controlled trial. Pregnant women (n 1391) were assigned to consume 60 mg/d Fe and 400 µg/d folic acid (IFA) or 18 vitamins and minerals including 250 µg/d iodine (MMN) or 20 g/d small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS) with similar nutrient contents as MMN group, plus macronutrients (LNS) until childbirth. In a sub-study (n 317), we evaluated group geometric mean urinary iodine concentration (UIC) (µg/L) at 36 weeks of gestation controlling for baseline UIC and compared median (baseline) and geometric mean (36 weeks) UIC with WHO cut-offs: UIC < 150, 150–249, 250–499 and ≥500 reflecting insufficient, adequate, above requirements and excessive iodine intakes, respectively.

Mangochi District, Malawi.

Women ≤20 weeks pregnant.

Groups had comparable background characteristics. At baseline, overall median (Q1, Q3) UIC (319 (167, 559)) suggested iodine intakes above requirements. At 36 weeks, the geometric mean (95 % CI) UIC of the IFA (197 (171, 226)), MMN (212 (185, 243)) and LNS (220 (192, 253)) groups did not differ (P = 0·53) and reflected adequate intakes.

In this setting, provision of supplements containing iodine at the recommended dose to pregnant women with relatively high iodine intakes at baseline, presumably from iodised salt, has no impact on the women’s UIC. Regular monitoring of the iodine status of pregnant women in such settings is advisable. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01239693.

To determine if a global mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) cut-off can be established to classify underweight in adults (men and non-pregnant women).

We conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) to explore the sensitivity (SENS) and specificity (SPEC) of various MUAC cut-offs for identifying underweight among adults (defined as BMI < 18·5 kg/m2). Measures of diagnostic accuracy were determined every 0·5 cm across MUAC values from 19·0 to 26·5 cm. A bivariate random effects model was used to jointly estimate SENS and SPEC while accounting for heterogeneity between studies. Various subgroup analyses were performed.

Twenty datasets from Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, North America and South America were included.

All eligible participants from the original datasets were included.

The total sample size was 13 835. Mean age was 32·6 years and 65 % of participants were female. Mean MUAC was 25·7 cm, and 28 % of all participants had low BMI (<18·5 kg/m2). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the pooled dataset was 0·91 (range across studies 0·61–0·98). Results showed that MUAC cut-offs in the range of ≤23·5 to ≤25·0 cm could serve as an appropriate screening indicator for underweight.

MUAC is highly discriminatory in its ability to distinguish adults with BMI above and below 18·5 kg/m2. This IPDMA is the first step towards determining a global MUAC cut-off for adults. Validation studies are needed to determine whether the proposed MUAC cut-off of 24 cm is associated with poor functional outcomes.

Although repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is frequently used to examine emotional changes in healthy volunteers, it remains largely unknown how rTMS is able to influence emotion.

In this sham-controlled single-blind crossover study using fMRI, we examined in 20 right-handed healthy female volunteers whether a single high frequency (HF)-rTMS session applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) could influence emotional processing while focussing on blocks of positively and negatively valenced baby faces. The task instruction was to focus on one's own emotional status elicited by the visual stimuli.

A single HF-rTMS session selectively influenced the processing of positively and negatively valenced baby faces. When positive information was being processed, one active left-sided HF-rTMS session resulted in enhanced neuronal activity in the left superior frontal cortex (Brodmann area 10) and right inferior parietal cortex (Brodmann area 39). When negative information was processed, one active stimulation session attenuated neuronal activity in the right insula, while sham stimulation did not.

These observations suggest that after one active HF-rTMS session, psychophysiological reactions while processing withdrawal-related stimuli decrease. The increased neuronal activity while processing of positively valenced baby faces might reflect enhanced task-related processing caused by the neuronal activation of the left DLPFC, which could indicate that females are more able to empathize with the depicted happy baby faces. Our results add further evidence as to why HF-rTMS applied to the left DLPFC might improve mood in depressive populations.

There is increasing evidence for shared genetic susceptibility between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Although genetic variants only convey subtle increases in risk individually, their combination into a polygenic risk score constitutes a strong disease predictor.

To investigate whether schizophrenia and bipolar disorder polygenic risk scores can distinguish people with broadly defined psychosis and their unaffected relatives from controls.

Using the latest Psychiatric Genomics Consortium data, we calculated schizophrenia and bipolar disorder polygenic risk scores for 1168 people with psychosis, 552 unaffected relatives and 1472 controls.

Patients with broadly defined psychosis had dramatic increases in schizophrenia and bipolar polygenic risk scores, as did their relatives, albeit to a lesser degree. However, the accuracy of predictive models was modest.

Although polygenic risk scores are not ready for clinical use, it is hoped that as they are refined they could help towards risk reduction advice and early interventions for psychosis.

R.M.M. has received honoraria for lectures from Janssen, Lundbeck, Lilly, Otsuka and Sunovian.