[Dietary habits of 2 populations of the province of Barcelona (III): energy consumption and macronutrients]. / Hábitos alimentarios de dos poblaciones de la provincia de Barcelona (y III): consumo de energía y macronutrientes.

BACKGROUND: The identification of an association between alimentary and nutritional factors and different diseases has led to the study of alimentary habits in different populations. The consumption of energy and macronutrients was analyzed in two urban populations in the province of Barcelona (Spain). METHODS: One thousand thirty-four randomly selected individuals from primary care centers (PCC) were studied by a systematic sampling of all the out patient consultations over one year and to those to whom a semiquantitative questionnaire of frequency foodstuffs was given to estimate their normal diet. The subjects included all those residents in the two towns studied from 13 to 80 years of age who attended the PCC during the study period. RESULTS: The percentage of subjects from Vilanova i la Geltrú who were found to be high consumers of milk and derivatives, fish and vegetables was significantly higher in comparison with subjects from Gavá. The males of both towns presented a higher mean consumption of carbohydrates and energy than the females. On comparison of the consumption between the 2 populations, the mean carbohydrate diet ingested was significantly greater in the population from Gavá in both sexes as was the consumption of energy and total lipids between women and men, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The population studied presented a clear pattern of Mediterranean diet consumption with elevated ingestion of carbohydrates and monounsaturated fats.

[Dietary habits of 2 populations of the province of Barcelona (I): design and validation of a semiquantitative questionnaire of frequency of food consumption]. / Hábitos alimentarios de dos poblaciones de la provincia de Barcelona (I): Diseño y validación de un cuestionario semicuantitativo de frecuencia de consumo de alimentos.

BACKGROUND: The identification of associations between alimentary factors and specific chronic diseases has led to the development of valid diet measurement methods. In the present article the design and validation of a questionnaire on the frequency of food consumption is reported. METHODS: From an initial sample of 1,034 inhabitants of two populations in the province of Barcelona, Spain, a sample stratified by age, sex and population of 64 individuals between 13-70 years of age was randomly selected. A semiquantitative questionnaire was initially given to 58 of the 64 subjects including 39 foods or groups of food and these were instructed as to how to follow a registry of food for 7 days in two different periods. The intakes of energy products, macronutrients, fiber, cholesterol and vitamins C, A and E were estimated by the two methods were compared. RESULTS: The means of nutrients estimated were lower in the questionnaire than those obtained by the reports of foods with the exception of the intake of carbohydrates. The range of the correlation coefficients for the values obtained by both methods was of 0.17 for vitamin E and 0.54 for the monounsaturated fatty acids which, after correction for the alternation factor, were found to be 0.20 and 0.67, respectively. Thirty-nine percent of the individuals were classified within the quintile of low consumption with 33% being within the quintile of greatest consumption. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a semiquantitative questionnaire may be useful to describe the dietary habits in a given population and fundamentally when the population studied is to be classified according to the normal consumption of energy and macronutrients.

[Dietary habits of 2 populations of the province of Barcelona (II): comparative study of the frequency of consumption in both populations and its relationship to recommended diet in diabetes]. / Hábitos alimentarios de dos poblaciones de la provincia de Barcelona (II): Estudio comparativo de la frecuencia de consumo en ambas poblaciones y su relación con la dieta recomendada en la diabetes.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to compare the eating habits of two urban populations (Vilanova i la Geltrú and Gavá) of the province of Barcelona, Spain, and determine the relation with the diet recommended in diabetes since this diet does not differ from what is considered "equilibrated diet". METHODS: One thousand thirty-four individuals randomly selected from Primary Health Care Centers (PHCC) by a systematic sampling of all the outpatient consultations over one year to whom a questionnaire on semiquantitative frequencies were studied with the aim of determining their everyday diet. All those between 13 and 80 years of age, residing in the two municipalities studied and who attended the PHCC over the period of the study were included in the study. RESULTS: On comparison of both populations a statistically higher consumption (p < 0.01) of milk products, fish, vegetables, fruits and oils was observed in Vilanova i la Geltrú than in Gavá. Both groups presented a lower intake than recommended of fish, vegetables, and fruits. In contrast a high intake of sugar, ice cream and sugared beverages and foods were observed in the two populations studied and in the younger are groups. CONCLUSIONS: The population of Vilanova i la Geltrú have dietary habits which are closer to those recommended in the diet of diabetics than the population of Gavá.

[Glycosylated hemoglobin as an index of diabetes mellitus control (author's transl)]. / Hemoglobina glucosilada como índice de control de la diabetes mellitus.

Glycosylated hemoglobin ((HbA1c) is formed by structural modification of HbA in a slow and irreversible non-enzymatic reaction. Its concentration is proportional to mean blood glucose levels during approximately four weeks, being therefore a useful index of diabetes mellitus control. The introduction of a microcolumn chromatographic method that measures together the subfractions HbA1a + b + c (fast Hb) and is well correlated to HbA1c has permitted the routine clinical measurement of this parameter. The authors used this method to study the levels of glycosylated hemoglobin in normal subjects, acutely decompensated diabetics, and diabetic outpatients classified according to their degree of control. The highest levels were detected in acutely decompensated patients and in those with chronic poor compensation. It is concluded that HbA1 constitutes a good index of compensation in diabetes, and that it may in the future unify existing criteria on the disease, contributing to clarify the problems about the correlation between the degree of compensation of diabetes and the incidence and evolution of its specific complications.

Treatment of hyperlipoproteinemia, types II and IV, with pirifibrate: one hundred observations.

A new drug, pirifibrate, was investigated in a multicenter study of 100 patients with type IIa, IIb, or IV hyperlipoproteinemia (HLP). After one month of dieting, patients completed six months of treatment with a dose of 1,500 mg/day of pirifibrate. An average fall of about 20% in plasma cholesterol was observed in type IIa and IIb HLP, and more than 50% in the triglycerides in type IIb and IV HLP. Both reductions were statistically significant (P less than 0.00005). Increases in the alpha-lipoproteins were observed in the three types of HLP. The pre-beta-lipoproteins showed a statistically significant fall in type IIb and IV HLP. Variations observed in beta-lipoproteins were significant only in some controls with type IV, HLP, who had low basal levels.