The body mass index increases the genetic risk scores' ability to predict risk of hepatic damage in European adolescents: The HELENA study.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic disorders are often complex and multifactorial, modulated by genetic and environmental determinants. During the last years, the hepatic disease has been progressively established from early stages in life. The use of genetic risk scores (GRS) to predict the genetic susceptibility to a particular phenotype among youth has gained interest in recent years. Moreover, the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) blood biomarker is often considered as hepatic screening tool, in combination with imaging techniques. The aim of the present study was to develop an ALT-specific GRS to help in the evaluation of hepatic damage risk in European adolescents. METHODS: A total of 972 adolescents (51.3% females), aged 12.5-17.5 years, from the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence study were included in the analyses. The sample incorporated adolescents in all body mass index (BMI) categories and was divided considering healthy/unhealthy ALT levels, using sex-specific cut-off points. From 1212 a priori ALT-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) extracted from candidate gene selection, a first screening of 234 SNPs univariately associated was established, selecting seven significant SNPs (p < .05) in the multivariate model. An unweighted GRS (uGRS) was developed by summing the number of reference alleles, and a weighted GRS (wGRS), by multiplying each allele to its estimated coefficient. RESULTS: The uGRS and wGRS were significantly associated with ALT (p < .001). The area under curve was obtained integrating BMI as clinical factor, improving the predictive ability for uGRS (.7039) and wGRS (.7035), using 10-fold internal cross-validation. CONCLUSIONS: Considering BMI status, both GRSs could contribute as complementary tools to help in the early diagnosis of hepatic damage risk in European adolescents.

Lifestyle behaviors clusters in a nationwide sample of Spanish children and adolescents: PASOS study.

BACKGROUND: Youth is a vulnerable period. To classify lifestyle behaviors and its relationship with health-related outcomes of Spanish children and adolescents. METHODS: Cross-sectional study including 3261 children aged 7.5-17.5 y (52.8% females). Physical activity (PA), screen-time, sleep time, adherence to Mediterranean diet (MD), weight status (WS) by validated methods. Cluster analysis was run considering chronological age. RESULTS: Six clusters were identified: C1: high screen time, low adherence to MD and sleep time (n = 431,13.20%); C2: high WS, medium adherence to MD,high sleep time, and low screen time (n = 466,14.30%); C3: young group with low screen time and high PA, adherence to MD and sleep (n = 537,16.40%); C4: worst profile regarding adherence to MD, PA, WS and sleep time (n = 609,18.70%); C5: low screen time and PA, high sleep time (n = 804,24.70%); C6: high PA and screen time, low WS (n = 414,12.70%). Mean absolute values were statistically different among PA levels, screen and sleep time, adherence to MD, age, and WS (all p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The most prevalent pattern was low levels of PA, MD, and screen time, and high sleep time. The second most prevalent was characterized by very low levels of PA, sleep time, and adherence to MD, and high screen time, and WS in adolescents. IMPACT STATEMENT: The main identified lifestyle behavior was poor physical activity, low adherence to Mediterranean Diet and high screen and sleep time. Children should increase physical activity levels, adherence to Mediterranean diet, decrease screen and sleep the appropriate hours per day. Families, schools, and medical communities must work together to gloss over present and future diseases. Sleep time had not been previously included in cluster analysis with physical activity, sedentary behaviors, obesity, and nutritional status, thus the present data open a new perspective in Spanish population. Health policies should focus on promoting physical activity, Mediterranean diet, adequate sleep and reducing screen time.

Body Dissatisfaction and Its Association with Health-Related Factors in Rural and Urban Mexican Adolescents from the State of Jalisco.

BACKGROUND: To better understand Mexican adolescent's body self-perception, this study aimed to analyze their body dissatisfaction (BD) levels according to sex and place of residence. We also aimed to explore differences in body composition (BC), physical fitness (PF), and physical activity (PA) between satisfied and dissatisfied adolescents and to find the associations between BD and these parameters. METHODS: Cross-sectional, observational study carried out in Jalisco (Mexico) in which 451 adolescents (43.68% males, 43.90% rural) aged 13-17 years were evaluated. BD and self-perceived PF and PA were assessed with validated questionnaires, while objectively measured PF (strength, explosive strength, speed-agility, and cardiovascular fitness) was assessed using field tests. To evaluate BC, anthropometric measures and bioelectric impedance analysis were carried out. Regression analysis was used to ascertain the associations between health-related factors and body dissatisfaction. RESULTS: Girls obtained higher scores on the BD questionnaire than boys (11.12 ± 3.13 vs. 10.33 ± 2.73; p < 0.05), whereas no geographical differences between rural and urban adolescents were found. BD was positively associated with higher fat mass (ß = 0.15; p < 0.001), and negatively associated with muscle mass and PF (ß = -0.24 and ß = -0.23; p < 0.001). However, PA was not associated with any of the measured parameters. CONCLUSIONS: selected parameters of BC, PF, and sex have an impact on the Mexican adolescent's body satisfaction levels and should be considered when designing future health policies.

Analysis of Effectiveness of a Supplement Combining Harpagophytum procumbens, Zingiber officinale and Bixa orellana in Healthy Recreational Runners with Self-Reported Knee Pain: A Pilot, Randomized, Triple-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Recreational running (RR) is becoming a popular way to increase physical activity for improving health, together with a higher incidence of knee injuries. The aim was to analyze the effect of a four-week supplementation with a mixture of Harpagophytum procumbens, Zingiber officinale and Bixa orellana on males, middle-aged, RR with an undiagnosed knee discomfort. A randomized triple-blind placebo-control trial was conducted among male RR aged 40-60 years suffering from self-declared knee discomfort after training. Participants were assigned to supplementation (2 g/day in 6 doses; n = 13; intervention group (IG)) or matched placebo (n = 15; control group (CG)) for 4 weeks. At pre- and post-intervention, assessment of routine blood biomarkers, body composition, running biomechanics and body temperature was performed using standardized procedures. Machine learning (ML) techniques were used to classify whether subjects belonged to IG or CG. ML model was able to correctly classify individuals as IG or CG with a median accuracy of 0.857. Leg fat mass decreased significantly (p = 0.037) and a deeper reduction in knee thermograms was observed in IG (p < 0.05). Safety evaluation revealed no significant differences in the rest of parameters studied. Subjects belonging to IG or CG are clearly differentiated, pointing into an effect of the supplement of ameliorating inflammation.