Determinants of blood pressure among Indonesian elderly individuals who are of normal and over-weight: a cross sectional study in an urban population.

Cardiovascular disease has become the first cause of death in Indonesia. The highest morbidity is found in the aged, and among cardiovascular disorders or diseases, the prevalence of hypertension is the highest. Many studies of the relationship between nutritional factors and hypertension have been conducted, especially with reference to the metabolic syndrome, but studies to understand determinants of blood pressure in Indonesia are lacking. There is an urgent need to gather information about various blood pressure risk factors in Indonesian elderly, which will allow policy makers to provide appropriate intervention programs. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate various determinants of blood pressure in Indonesian elderly using multistage random sampling. Data were collected through interview using structured questionnaires, anthropometric measurements, biochemical blood analysis, and blood pressure measurements. Daily nutrient intake was analyzed using the World Food 2 Dietary Assessment Program. General Linear Model and Multiple linear regression analysis were performed to determine determinants of systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Monounsaturated fatty acid, saturated fatty acid, and sodium intake, plasma total cholesterol level, the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol and a sport Index were determinants of blood pressure in the normal weight elderly individuals, while potassium intake, calcium intake and BMI were determination of blood pressure in the overweight elderly individuals.

Zinc-iron, but not zinc-alone supplementation, increased linear growth of stunted infants with low haemoglobin.

Zinc supplementation has been shown to benefit linear growth. However the effect may depend on whether zinc is the most limiting nutrient. This study aims to investigate the effect of supplementation with zinc-given alone or with iron and vitamin-A in improving infantsf micronutrient status and linear growth. The study was a double-blind-community-intervention study involving 800 infants aged 3-6 months in rural East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. Syrup consisting of zinc-alone, Zn (10 mg/d), zinc+iron, Zn+Fe (10 mg/d of each), zinc+iron+vitamin-A, Zn+Fe+vit.A (10 mg/d of each zinc and iron plus 1,000 IU vitamin-A), or placebo were given daily for six months. Outcomes measured were length, weight, and micronutrient status (haemoglobin, se-rum zinc, ferritin and retinol). Zn+Fe and Zn+Fe+vit.A supplementations benefit zinc and iron status of the sub-jects, while Zn-alone supplementation disadvantaged haemoglobin and iron status. The highest increment in vi-tamin A and haemoglobin status was shown in Zn+Fe+vit.A group. An effect on linear growth was observed among initially-stunted subjects in Zn+Fe and Zn+Fe+vit.A groups who grew 1.1-1.5 cm longer than placebo. On the other hand, in the Zn-alone group, mean height-for-age Z-score decreased to a greater extent than placebo. The between-group difference in HAZ among initially-stunted subjects was significant after four months sup-plementation. While the difference was not significant in follow-up after 6 months, the pattern remained the same where means height-for-age Z-score in Zn+Fe+vit.A and Zn+Fe groups were higher than placebo and Zn-alone groups. Given the low haemoglobin/iron status of the subjects, zinc supplementation would have positive effect on growth if the low haemoglobin/iron status is also addressed and corrected.