Impact of tissue factor expression and administration routes on thrombosis development induced by mesenchymal stem/stromal cell infusions: re-evaluating the dogma.

BACKGROUND: Hyperactive coagulation might cause dangerous complications such as portal vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism after mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (MSC) therapy. Tissue factor (TF), an initiator of the extrinsic coagulation pathway, has been suggested as a predictor of this process. METHODS: The expression of TF and other pro- and anticoagulant genes was analyzed in xeno- and serum-free manufactured MSCs. Furthermore, culture factors affecting its expression in MSCs were investigated. Finally, coagulation tests of fibrinogen, D-dimer, aPPTs, PTs, and TTs were measured in patient serum after umbilical cord (UC)-MSC infusions to challenge a potential connection between TF expression and MSC-induced coagulant activity.  RESULTS: Xeno- and serum-free cultured adipose tissue and UC-derived MSCs expressed the highest level of TF, followed by those from dental pulp, and the lowest expression was observed in MSCs of bone marrow origin. Environmental factors such as cell density, hypoxia, and inflammation impact TF expression, so in vitro analysis might fail to reflect their in vivo behaviors. MSCs also expressed heterogeneous levels of the coagulant factor COL1A1 and surface phosphatidylserine and anticoagulant factors TFPI and PTGIR. MSCs of diverse origins induced fibrin clots in healthy plasma that were partially suppressed by an anti-TF inhibitory monoclonal antibody. Furthermore, human umbilical vein endothelial cells exhibited coagulant activity in vitro despite their negative expression of TF and COL1A1. Patients receiving intravenous UC-MSC infusion exhibited a transient increase in D-dimer serum concentration, while this remained stable in the group with intrathecal infusion. There was no correlation between TF expression and D-dimer or other coagulation indicators. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that TF cannot be used as a solid biomarker to predict MSC-induced hypercoagulation. Local administration, prophylactic intervention with anticoagulation drugs, and monitoring of coagulation indicators are useful to prevent thrombogenic events in patients receiving MSCs. Trial registration NCT05292625. Registered March 23, 2022, retrospectively registered, https://www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov/ct2/show/NCT05292625?term=NCT05292625&draw=2&rank=1 . NCT04919135. Registered June 9, 2021, https://www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov/ct2/show/NCT04919135?term=NCT04919135&draw=2&rank=1 .

Food label accuracy of common snack foods.

UNLABELLED: Nutrition labels have raised awareness of the energetic value of foods, and represent for many a pivotal guideline to regulate food intake. However, recent data have created doubts on label accuracy. OBJECTIVE: We tested label accuracy for energy and macronutrient content of prepackaged energy-dense snack food products. We measured "true" caloric content of 24 popular snack food products in the U.S. and determined macronutrient content in 10 selected items. DESIGN AND METHODS: Bomb calorimetry and food factors were used to estimate energy content. Macronutrient content was determined according to Official Methods of Analysis. Calorimetric measurements were performed in our metabolic laboratory between April 20th and May 18th and macronutrient content was measured between September 28th and October 7th of 2010. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Serving size, by weight, exceeded label statements by 1.2% [median] (25th percentile -1.4, 75th percentile 4.3, P = 0.10). When differences in serving size were accounted for, metabolizable calories were 6.8 kcal (0.5, 23.5, P = 0.0003) or 4.3% (0.2, 13.7, P = 0.001) higher than the label statement. In a small convenience sample of the tested snack foods, carbohydrate content exceeded label statements by 7.7% (0.8, 16.7, P = 0.01); however fat and protein content were not significantly different from label statements (-12.8% [-38.6, 9.6], P = 0.23; 6.1% [-6.1, 17.5], P = 0.32). Carbohydrate content explained 40% and serving size an additional 55% of the excess calories. Among a convenience sample of energy-dense snack foods, caloric content is higher than stated on the nutrition labels, but overall well within FDA limits. This discrepancy may be explained by inaccurate carbohydrate content and serving size.

School meal program in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam: reality and future plan.

The socio-economic status in Vietnam has developed during the past decades. People become busier for work, and thus they do not have enough time to prepare meal for their children. The school meal program, organized by Department of Education, was first implemented at a kindergarten in 1977, which has been extended to elementary school since 1980. Up to date, 100% of kindergarten and approximately 90% of elementary schools have school meal programs. The purposes of this program are to provide appropriate meals for students, and to serve as education and communication tool for students. About 90% of school meals are prepared in the school's kitchen and the rest are provided by food companies. The weekly menu provides approximately 30% of recommended dietary allowances (RDA) for students. To date, there has been is no official dietitian training school in Vietnam. The head of school kitchen, who is not dietitian, is required to participate in a short-term training course, where s/he learns basic nutrition, nutrition requirements and food hygiene and safety. The food companies, which provide meals to school, must be approved for the hygiene and safety condition by the Human Health Services Department of Ho Chi Minh City. In the next plan of national nutrition strategy, establishing dietitian training schools will be prioritized. In addition, the regular nutritional surveillance for school-aged students will be introduced in school system thus we can develop and evaluate the school meal program in terms of nutrients, food safety and nutrition education.

Energy-balance studies reveal associations between gut microbes, caloric load, and nutrient absorption in humans.

BACKGROUND: Studies in mice indicate that the gut microbiome influences both sides of the energy-balance equation by contributing to nutrient absorption and regulating host genes that affect adiposity. However, it remains uncertain as to what extent gut microbiota are an important regulator of nutrient absorption in humans. OBJECTIVE: With the use of a carefully monitored inpatient study cohort, we tested how gut bacterial community structure is affected by altering the nutrient load in lean and obese individuals and whether their microbiota are correlated with the efficiency of dietary energy harvest. DESIGN: We investigated dynamic changes of gut microbiota during diets that varied in caloric content (2400 compared with 3400 kcal/d) by pyrosequencing bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes present in the feces of 12 lean and 9 obese individuals and by measuring ingested and stool calories with the use of bomb calorimetry. RESULTS: The alteration of the nutrient load induced rapid changes in the gut microbiota. These changes were directly correlated with stool energy loss in lean individuals such that a 20% increase in Firmicutes and a corresponding decrease in Bacteroidetes were associated with an increased energy harvest of ≈150 kcal. A high degree of overfeeding in lean individuals was accompanied by a greater fractional decrease in stool energy loss. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that the nutrient load is a key variable that can influence the gut (fecal) bacterial community structure over short time scales. Furthermore, the observed associations between gut microbes and nutrient absorption indicate a possible role of the human gut microbiota in the regulation of the nutrient harvest. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00414063.

Circulating white blood cell count and measures of adipose tissue inflammation predict higher 24-h energy expenditure.

OBJECTIVE: Energy expenditure (EE) and measures of inflammation increase with adiposity, and this obesity-induced chronic and subclinical inflammation was extensively reported to be a cause of insulin resistance. However, whether subclinical inflammation has a role in increasing EE, which may be at the cost of developing insulin resistance, is not clear. METHODS: We investigated the association between circulating white blood cell count (WBC) in a population of Native Americans (n=243) with measurement of EE in a respiratory chamber, and in a subset of the same population (n=34), with gene expression measures of inflammation in subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAAT). All subjects were healthy on oral glucose tolerance test. Statistically, nonnormally distributed variables were logarithmically transformed before analyses to approximate normal distributions. RESULTS: WBC was associated with 24-h EE adjusted for age, sex, fat-free mass, and fat mass (r=0.13, P=0.04). In SAAT, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), shown as log10-transformed TNF-alpha (r=0.36, P=0.05), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), shown as log10-transformed PAI-1 (lPAI-1; r=0.41, P=0.02), expressions were also positively correlated with adjusted 24-h EE. lPAI-1 was also correlated with adjusted sleep EE (r=0.34, P=0.07). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, circulating markers of inflammation (WBC) and markers of inflammation within adipose tissue (TNF-alpha and PAI-1) are positively associated with EE, indicating a role of chronic subclinical inflammation in the regulation of metabolic rate.

Repeatability and reproducibility of the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp and the tracer dilution technique in a controlled inpatient setting.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the reproducibility and repeatability of the combined use of the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic (H-E) clamp and tracer dilution techniques. Ten nondiabetic men underwent a low-dose (40 mU/[m(2) min]) H-E clamp that was repeated within 3 to 4 days using porcine or human insulin in a double-blinded, randomized, crossover design. Coefficients of variation (CVs) for intraindividual differences and repeatability coefficient were calculated to evaluate reproducibility and repeatability. The Bland and Altman method was used to quantify repeatability. The CVs for intraindividual differences were 5.7% +/- 3.5% for steady-state (SS) insulin; 6.7% +/- 6.2% and 54.2 +/- 38.3% for basal and SS endogenous glucose product (EGP), respectively; and 10.3% +/- 8.5% for total insulin-stimulated glucose disposal (M) values. Basal EGP, SS EGP, and SS glucose and insulin concentrations were similar for the 2 clamps; but glucose infusion rate (P = .02) and M (borderline significant, P = .06) were higher in the first clamp than the second clamp. No significant correlations between mean of differences and average of basal and SS EGP, SS insulin concentration, and M between the 2 clamps were observed. We also found that the different values were less than the repeatability coefficients of these parameters and that the 95% limits of agreement and the interval of repeatability coefficient of these parameters were similar. There were no differences in metabolic responses between clamps when compared by the type of insulin (porcine vs human) infused. Our findings indicate that, although SS EGP has a high CV, the clamp, which measures insulin action (ie, SS insulin, M), and the tracer dilution technique for assessing basal EGP are repeatable and reproducible. Decreased glucose infusion rate and M over a short period in the second clamp may reflect an accumulative effect of continued physical inactivity.

Reanalysis of the obesity-related attenuation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex response to a satiating meal using gyral regions-of-interest.

OBJECTIVE: The left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (LDLPFC), which includes the inferior (IFG), middle (MFG), and superior (SFG) frontal gyri, has been implicated in satiation. Using a voxel-based approach, we previously identified an LDLPFC region (as reported as peak voxel) in which a reduced neuronal response to a meal was associated with obesity. In this study, we sought to determine which gyri in the LDLPFC best distinguished the neuronal responses to a meal using a different statistical approach. METHODS: We reanalyzed brain responses to a meal using the hypothesis-driven region-of-interest-based (ROI) approach. Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), a marker of neuronal activity in the LDLPFC and its 3 gyri, was acquired in 2 conditions (hunger and after the satiating meal) using (15)O-water positron emission tomography scans. rCBF was extracted and estimated using masks of the 3 gyri that were created in MRIcro and Statistical Parametric Mapping 5 software. RESULTS: Using the ROI approach, a satiation-related reduction in LDLPFC rCBF was observed in the obese (p = 0.04) and tended to be significantly greater than that in lean subjects (p = 0.07). The rCBF reduction was greater in the obese subjects than in the lean subjects in the left IFG (p = 0.03) and MFG (p = 0.004) after adjustment was made for age, sex, and number of voxels in these gyri, but not in the SFG (p = 0.5). CONCLUSIONS: Our results are consistent with those obtained by the voxel-based approach in showing the association between obesity and a satiation-related reduction in LDLPFC activity. This LDLPFC response preferentially involves the IFG and MFG. We suggest that these brain regions could be targeted by new therapeutic interventions.

Elevated concentrations of linoleic acid in erythrocyte membrane phospholipids in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn disease (CD), is a disorder characterized by diffuse inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The immune response and inflammation are mediated by polyunsaturated fatty acids and influenced by dietary fats and lipid metabolism. This study examined the qualitative and quantitative fat intake of IBD patients and healthy controls on plasma phospholipid and erythrocyte membrane phospholipid (EMP) fatty acid content. Measurement of the fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipid and EMP were performed in 29 UC patients, 20 CD patients, and 31 healthy controls. Anthropometric characteristics and data on dietary intake were also collected. We observed significantly lower lipid intake in UC and CD patients vs controls. The UC and CD patients had significantly higher levels of linoleic acid in their EMP than did controls. There were no significant differences in the levels of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, but there were significantly higher levels of the n-6 in the EMP of UC and CD patients compared with controls. The significant differences persisted after the data were adjusted for potential confounders and lipid intake. Higher levels of linoleic acids and n-6 fatty acids, which are involved in production of proinflammatory mediators, were found in IBD patients compared with controls, thereby implicating n-6 fatty acids in the pathophysiology of the disease.

The association of plasma fibrinogen concentration with diabetic microvascular complications in young adults with early-onset of type 2 diabetes.

AIMS: Diabetic nephropathy is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The underlying etiology is not fully understood but may be related to changes in inflammatory and hemostatic markers with kidney disease. We investigated the associations of the markers with microvascular complications in Pima Indians (PI) with early-onset type 2 diabetes (T2DM). METHODS: C-reactive protein, interleukine-6, fibrinogen, D-dimer, plasmin-antiplasmin complex and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 were measured in 104 PI (age: 32+/-4 y) with diabetes and 59 (32+/-4 y) with fasting glucose <110 mg/dl and 2-h glucose <140 mg/dl. Urine albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR) was used as marker of nephropathy. Severity of retinopathy was classified in the worse eye by direct ophthalmoscopy as none, background and proliferative. RESULTS: Of these markers, only fibrinogen was associated with ACR (r=0.25, p<0.01). After adjustment for age, sex, percentage Pima heritage, smoking status, diabetes duration, blood pressure and use of aspirin, antihypertensive and antihyperglycemic agents, general linear models (with natural log-transformed values of fibrinogen and ACR as dependent and independent variables, respectively) revealed that a one percent increase in ACR would yield a 0.02% increase in the fibrinogen (beta=0.02, p<0.05). Plasma fibrinogen was also significantly increased with severity of diabetic retinopathy (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Increased plasma fibrinogen concentration was associated with diabetic microvascular disease, in particular with nephropathy. This may help to explain the etiologic link between nephropathy and CVD.

Study on factors of body image in Japanese and Vietnamese adolescents.

Over-concern about thinness, especially among young girls including adolescents, is common in Japan. Behind the problem, there is a complicated social phenomenon and an effective strategy is not known yet. In this study, we tried to find a clue by comparing body image between two countries which have different social backgrounds. Subjects were Japanese and Vietnamese junior high school students from 12 to 15 y old. Three schools each and 1-2 classes from each grade were randomly selected to involve 374 (boys 196, girls 178) and 714 (boys 352, girls 362), respectively, in Japan and Vietnam. Height and weight of subjects were measured and their satisfaction about their body shape and experience with dieting were asked by a questionnaire. Questions about their body image concerning their desire, liking of the opposite sex, own liking and health were answered by marking silhouettes. About 60% of Japanese thought that obese (silhouette 9) is unhealthy, while about 85% of Vietnamese thought that thinness (silhouette 1) is unhealthy. Most of the Japanese girls overestimated their body weight and were dissatisfied with their body shape and 78.3% wanted to lose weight. About 30% of them experienced weight loss including 2.8% of the low BMI students. Vietnamese girls also had similar tendencies in their desire about their body image as the Japanese but they were less serious. The girls in both countries preferred the thinner body image to the healthy body image and thought that boys liked the thinner body image. Japanese boys were mostly satisfied with their body shape; however, about half (46%) of the Vietnamese boys wanted a bigger and more muscular body image. In conclusion, the biggest problem with body image was the over-concern about thinness of the Japanese girls, which was based on their own misconception. Therefore, as the strategy to correct their body image, education about good health and also information about the boys' favorite body image are recommended.

Less activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the reanalysis of the response to a meal in obese than in lean women and its association with successful weight loss.

BACKGROUND: We previously found that obese men have less activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (LDLPFC) in response to a meal than do lean men, which indicates an association between this altered neuronal response and the pathophysiology of obesity. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study were to extend this finding in obese women and to investigate activity in this region in women with a history of severe obesity who have successfully lost weight (ie, formerly obese women, sometimes called postobese women). DESIGN: We reanalyzed previously collected data to compare postmeal (after receiving a liquid meal) with premeal (after a 36-h fast) regional cerebral blood flow, a marker of neuronal activity, by using (15)O-water positron emission tomography in 10 lean [26 +/- 6% body fat (BF)], 9 obese (39 +/- 3%BF) and 8 formerly obese (28 +/- 4%BF) right-handed women. Data were analyzed by using a 2-level, random-effect analysis of variance. RESULTS: The regional cerebral blood flow in the LDLPFC differed in response to the meal across the 3 groups (P < 0.001, uncorrected for multiple comparisons). Post hoc group comparisons showed that obese women had significantly less activation in this area than did lean and formerly obese women. No significant difference between formerly obese and lean women was found. CONCLUSIONS: These results extend our previous findings, indicating that obese women have less activation in the LDLPFC in response to a meal than do lean or formerly obese women. Neuronal activity in this region did not differ significantly between the latter 2 groups. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether these differences in neuronal activity change with or predict weight change.

Postprandial glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) response is positively associated with changes in neuronal activity of brain areas implicated in satiety and food intake regulation in humans.

Postprandial glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion can act as a meal termination signal in animals and humans. We tested the hypothesis that the postprandial changes in plasma GLP-1 concentrations are associated with changes in the human brain activity in response to satiety by performing a post-hoc analysis of a cross-sectional study of neuroanatomical correlates of hunger and satiation using (15)O-water positron-emission tomography (PET). Forty-two subjects (22M/20F, age 31+/-8 years) spanning a wide range of adiposity (body fat: 7-44%) were included in this analysis. Outcome measures included changes in PET-measured regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and plasma concentrations of GLP-1, glucose, insulin, and free-fatty acids (FFA), elicited by the administration of a satiating amount of a liquid formula meal. The peak postprandial increases in plasma GLP-1 concentrations were correlated with increases in rCBF in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (including the left middle and inferior frontal gyri), previously implicated in PET studies of human satiation, and the hypothalamus, previously implicated in the regulation of food intake in animal and human studies, both before and after adjustment for sex, age, body fat, and changes in plasma glucose, insulin, and serum FFA concentrations. The postprandial GLP-1 response is associated with activation of areas of the human brain previously implicated in satiation and food intake regulation.

Relationships between plasma leptin concentrations and human brain structure: a voxel-based morphometric study.

We have previously demonstrated that obese people have reduced grey matter (GM) in several brain areas, including regions implicated in the regulation of taste (i.e., inferior frontal operculum and postcentral gyrus), reward (i.e., putamen), and behavioural processing (i.e., middle frontal gyrus), compared with their lean counterparts. It is well established that the brain may serve as a direct target for adiposity signals, one of the most important being leptin. We investigated the relationships between fasting plasma leptin concentrations and brain tissue composition in a group of 32 young adult Caucasians (12M/20F, age 32+/-1 years, body fat 29+/-1%, mean+/-S.E.) with normal glucose tolerance by using voxel-based morphometry of magnetic resonance imaging scans. Fasting plasma leptin concentrations were positively correlated with GM volumes of the left cerebellum and left inferior temporal gyrus and negatively associated with GM volumes of the left inferior frontal operculum, left postcentral gyrus, and right putamen (P<0.001, uncorrected for multiple comparisons) after adjustment for sex, percent body fat, age, fasting plasma insulin concentrations (i.e., the major determinants of plasma leptin), and global GM volume (thus allowing for an assessment of regional effects only). This study showed an independent, negative correlation between fasting plasma leptin concentrations, which are increased in obesity, and the volumes of GM in brain areas where obese people have reduced GM compared to their lean counterparts. These relationships may explain some of the abnormalities in brain morphology recently found to be associated with excess body fatness.

Less activation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in response to a meal: a feature of obesity.

BACKGROUND: In an exploratory positron emission tomography study of postprandial regional cerebral blood flow, which is a marker of neuronal activity, obese men differed from lean men in several brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex. The subjects received a meal proportional to their body size; therefore, the meal volume was different for each person. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether differences in the brain responses of obese and lean men to a meal represent satiety or feelings of gastric distension. DESIGN: We studied 9 lean (x +/- SD body fat: 15 +/- 5%; age: 33 +/- 10 y) and 9 obese (body fat: 31 +/- 4%; age: 32 +/- 10 y) men given a fixed amount (400 mL) of a liquid meal. We compared their results with those in 11 lean (body fat: 16 +/- 5%; age: 35 +/- 8 y) and 11 obese (body fat: 33 +/- 5%; age: 28 +/- 5 y) previously studied men given a meal proportional to their body size. We performed analyses by using a two-level, random-effects approach in the STATISTICAL PARAMETRIC MAPPING software package and a significance level of P < or = 0.001, uncorrected for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: Compared with lean men, obese men had consistently less postprandial activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, irrespective of meal size. CONCLUSION: Because the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex has been implicated in the inhibition of inappropriate behavior, satiety, and meal termination, differential responses of neuronal activity to food intake in this area may contribute to a propensity for obesity or to the difficulty in losing weight experienced by obese men.

Brain abnormalities in human obesity: a voxel-based morphometric study.

Obesity is accompanied by damage to several tissues. Overweight is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Whether structural abnormalities associated with excess body fat may also occur in the brain is unknown. We sought to determine to what extent excess body fat is associated with regional alterations in brain structure using voxel-based morphometry (VBM), a whole-brain unbiased technique based upon high-definition 3D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans normalized into a common standard space and allowing for an objective assessment of neuroanatomical differences throughout the brain. We studied 24 obese (11 male, 13 female; age: 32 +/- 8 years; body mass index [BMI]: 39.4 +/- 4.7 kg/m2) and 36 lean (25 male, 11 female; mean age: 33 +/- 9 years; BMI: 22.7 +/- 2.2 kg/m2) non-diabetic Caucasians. In comparison with the group of lean subjects, the group of obese individuals had significantly lower gray matter density in the post-central gyrus, frontal operculum, putamen, and middle frontal gyrus (P < 0.01 after adjustment for sex, age, handedness, global tissue density, and multiple comparisons). BMI was negatively associated with GM density of the left post-central gyrus in obese but not lean subjects. This study identified structural brain differences in human obesity in several brain areas previously involved in the regulation of taste, reward, and behavioral control. These alterations may either precede obesity, representing a neural marker of increased propensity to gaining weight, or occur as a consequence of obesity, indicating that also the brain is affected by increased adiposity.

A community-based picture of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Vietnam.

There has been a significant increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Vietnam. We found that Vietnamese with T2DM had a normal body mass index (BMI), but high levels of total body fat and abdominal fat. Based on published reports together with our own findings, we believe that a sedentary lifestyle and an abundance of starchy foods and also Western style energy-rich foods are factors associated with disease. The staple food of the Vietnamese is still polished-rice which has high glycemic index values. In addition, a Westernized diet, and the chronic consumption of high-glycemic index foods together with a sedentary lifestyle result in insulin resistance and diabetes. The average BMI of T2DM patients is or= 0.90). We therefore, tentatively suggest a BMI of 23 kg/m(2) together with a WHR of 0.90 for males and 0.85 for females as new cutoff values for the risk of T2DM in Vietnamese. These findings have important implications for primary prevention because they indicate that screening and intervention should focus on high-risk populations.

Reproducibility and validity of a food frequency questionnaire among Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh City.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to assess the reproducibility and validity of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) among individuals living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. METHODS: A total of 116 food items in our FFQ were selected by ranking food items according to their contribution to the population intake of nutrients, based on multiple 24-hour recalls (24HRs) from 144 participants in July 2001. The FFQ was validated by using three 24HRs for 118 men and women in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in August 2002. The reproducibility of the FFQ was assessed by repeated administration at 7 +/- 3.4 days. RESULTS: The reproducibility study showed that Spearman correlation coefficients, adjusted for energy intake, ranged from 0.47 to 0.72, and that weighted kappa values ranged from 0.42 for lipid to 0.65 for potassium. In the validation study, correlation coefficients, adjusted for energy intake, between the FFQ and the 24HRs ranged from 0.16 (calcium) to 0.45 (retinol). The proportion of subjects classified by the FFQ into the same third as determined by the 24HRs was between 42% and 62%. CONCLUSIONS: This food frequency questionnaire measured the usual intake of major nutrients for Vietnamese adults living in Ho Chi Minh City and its urban area, where dietary patterns are similar to those of the Vietnamese population.

Obesity is associated with increased risk of allergy in Vietnamese adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of allergic diseases has remarkably increased in the last decades in tandem with the number of obese individuals. Results of studies on obesity and allergic diseases are controversial, and most of them are related to asthma and asthma-like symptoms. OBJECTIVE: In our study, we evaluated the association of several obesity indices and the prevalence of allergic diseases, including bronchial asthma, allergic rhino-conjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis and food allergy. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. RESULTS: From a total of 1185 adolescents (49.3% boys) aged 12 to 17 y old, 19.3% reported a physician-diagnosed allergic disease, and 35.3% reported undiagnosed allergic symptoms. Logistic regression analysis revealed a higher risk of allergy in children of middle (OR = 2.02, CI: 1.12-3.64) and high (OR = 2.40, CI: 1.25-4.61) compared to low socioeconomic status, in subjects reporting industrial emissions in the neighborhood (OR = 2.19, CI: 1.40-3.41), and in adolescents with parental history of allergy (OR = 1.92, CI: 1.26-2.92). Body mass index (BMI) and percentage of body fat (%BF) were significantly related to allergy (OR = 1.16, CI: 1.01-1.34 for BMI; OR = 1.03, CI: 1.01-1.06 for %BF). After controlling for socioeconomic status, industrial emissions and parental history of allergy, only %BF remained statistically significant (OR = 1.03, CI: 1.01-1.06). Food allergy was not related to obesity in our study population, and when adolescents with food allergy were excluded from the analysis, the odds of having allergy increased 28% with each increase in SD of BMI (OR = 1.28, CI: 1.05-1.57) and 5% for each unit increase in the percentage of body fat (OR = 1.05, CI: 1.01-1.08). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, being overweight was associated with an increased risk of allergy in our study population. Our results point towards an association between being overweight and rhino-conjunctivitis, but not food allergy. No association was observed with other allergic diseases.