Nutrition and Metabolic Insights最新文献

Background: Child undernutrition is a major public health concern in Uganda that can lead to increased risks of death with its prevalence higher in rural hard-to-reach areas than in urban areas. While it is assumed that the prevalence will be more concerning in islands with restricted accessibility to healthcare resources, limited research has been conducted on the prevalence and associated factors of stunting and underweight among children in Bussi Islands of Uganda. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and predictors of stunting and underweight among children aged 6 to 59 months in Bussi Islands of Wakiso District in Uganda.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Bussi Islands of Wakiso District. Sociodemographic and anthropometric measurements were obtained for randomly sampled 409 caretaker-child pairs from 409 households. Data was collected using pre-tested structured electronic questionnaires validated by the Uganda Ministry of Health. Anthropometric indices were calculated using ENA-SMART version 2011 and data analysis was conducted using STATA version 14. Modified Poisson regression was used to generate Unadjusted and Adjusted Prevalence Ratios (APRs) with 95% confidence intervals.

Results: Prevalence of stunting and underweight among children in Bussi Islands were 29.8% and 16.1%, respectively. Independent predictors of stunting included: suffering from diarrhea (APR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.3, 2.5); household food insecurity (APR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.2, 2.4); and child age of 12 to 23 months and 24 to 35 months (APR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.3, 4.0 and APR: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.1, 3.6 respectively). Protective factors against stunting were not suffering from measles (APR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.42, 0.92); receiving deworming tablets every 6 months (APR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.42, 0.81); and daily household utilization of more than 80 L of water (APR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.24, 0.95). Predictors of underweight were suffering from diarrhea (APR: 2.2; 95% CI: 1.4, 3.4) and having more than 9 household members (APR: 2.8; 95% CI: 1.1, 7.5).

Conclusions: Child stunting and underweight are prevalent public health problems in Bussi Islands of Wakiso District. Therefore, the study suggests that nutrition interventions in the Islands should focus on childhood vaccination, family planning, sufficient safe water coverage, household food security, and health education of child caretakers on optimal infant and young child feeding and development.

Background: Observational studies have shown that insoluble fiber (IF) can be effective in preventing type 2 diabetes (T2D), but there is a lack of experimental data on the effect of short-term consumption of IF on metabolic parameters. We tried to investigate whether there was an improvement in glycemia and body composition in individuals at risk for T2D after 3 months of IF consumption.

Methods: This "Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Prevention Ukraine (T2DPUA)" study describes participants with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) as determined by ADA criteria. The study involved 30 people, including 21 women (70%). Daily, 15 g of IF derived from wheat was used. T2DPUA did not have a placebo group and the intervention lasted 3 months. Evaluation of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and 2h plasma glucose (2hPG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triacylglycerols, uric acid, and γ-glutamyl transferase was performed. The baseline and 3-monthly anthropometric examinations included measurements of weight, waist and hip circumference. Fat mass was assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Paired samples t-test or Wilcoxon test were used.

Result: A decrease of FPG (P = .042), HbA1c (P < .001), 2hPG (P = .005), weight (P < .001), body mass index (P < .001), the proportion of body fat (P = .006), and the absolute amount of fat (P < .001), increases in systolic (P < .001) and diastolic (P = .008) blood pressure was shown. The number of people with hypertension did not change. The absolute amount of body fat decreased by almost 5% and tolerance to the standard glucose load improved by 15%. The dynamics of other metabolic parameters were not revealed.

Conclusion and recommendation: Data about improvement of glycemia and body composition over a short period of using IF by individuals with IFG are new and deserve larger studies.

Background: Rather erroneously, eggs consumption is linked to increase in plasma cholesterol content and incidents of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, stroke, or diabetes. This misconception which is more pervasive particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, has led to very low patronage of eggs intake. In this study, egg consumption patterns, desired egg characteristics, and the extent to which the perception of eggs consumption as a health risk is entrenched among consumers in the Volta Region of Ghana, were examined.

Methods: The study used primary data for the analysis and the 2-stage sampling technique was employed. First, 5 districts (Keta, Ho, Krachi East, Nkwanta South and North Tongu) were selected and afterward, a sample was randomly selected from each of the district. A well designed and pretested questionnaires were administered to the respondents.

Results: It was found that cheaper price and deep yellow yolk were the most persuasive parameters that motivate consumer purchase. The relationship between educational level and awareness on cholesterol types was significant. More than half of the respondents held the view that egg intake results in an increase in serum cholesterol and leads to the incidence of serious health problems.

Recommendation: This study proves the urgent need for a concerted national public education effort to raise awareness about the nutritional and health benefits of eggs intake. Success in such awareness creation will go a long way to greatly minimize acute malnutrition in the Ghana.

Oxidative stress and hyperglycemia are major disorders involved in the occurrence and severity not only of chronic non-communicable diseases but also of infectious pathologies. This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant and antihyperglycemic properties of EcXaPu, EcXa, and EcPu. The antioxidant properties were evaluated using 3 mechanisms: radical scavenging; reducing property, and metal chelating. Finally, the antihyperglycemic properties were evaluated by 2 mechanisms: glucose adsorption and cellular glucose capture. The different formulations showed their ability to scavenge DPPH, ABTS, and NO radicals with SC₅₀ ranging from 2.75 to 3.51 mg/ml, from 2.6 to 2.76 mg/ml, and from 2.59 to 3.3 mg/ml, respectively. All the formulations also reduced MoO₄ ²⁺ and Fe³⁺ and chelated Cu²⁺ and Fe²⁺. The different formulations adsorbed the glucose with glucose adsorption rates ranging from 72.83% to 87.01%. The different formulations also stimulated cellular glucose uptake, with uptake rates ranging from 31.9% to 50.71% in yeast cells and from 21.81% to 39.45% in muscle cells. These formulations could be potential agents to prevent and/or protect against biological disorders associated with oxidative stress and hyperglycemia.

Both clinical and laboratory studies have shown that monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) is involved in cancer spread. To understand the role of MCP-1 in metabolism in the presence of metastasis, we conducted an untargeted metabolomic analysis of primary metabolism on plasma collected from a study showing that MCP-1 deficiency reduces spontaneous metastasis of Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) to the lungs in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). In a 2 × 2 design, wild-type (WT) or Mcp-1 knockout (Mcp-1 ^-/-) mice maintained on the AIN93G standard diet or HFD were subcutaneously injected with LLC cells to induce lung metastasis. We identified 87 metabolites for metabolomic analysis from this study. Amino acid metabolism was altered considerably in the presence of LLC metastases with the aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis pathways as the leading pathway altered. The HFD modified lipid and energy metabolism, evidenced by lower contents of arachidonic acid, cholesterol, and long-chain saturated fatty acids and higher contents of glucose and pyruvic acid in mice fed the HFD. These findings were supported by network analysis showing alterations in fatty acid synthesis and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathways between the 2 diets. Furthermore, elevations of the citrate cycle intermediates (citric acid, fumaric acid, isocitric acid, and succinic acid) and glyceric acid in Mcp-1 ^-/- mice, regardless of diet, suggest the involvement of MCP-1 in mitochondrial energy metabolism during LLC metastasis. The present study demonstrates that MCP-1 deficiency and the HFD altered plasma metabolome in mice bearing LLC metastases. These findings can be useful in understanding the impact of obesity on prevention and treatment of cancer metastasis.

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most prevalent metabolic disorders that affect people of all genders, ages, and races. Medicinal herbs have gained attention from researchers and have been widely investigated for their antidiabetic potential. Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and its main constituents, that is, crocin and crocetin, are natural carotenoid compounds, widely known to possess a wide spectrum of properties and induce pleiotropic anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and neuro-protective effects. An increasing number of experimental, animal and human studies have investigated the effects and mechanism of action of these compounds and their potential therapeutic use in the treatment of diabetes. This narrative review presents the key findings of published clinical studies that examined the effects of saffron and/or its constituents in the context of diabetes mellitus. Moreover, an overview of the proposed underlying mechanisms mediating these effects, the medicinal applications of saffron, and the new findings regarding its effect on diabetes and various cellular and molecular mechanisms of action will be debated.

Background: Several diet quality scores have been developed to evaluate the health benefits of individual diets such as Healthy Eating Index (HEI), Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH), and Mediterranean diet score (Med). This study aims to determine the relationship between dominant dietary health scores with the risk of atherosclerosis in Iranian adults.

Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 323 patients with atherosclerosis and 334 individuals without atherosclerosis as control group. Food Frequency Questionnaire was used for obtaining dietary intakes; then HEI, DASH score, and Med score was calculated. Logistic regression models were used to calculate Odds Ratios (OR) and 95% Confidence intervals (CI) between quartiles of the HEI, DASH and Med and atherosclerosis risk.

Results: The results showed that total scores for HEI, DASH, and Med in control group was higher than the atherosclerosis group. The results also indicated that higher adherence to HEI (OR: 0.43; CI: [0.24, 0.76], P-trend = .006), DASH (OR: 0.48; CI: [0.3, 0.78], P-trend = .003), and Mediterranean pattern (OR: 0.4; CI: [0.21, 0.76]) decreased odds ratio of atherosclerosis.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that adherence to HEI, DASH, and Mediterranean diet might be associated with a lower risk of Atherosclerosis and can have a positive effect on general health and prevention of chronic diseases in people.

Introduction: Currently, nutritional rickets has become a concern of many nutrition experts in many countries. Sunlight is the best and most reliable Source of vitamin D. Since, there is scarce information regarding infant sunlight exposure practice and the determinant factors. Hence, this study aimed to assess mothers' infant sunlight exposure, practice level, and associated factors.

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 884 mothers from March 20 to April 4, 2017. Through the multi-stage simple random sampling method, the study areas had selected. The data were collected using a structured and pre-tested questionnaire and were entered into Epidata version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. The strength of association was measured using binary logistic regression at a 95% CI odds ratio. Finally, P < .05% was declared statistically significant.

Results: From 884 infant coupled mothers, 866 were recruited in the study with a response rate of 97.9%. Only 44% of mothers had good practice of infant sunlight exposure. In multivariate analyses; Knowledge status (AOR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.0-1.9), Attitude status (AOR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1-1.9), mothers age group (AOR = 8.6, 95% CI: 5.1-14.4), mothers educational status (AOR = 5.2, 95% CI: 1.6-16.9), delivery at health facility (AOR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.0-2.1), and friend influence (AOR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.2-2.1) were significantly associated with maternal exposure status of their infants to sunlight.

Conclusion: This finding showed that the majority of the mothers did not expose their infants to sunlight appropriately. The mother's knowledge, attitude, educational status, institutional delivery, and friend influence were the significant factors and needs to work on these.

Background: Flaxseed has rich content of alpha linolenic acid for preventing pro inflammatory process. The aim of present study is exploring the effect of flaxseed oil supplementation on inflammatory biomarkers and body composition in overweight adults with pre-diabetes.

Material and methods: this double-blind randomized clinical trial conducted with 80 overweight pre-diabetic patients in 2 clusters (flaxseed oil group (2000-mg daily) and control group) across a 14-week period. Anthropometric indices, body composition and inflammatory indices were measured between 2 groups before and after the treatment.

Result: this study found a significant decrease in visceral fat level in the intervention group (P = .009) and control group (P = .004) at the end of the survey. However, the mean change of it (P = .06) was not significant. Also, this study showed that percentage of body fat (P = .31) and its mean change (P = .6) did not have significantly different between the 2 groups at the 14th week. The skeletal muscle% had a significant rise in the intervention group (P = .005) and control group (P = .003) by the end of 14th week. However, the mean change of it (P = .19) was not significant between the 2 groups. In addition, there was no significant change in the fasting blood glucose (P = . 7), C reactive protein (P = .12) and TNF-α (P = .22) between the 2 groups at the end of study.

Conclusion: It showed that flaxseed oil supplementation cannot improve body composition and inflammation.

Introduction: The Mediterranean diet (MeD) has been shown to have significant health benefits for adults and children. A mother's diet during pregnancy directly impacts the health of her offspring. This study aimed to investigate the adherence to the MeD of pregnant women attending antenatal care at a Regional Hospital in Bloemfontein, South Africa (SA).

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a consecutive sample of 681 pregnant women who attended the antenatal clinic of a Regional Hospital in Bloemfontein. Socio-demographics included: age, highest level of education, household income, employment status, and income stability. Food group intake was assessed with a quantitative food frequency questionnaire. The adapted Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MeDAS) consisted of 13 of the original 14 questions that measured intake of key food groups (score of ⩽7 poor, 8-9 moderate, ⩾10 good) (wine intake was excluded for pregnant women).

Results: A total of 681 pregnant women with a median age of 31.8 years (IQR: 26.8-36.5 years) and a median gestational age of 32.0 weeks at the time of the interview participated in the study. The vast majority showed poor adherence to the MeD (99.6%), with only 0.4% (n = 3) having moderate adherence and 0% good adherence. The median adherence score was 5 points and the maximum 8 points. Of those with poor adherence, only 11.5% had tertiary education, 43.2% earned less than R 3000 (<201 USD) per month, 52.5% were unemployed, and 42.0% did not have a stable income in the past 6 months. Of the 3 participants with moderate adherence, all had grade 11 to 12 education, 2 out of the 3 earned more than R3000 (201 USD), one was unemployed, and 2 had a stable income over the past 6 months. Compared to those with an income ⩽ R3000 (⩽201 USD), those with an income above R3000 were significantly more likely to eat nuts (including peanuts) (2.0% vs 4.6%, P = .05), and adhere to sofrito (similar to tomato and onion relish) intake (9.2% vs 15.6%, P = .02). Compared to those who only had a primary education level up to grade 10 (n = 229), those who had a secondary education level or more (grade 11 and higher, n = 452) were significantly more likely to consume enough olive oil per day (1.3% vs 5.0%, P = .01), and to consume sofrito (6.6% vs 18.0%, P = .02).

Conclusion: Pregnant participants showed poor adherence to the MeD. Although almost all women fell in the poor adherence group, secondary education contributed to consuming recommended amounts of olive oil and sofrito and higher income was associated with an adequate intake of nuts and sofrito. Based on the findings, we recommend the development of a contextualized MeDAS tool that includes foods that are typically eaten by most South Africans for similar MeD benefits.