Effectiveness of sucralfate in preventing esophageal stricture in children after ingestion of caustic agents.

Ingestion of caustic agents by children is a serious health issue that can affect the patient for the rest of his life. The role of sucralfate in preventing stricture caused by caustic agents is controversial, and limited studies have been conducted in this field. We aimed to investigate the effect of sucralfate on preventing esophageal stricture in children. Sixty children with mean age of 36.69 ± 20.50 months and grade II B esophageal burns due to ingestion of caustic agents were enrolled in the study. In the intervention group, in addition to the usual treatment, sucralfate was administered orally at a dose of 80 mg/kg every 2 h for 3 days. For the control group, only the usual treatment was prescribed. Stricture development was compared between groups based on endoscopic and radiologic findings. Of the 60 patients enrolled in the study, 53 were examined. The incidence of esophageal stricture in the intervention group was significantly lower than in the control group (37% versus 67%, P-value = 0.042). In addition, the odds of esophageal stricture after sucralfate intervention was significantly reduced after adjustment for potential confounders (OR = 0.198, P-value = 0.031).  Conclusions: The results of this study showed that sucralfate may reduce the development of esophageal stricture in children when used to manage IIB esophageal burns due to ingestion of caustic agents. What is Known: • Ingestion of caustic agents by children is a serious health issue that can affect the patient for the rest of his life. • The role of sucralfate in preventing stricture caused by caustic agents is controversial and limited studies have been conducted in this field. What is New: • It seems that sucralfate significantly reduces the incidence of esophageal stricture following the ingestion of caustic agents in children compared to the control group. • We believe that the prognosis may be improved and the risk of stricture formation may be reduced with high doses of sucralfate therapy in grade IIB esophageal injury.

Vitamin D therapy in pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: There is some evidence for the role of vitamin D deficiency in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the pediatric population. However, the results are contradictory. Therefore, we have conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluated the effect of vitamin D on pediatric patients with IBD. METHODS: We carried out a systematic search in databases from inception until 20 January 2022. We included all relevant articles that evaluate the efficacy and safety of vitamin D on disease activity, inflammatory factors, and vitamin D and calcium levels in pediatric patients with IBD. Random effects models were used to combine the data. The main outcomes were then analyzed using weight mean difference (WMD) and respective 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Fifteen treatment arms met the eligibility criteria and were included. Pooled estimates indicated that intervention with vitamin D has a significantly beneficial effect on 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH) D3] (pooled WMD of 17.662 ng/mL; CI 9.77-25.46; P < 0.001), calcium (pooled WMD of 0.17 mg/dL; CI 0.04-0.30; P = 0.009), and inflammatory factors including C-reactive protein (CRP) (pooled WMD of -6.57 mg/L; CI -11.47 to -1.67; P = 0.009) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (pooled WMD of -7.94 mm/h; CI -12.65 to -3.22; P = 0.001) levels. In addition, this effect was greater for vitamin D levels at doses greater than 2000 IU, and when follow-up duration was more than 12 weeks. CONCLUSION: This study showed that vitamin D therapy can have a significant and beneficial effect on 25(OH) D3, calcium, and inflammatory factors in children and adolescents with IBD.

Comparing the effects of docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids on cardiovascular risk factors: Pairwise and network meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Evidence from clinical trial studies suggests that docosahexaenoic acids (DHA) may have greater potential effects on improving cardiovascular risk factors than eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). However, this evidence has not yet been meta-analyzed and quantified. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effect of DHA and EPA monotherapy on cardiovascular risk factors based on paired and network meta-analysis. METHODS: Relevant articles published up to January 2022 were systematically retrieved from relevant databases. We included all Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) on adults that directly compared the effects of DHA with EPA and RCTs of indirect comparisons (DHA and EPA monotherapy compared to control groups). Data were pooled by pairwise and network meta-analysis and expressed as mean differences (MDs) with 95% CIs. The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO (Registration ID: CRD42022328630). RESULTS: Network meta-analysis of comparisons of DHA and EPA suggested significant comparable effects only on LDL-C (MD EPA versus DHA = -8.51 mg/L; 95% CI: -16.67; -0.35). However, the Network meta-analysis not show a significant effect for other risk factors. Furthermore, pairwise meta-analysis of direct comparisons of DHA and EPA showed significant difference in their effects on plasma glucose (MD EPA versus DHA = -0.31 mg/L; 95% CI: -0.60, -0.02), Insulin (MD EPA versus DHA = -2.14 mg/L; 95% CI: -3.26, -1.02), but the results were not significant for risk factors. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that both EPA and DHA act similarly on the markers under study, with slight changes in plasma glucose, insulin, and LDL-C.

The consumption of culinary preparations and ultra-processed food is associated with handgrip strength in teenagers.

BACKGROUND: A nutrient-poor and hypocaloric diet may be associated with lower handgrip strength (HGS), whereas a high-quality or balanced diet may be associated with higher HGS. However, no study has used the NOVA system for classifying food by their degree of processing. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between food consumption according to the degree of food processing and HGS in Brazilian teenagers. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included teenagers aged 18 and 19 years old from the 1997/98 São Luís' birth cohort, Maranhão, Brazil. HGS (kilogram-force) was measured via a Jamar Plus + dynamometer. Food consumption was assessed using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. The energy intake of culinary preparations (unprocessed or minimally processed food and processed culinary ingredients), processed, and ultra-processed foods was evaluated in percentages and categorized in tertiles. The associations between each food group intake and HGS was estimated via crude and adjusted linear regression models. A directed acyclic graph was used to identify confounding factors. RESULTS: We evaluated 2,433 teenagers, 52.1% of which were girls. For boys, adjusted analysis showed an association between the highest HGS and the 3rd tertile of culinary preparation consumption (ß: 1.95; 95%CI: 0.80; 3.10) and between the lowest HGS and the 3rd tertile of ultra-processed food consumption (ß: -2.25; 95%CI: -3.40; -1.10). Among girls, the consumption of culinary preparations in the 3rd tertile was associated with higher HGS (ß: 0.76; 95%CI: 0.05; 1.46). CONCLUSIONS: Higher consumption of culinary preparations and lower consumption of ultra-processed foods can contribute to reduce the chance of lower HGS in adult life. Interventions to promote the development and preservation of muscle strength should include dietary recommendations.

Association between sleep duration and cardiometabolic factors in adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The sleep reduction can change healthy people's hemodynamic control and cardiovascular regulation through increased inflammatory response and altered endothelial function. The objective the study to analyze the association between sleep duration and cardiometabolic risk factors in adolescents in the birth cohort of São Luís (1997/98). METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study with adolescents participating in the birth cohort of São Luís (1997/98). Sleep duration was evaluated using accelerometer data (Actigraph wGT3X-BT). Glycemia, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) and triglycerides were considered cardiometabolic factors. The Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) was used to identify the minimum set of adjustment for confounding. RESULTS: Out of 1,268 adolescents, 50.3% of them were male. The prevalence of sleep duration of less than 6 h per day was 31.1%. The mean glycemia value was 91.8 mg/dL (± 15.9), DBP was 71.3 mmHg (± 7.5), SBP was 114.9 mmHg (± 12.3), HDL was 48.5 mg/dL (± 11.6), LDL was 89.0 mg/dL (± 25.7), the total cholesterol was 156.0 mg/dL (± 31.1), and triglycerides was 93.6 mg/dL (± 47.2). The crude analysis showed an association between sleep duration and SBP and LDL-c. In the adjusted analysis, the associations did not remain. CONCLUSION: Our study showed no association between sleep duration and cardiometabolic outcomes in adolescents.

Association between novel dietary and lifestyle inflammation indices with risk of breast cancer (BrCa): a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Pro-inflammatory diet and lifestyle factors lead to diseases related to chronically systemic inflammation. We examined the novel dietary/lifestyle indicators related to inflammation such dietary inflammation score (DIS), lifestyle inflammation score (LIS), empirical dietary inflammatory index (EDII) and, risk of Breast Cancer (BrCa) in Iranian woman. METHODS: In this hospital-based case-control study, 253 patients with BrCa and 267 non-BrCa controls were enrolled. Food consumption was recorded to calculate the DIS, LIS and EDII using a semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and, 95% confidence intervals for the association of the inflammatory potential with risk of these cancers using binary logistic regression models modified for the case-control design. RESULTS: Mean ± SD of age and BMI of the study participants were 47.92 ± 10.33 years and 29.43 ± 5.51 kg/m2, respectively. After adjustment for confounders, individuals in highest compared to lowest quartile of DIS and EDII had significantly higher risk of BrCa (DIS: 2.13 (1.15 - 3.92), p-trends: 0.012), EDII: 2.17 (1.12 - 4.22), p-trends: 0.024). However, no significant association was observed for LIS (P-trends: 0.374). CONCLUSION: Findings of this study suggested that higher DIS and EDI increased the risk of BrCa, but concerning LIS, further investigation is needed.

Maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring body composition in adulthood: Results from two birth cohort studies.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of maternal smoking during pregnancy with offspring body composition in adulthood and explore the causality of this association. DESIGN: Birth cohort. SETTING: Population-based study in Pelotas, Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: All newborn infants in the city's hospitals were enrolled in 1982 and 1993. At a mean age of 30.2 and 22.6 years, the 1982 and 1993 cohorts, respectively, followed the subjects and 7222 subjects were evaluated. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Body mass index (BMI), fat mass index, android to gynoid fat ratio, waist circumference, waist to height ratio, lean mass index and height. RESULTS: Prevalence of maternal smoking during pregnancy was 35.1% and 32.6%, in 1982 and 1993 cohorts, respectively. Offspring of smoking mothers showed higher mean BMI (ß: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.55 to 1.12 kg/m2), fat mass index (ß: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.23 to 0.64 kg/m2), android to gynoid fat ratio (ß: 0.016; 95% CI: 0.010 to 0.023), waist circumference (ß: 1.74; 95% CI: 1.15 to 2.33 cm), waist to height ratio (ß: 0.013; 95% CI: 0.010 to 0.017) and lean mass index (ß: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.24 to 0.42 kg/m2), whereas height was lower (ß: -0.95; -1.26 to -0.65). Weight gain in the first 2 years captured most of the association of maternal smoking with BMI (96.2%), waist circumference (86.1%) and fat mass index (71.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Maternal smoking in pregnancy was associated with offspring body composition measures in adulthood.