Association between cytokine levels and anthropometric measurements: a population-based study.

Obesity is currently considered a public health problem with pandemic proportions and is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, which can predispose to the development of several chronic diseases and metabolic complications. This cross-sectional population-based study, conducted with 743 Brazilian adults, aimed to evaluate the association between inflammatory cytokines with anthropometric measurements. Socio-demographic, anthropometric, behavioural and biochemical variables were collected. Multiple linear regression stratified by sex and adjusted for confounding factors was performed. In men, waist circumference (WC) was associated with IL-1ß (3·52 pg/ml; 95 % CI 0·60, 6·45), IL-6 (6·35 pg/ml; 95 % CI 0·35, 12·34), IL-8 (8·77 pg/ml; 95 % CI 2·37, 15·17), IL-10 (3·09 pg/ml; 95 % CI 0·56, 5·61), IL12p70 (8·31 pg/ml; 95 % CI 3·11, 13·52) and TNF-α (4·22 pg/ml; 95 % CI 0·20, 10·48). Waist:height ratio was associated with IL-6 (3·21 pg/ml; 95 % CI 0·02, 6·39). BMI was associated with IL-1ß (1·50 pg/ml; 95 % CI 0·46, 2·34), IL-6 (2·97 pg/ml; 95 % CI 0·78, 5·16), IL-8 (4·48 pg/ml; 95 % CI 2·21, 6·75), IL-10 (1·31 pg/ml; 95 % CI 0·30, 2·31), IL-12p70 (3·59 pg/ml; 95 % CI 1·24, 5·95) and TNF-α (2·00 pg/ml; 95 % CI 0·81, 3·19). In women, WC was associated with IL-6 (5·10 pg/ml; 95 % CI 0·68, 9·51) and IL-10 (4·16 pg/ml; 95 % CI 1·26, 7·06). BMI was associated with IL-6 (2·67 pg/ml; 95 % CI 0·34, 4·99), and WHR was associated with TNF-α (2·84 pg/ml; 95 % IC 0·86-6·54). The results highlight the importance of anthropometric assessment in clinical practice and the need to develop public policies and interventions to reduce the prevalence of obesity and, consequently, of inflammation and possible metabolic complications.

Effects of the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet on blood pressure, overweight and obesity in adolescents: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The high prevalence of overweight/obesity, and arterial hypertension (AH) in adolescence is a public health problem worldwide. The aim of the article is to perform a systematic review looking to verify the effects of DASH diet on overweight/obesity and blood pressure (BP) in adolescents. METHODS: Systematic search of the literature conducted until March 2018. Five databases were investigated. We follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes (PRISMA) Statement. The systematic review protocol was recorded in PROSPERO (CRD42016046968). Two reviewers examined 1005 abstracts. The risk of bias was assessed using STROBE or CONSORT. RESULTS: Seven studies were eligible, three cross-sectional, two cohort and two randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Cross-sectional study found that a higher DASH score was associated with decreased body composition measurements; the other two did not find associations between DASH scores, body weight, and BP. Cohort studies found that the DASH diet resulted in lower levels of diastolic BP and lower body mass index gain over 10 years. One RCT showed that the DASH diet proved to be effective in improving systolic BP and another RCT observed a decrease in the prevalence of AH. CONCLUSIONS: The DASH diet may have beneficial effects on the alterations of BP, overweight and obesity in adolescence. However, adherence to this dietary pattern is still low. It is believed that, in the future, dietary interventions based on DASH may be part of public policies to combat AH and overweight/obesity, since all age groups of the population can adopt this dietary pattern.

Nutrition Risk Screening in Patients Admitted to an Adult Emergency Department of a Brazilian University Hospital.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of malnutrition in emergency units is high, and data on the nutrition risk of patients admitted in these units are scarce. The aims of this study are to determine the nutrition risk profile of individuals admitted in an emergency unit and to identify clinical, anthropometric, and laboratory attributes according to nutrition risk classification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 234 individuals in an emergency unit from 1 university hospital in Brazil were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. The nutrition risk profile was determined using the Nutrition Risk Screening 2002. Sociodemographic, clinical, anthropometric, and laboratory data were collected. Comparisons between individuals "at risk" and "not at risk" and logistic regression analyzes were performed. RESULTS: The prevalence of nutrition risk at admission was 48.7%. Patients at risk were older ( P = .031), were less educated ( P = .022), had a lower body mass index ( P < .001), had higher concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP; P = .007), had a higher CRP/serum albumin ratio ( P = .004), had lower concentrations of serum albumin ( P = .002), and had severe weight loss ( P < .001). Altogether, this profile resulted in a longer hospital stay ( P = .004), more complications ( P = .005), and greater use of antibiotics ( P = .024). In regression analyses, low serum albumin (odds ratio [OR], 2.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23-6.13) and, higher serum CRP (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.00-3.72), use of antibiotics (OR, 13.3; 95% CI, 1.59-111.16) were predictors of long hospital stay. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of nutrition risk in emergency patients was high and its profile associated with worse clinical, laboratory, and anthropometric outcomes. The use of other laboratory and clinical variables may also be a good strategy for predicting adverse outcomes in emergency units.