Sex-specific associations of birth weight with measures of adiposity in mid-to-late adulthood: the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: To investigate sex-specific associations of birth weight with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) in mid-to-late adulthood. SUBJECTS/METHODS: ELSA-Brasil is a multicenter cohort study of adults aged 35-74 years affiliated with universities or research institutions of six capital cities in Brazil. After exclusions, we investigated 11 636 participants. Socio-demographic factors and birth weight were obtained by interview. All anthropometry was directly measured at baseline. We categorized birth weight as low (⩽2.5 kg); normal (2.5-4 kg) and high (⩾4 kg). We performed analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for continuous outcomes and ordinal logistic regression for categorical adiposity outcomes. We examined interaction on the multiplicative scale by sex and by race. RESULTS: High birth weight uniformly predicted greater overall and central obesity in men and women. However, low (vs normal) birth weight, in ANCOVA models adjusted for participant age, family income, race, education, maternal education, and maternal and paternal history of diabetes, was associated with lower BMI, WC and WHR means for men, but not for women (Pinteraction=0.01, <0.0001 and <0.0001, respectively). In similarly adjusted ordinal logistic regression models, odds of obesity (odds ratio (OR)=0.65, 0.46-0.90) and of being in the high (vs low) tertile of WC (OR=0.66, 0.50-0.87) and of WHR (OR=0.79, 0.60-1.03) were lower for low (vs normal) birth weight men, but trended higher (BMI: OR=1.18, 0.92-1.51; WC: OR=1.21, 0.97-1.53; WHR: OR=1.44, 1.15-1.82) for low (vs normal) birth weight women. CONCLUSIONS: In this Brazilian sample of middle-aged and elderly adults who have lived through a rapid nutritional transition, low birth weight was associated with adult adiposity in a sex-specific manner. In men, low birth weight was associated with lower overall and central adult adiposity, while in women low birth weight was generally associated with greater central adiposity.

Factors associated with oxidative stress in women with breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between physiological, physical, lifestyle and nutritional variables and oxidative stress biomarkers in women with breast cancer. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 55 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. The extent of oxidative stress was analyzed by the measurement of plasma lipid hydroperoxides (LH), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), protein carbonyl, whole blood reduced glutathione (GSH) and serum antioxidant capacity (AC). Diet data were obtained from food frequency questionnaire. Linear regression was used to determine the association between the variables studied and oxidative stress biomarkers. The protein carbonyl data was not included in the linear regression analyses since the data did not show a normal distribution, even after logarithmic and other transformations. RESULTS: After adjusting for energy intake, the intake of chicken and high-fat dairy products was associated with increased levels of LH, while vitamin E intake was associated with decreased LH levels (R² = 23.8%). Intake of oils was associated with increased levels of TBARS (R² = 6.82%). Positive axillary lymph node status was associated with decreased levels of GSH (R² = 9.31%). Increasing age was directly associated with levels of AC, while animal fat, dairy product, and sweet food intakes were associated with low levels of AC (R² = 41.42%). CONCLUSION: Intake of chicken, vitamin E, dairy products (particularly high-fat dairy products), oils, animal fat, and sweet foods, along with axillary lymph node status and age, may be important determinants of oxidative stress in women with breast cancer.

Dietary intake and oxidative stress in breast cancer: before and after treatments.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate changes in dietary intake, anthropometric parameters and markers of oxidative stress in 40 women who underwent surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy for breast cancer. METHODS: Pretreatment and post-treatment measurements included data collected through a food frequency questionnaire, weight and height to calculate the body mass index (BMI) and oxidative stress markers assessed from blood reduced glutathione (GSH), serum antioxidant capacity (AC), plasma thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), serum lipid hydroperoxides (LH) and plasma carbonyls. Differences were compared using paired Student's t-test or paired Wilcoxon's test. RESULTS: A significant increase (P < 0.05) in the intake of the food groups: meat and eggs, dairy products, beans, oils and fats, as well as food from the subgroups: red meat, milk and other dairy products rich in fat, fruit rich in vitamin C and vegetable fats was found after treatments. There was a significant increase in body weight (P < 0.05), BMI (P < 0.05), levels of TBARS (P < 0.0001), LH (P < 0.005) and carbonyls (P < 0.0001) and a significant decrease of levels of AC (P < 0.005) and GSH (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Breast cancer diagnosis and treatments were associated with dietary intake changes and increased body weight, BMI and oxidative stress. These potential changes have important implications for preventive nutrition counseling.