[Assessment of vitamin and mineral intake and some related factors in hemodialysis patients referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran]

Introduction: Deficiencies of vitamins, minerals and some trace elements have been observed in hemodialysis patients, for which inadequate nutrient intake is considered to be one of the most important reasons. Correcting the micronutrient status of these patients will improve their quality of life. This study was performed to evaluate vitamin and mineral intakes and some related factors in hemodialysis patients referred to Imam Khomeini hospital in Tehran

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 114 hemodialysis patients. To evaluate the patients' diet, 24 hour recall for 3 days [two usual days and one holiday] was applied. Food Processor II [FP II] was utilized to calculate the amount of micronutrient intakes

Results: Low micronutrient intakes were highly prevalent in the hemodialysis patients studied [36-100%]. There was a significant negative relationship between age and thiamine, vitamin E, iron and zinc [P<0.05]. Means for thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, folate, iron, magnesium and zinc intakes were significantly higher in men than in women [P<0.05]. Moreover, mean vitamin E intake in the group with dialysis durations less than 3 years was higher than in the group with dialysis durations of over 3 years [P=0.009]. Mean magnesium and folate intakes were higher in the group without comorbidity than the group with comorbidity[P<0.05]

Conclusion: According to the present study, low micronutrient intake had a very high prevalence in hemodialysis patients

[Relationship between serum zinc and leptin concentrations in postmenopausal diabetic women]

Leptin, a hormone secreted by the adipocytes, plays a key role in a feedback loop that maintains energy balance by signaling the state of energy stores to the brain and by influencing the regulation of appetite and energy metabolism. Zinc [Zn] also plays an important role in appetite regulation. It has been shown that Zn deficiency decreases appetite and that Zn supplementation increases it. Our aim is to evaluate the relationship between serum Zn, and leptin in postmenopausal diabetic women. We studied 45 diabetic women and 45 healthy women [controls] with Body Mass Index [BMI] 25-30 kg/m[2] and age 45-60y. Serum leptin, serum zinc, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha [TNF-alpha], and Interleukin-6 [IL-6] were determined in diabetic and healthy groups. Comparisons were performed with the t test in diabetic and healthy groups. Linear regression was used to evaluate the relations among different variables in the two groups. There was a non-significant, negative correlation between serum leptin and zinc in postmenopausal diabetic women [r=0.14], and, a non-significant, positive correlation between serum leptin and zinc in postmenopausal healthy women [r=0.10]. TNF-alpha and IL-6 have no significant effects on the relationship between serum zinc and leptin in postmenopausal diabetic and healthy women. There was no significant relationship between serum leptin and zinc in postmenopausal diabetic women. The pathophysiological pathways by which zinc and leptin regulate energy intake and appetite and the detailed mechanism between them need to be further clarified by future studies

Relationship between serum zinc and insulin concentration, insulin resistance and oxidative stress in postmenopausal diabetic women

The metabolism of Zine [Zn], an essential nutrient, changes in diabetes. It has been shown that there is a relationship between Zn and both, type 1 or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus [IDDM] and type 2 or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus [NIDDM]. Increased lipid peroxidation in diabetic patients leads to MDA production. This study aimed to investigate relationships between serum Zn concentration and insulin, insulin resistance and oxidative stress in postmenopausal diabetic women. We studied 45 diabetic women and 45 healthy ones [controls] with BMI 25-30 kg/m2 and age 45-60 y. Fasting blood sugar [FBS], serum zinc, insulin, insulin resistance and MDA were determined in both groups. There were non significant correlations between Zn, insulin [r= -0.06] and insulin resistance [r = -0.027] and MDA [r = -0.09] as well in diabetic group. There were no significant relationships between serum zinc and insulin, insulin resistance and MDA in postmenopausal diabetic women

[ relation between serum ferritin and glycemic status in patients with type 2 diabetic and healthy individuals]

Alghough some studies report an association between ferritin and glycemic status, data from Iran is limited. This study was designed to assess the relation between serum ferritin and glycemic status in type 2 diabetic and healthy individuals, aged 45-60 years, in Tehran. This cross-sectional study was performed on 54 type 2 diabetic patients and 53 healthy subjects, aged 45-60 years. The diabetic patients were members of the diabetes society in Tehran and healthy subjects were employees of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Serum ferritin, fasting blood glucose [FBS], HbA1C, serum insulin and insulin resistance were analyzed in all participants. Statistical analyses were done using regression and independent sample t-test. Serum ferritin levels were within normal range in both groups. Positive correlations between ferritin and FBS, HbA1C, insulin and insulin resistance were found, which were significant in diabetic patients and non-significant in healthy subjects. There was significant correlation between insulin resistance and serum ferritin in diabetic patients; however the correlation was non-significant in healthy subjects. There were positive correlations between ferritin with serum insulin and insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes and the positive correlation was present even in normal ranges of serum ferritin. Since ferritin has a wide normal range, it may be better to reassess it, especially in patients with type 2 diabetes

Relationship between serum leptin concentration and inflammatory factors and oxidative stress in postmenopausal type II diabetic women

Leptin, a hormone secreted by the adipocytes, has a role in the pathogenesis of obesity and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus [NIDDM]. There are relationships between Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha [TNF-alpha] and lnterleukin-6 [IL-6] with Body Mass Index [BMI] and insulin resistance. Increased lipid peroxidation leads to produce MDA in diabetic people. It have been shown that, there are relationships between leptin and TNF-alpha, IL-6, and MDA, showing that increased lipid peroxidation leads to MDA production in diabetics. This study investigates relationships between serum leptin concentration and inflammatory intermediate and oxidative stress in postmenopausal diabetic women. We studied 45 postmenopausal diabetic women and 45 postmenopausal healthy women [controls], aged between 45-60 y and with BMI 25-30 kg/m2. Fasting blood sugar, serum leptin, TNF-alpha, IL-6, and MDA were determined in postmenopausal diabetics and healthy women, and comparisons were performed using the t test in the diabetic and healthy groups. Pearson correlation was used to evaluate the relations among different variables in two groups. There were non significant correlations between leptin and TNF-alpha [r=0.2] and IL-6 [r= -0.06] in postmenopausal diabetic women, and also between leptin and MDA [r= 0.04] in postmenopausal diabetic women. There were no significant relationships between serum leptin and TNF-alpha, IL-6, and MDA in postmenopausal diabetic womer It seems these relationships need to be further clarified in future studies with larger sample sizes