Contribution of Cardiorespiratory Fitness to the Obesity Paradox

Until recently, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) has been overlooked as a potential modifier of the inverse association between obesity and mortality (the so-called obesity paradox), observed in patients with known or suspected cardiovascular (CV) disease. Evidence from five observational cohort studies of 30,104 patients (87% male) with CV disease indicates that CRF significantly alters the obesity paradox. There is general agreement across studies that the obesity paradox persists among patients with low CRF, regardless of whether adiposity is assessed by body mass index, waist circumference, or percentage body fat. However, among patients with high CRF, risk of all-cause mortality is lowest for the overweight category in some, but not all, studies, suggesting that higher levels of fitness may modify the relationship between body fatness and survival in patients manifesting an obesity paradox. Further study is needed to better characterize the joint contribution of CRF and obesity on mortality in diverse populations.     

Acute and chronic caffeine administration increases physical activity in sedentary adults

Caffeine is a commonly used stimulant thought to have ergogenic properties. Most studies on the ergogenic effects of caffeine have been conducted in athletes. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that caffeine reduces ratings of perceived exertion and increases liking of physical activity in sedentary adults. Participants completed treadmill walking at 60% to 70% of their maximal heart rate at baseline and for 6 subsequent visits, during which half of the participants were given caffeine (3 mg/kg) and half given placebo in a sports drink vehicle. To investigate the potential synergistic effects of acute and chronic caffeine on self-determined exercise duration, participants were rerandomized to either the same or different condition for the last visit, creating 4 chronic/acute treatment groups (placebo/placebo, placebo/caffeine, caffeine/placebo, caffeine/caffeine). Participants rated how much they liked the activity and perceived exertion at each visit. There was a main effect of time on liking of physical activity, with liking increasing over time and an interaction of sex and caffeine treatment on liking, with liking of activity increasing in female participants treated with caffeine, but not with placebo. There was no effect of caffeine on ratings of perceived exertion. Individuals who received caffeine on the final test day exercised for significantly longer than those who received placebo. These data suggest that repeated exposure to physical activity significantly increases liking of exercise and reduces ratings of perceived exertion and that caffeine does little to further modify these effects.     

学龄前肥胖儿童综合干预研究

目的探讨学龄前肥胖儿童综合干预效果。方法在幼儿园筛查出肥胖儿童80名，所有肥胖儿童均行血脂、血糖、BMI指数检测，并随机分为两组，干预组予综合干预措施；对照组只予一般宣教干预的措施。1年后，复查血脂、血糖、BMI指数。结果干预组儿童较对照组血脂、血糖、BMI指数出现明显下降（P〈0．05）。结论肥胖儿童综合干预措施后，血脂、血糖、BMI指数会出现明显下降，减少了成人期肥胖及相关性疾病如动脉粥样硬化、高脂血症的发生。     

A Bayesian approach to infer geographical origins of migrants through surnames

Background: Surnames are an easy tool to analyse human genetic structure, mobility and evolution. Few studies use surnames to estimate human migration at different geographical level.

Primary objective: Here we propose the application of a Bayesian method to estimate the probability of geographical origin (pgo) of migrants in a given area using surnames.

Method: This method can be applied with data recordings when they are available for at least two successive periods and in the areas which are the potential sources of emigration. The principle is that the new surnames which are arriving during the second period in the area under investigation can provide information on their geographical origins. The probability of the origin of migrants can easily be estimated iteratively from the frequency of surnames by using the Bayes' theorem.

Results: This method is exemplified using civil birth registers at different geographical scales. The pgo of migrants, estimated between two periods (1891-1915 and 1916-1940), (i) from French departments to Paris (ii), from these departments to Tarbes, and (iii) from counties surrounding Tarbes to Tarbes, are mapped and discussed.

Hintergrund: Familiennamen sind ein einfaches Hilfsmittel zur Analyse von genetischen Strukturen, von Mobilität und Evolution des Menschen. Wenige Studien nutzen Familiennamen, um menschliche Migration bezüglich unterschiedlicher geographischer Niveaus einzuschätzen. Ziel: Hier wird die Anwendung einer Bayes'schen Methode empfohlen, um die Wahrscheinlichkeit des geographischen Ursprungs (pgo) von Einwanderern in ein vorgegebenes Gebiet mittels Familiennamen zu schätzen. Methode: Diese Methode kann für Datenaufzeichnungen angewendet werden, wenn diese für mindestens zwei aufeinanderfolgende Perioden und die Gebiete vorhanden sind, die potentielle Emigrationsquellen sind. Die Grundannahme ist, dass die neuen Familiennamen, die während der zweiten Untersuchungsperiode in diesem Gebiet auftreten, Informationen über deren geographischen Ursprung liefern können. Die Wahrscheinlichkeit der Herkunft der Einwanderer kann leicht anhand der Wiederholungsfrequenz der Familiennamen geschätzt werden, indem man das Bayes'sche Theorem verwendet. Ergebnisse: Diese Methode wird anhand von Zivilgeburtsregistern unterschiedlicher geographischer Herkunft illustriert. Die Wahrscheinlichkeit des geographischen Ursprungs (pgo) der Einwanderer, geschätzt in zwei Perioden (1891-1915 und 1916-1940), (i) von französischen Departements nach Paris (ii), von diesen Departements nach Tarbes und (iii) von den Gebieten, die Tarbes umgeben nach Tarbes, werden aufgezeigt und diskutiert.

Contexte: Les patronymes sont un outil propice à l'étude de la mobilité et de l'évolution de la structure génétique humaine, cependant peu d'études les utilisent dans une perspective de migration géographique. Objectif: On propose d'employer la méthode bayésienne appliquée aux patronymes, afin d'estimer la probabilité d'origine géographique (pog) des migrants d'une zone donnée. Méthode: cette méthode peut être appliquée à des données enregistrées sur au moins deux périodes successives, dans les régions qui sont les sources potentielles de migrants. Le principe réside en ceci que les nouveaux patronymes qui arrivent au cours de la seconde période dans la région étudiée, peuvent fournir une information sur leurs origines géographiques. La probabilité d'origine des migrants pouvant être aisément estimée itérativement par le théorème de Bayes, d'après la fréquence des noms de famille. Résultats: cette méthode est appliquée à différentes échelles géographiques, aux enregistrements des naissances contenus dans les registres d'état civil. Les pog des migrants sont estimées, discutées et représentées graphiquement entre les périodes 1891-1915 et 1916-1940 (i) des départements vers Paris (ii) de ces départements vers Tarbes et (iii) des cantons entourant Tarbes vers Tarbes.     

Risk factors for bleeding after dental extractions in patients over 60 years of age who are taking antiplatelet drugs

The aim of this retrospective, single-centre study was to identify the risk factors for bleeding after dental extractions in patients aged over 60 who were being treated with antiplatelet drugs. A total of 338 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were enrolled, and their personal and clinical details, and complications with bleeding after extraction, were retrieved and recorded. There were 182 men and 156 women (mean (SD) age 72 (8) years). A total of 469 teeth were extracted, with a mean (SD) of 1.4 (0.6) teeth/patient. Seventy-seven patients (23%) developed mild, and 55 (16%) severe, bleeding postoperatively. No patient developed a major cardiovascular or cerebrovascular event. We calculated the significance of the association of different variables with the occurrence of postoperative haemorrhage using a multivariate stepwise logistic regression model. The presence of three or more coexisting conditions, a complicated tooth extraction, and the use of two antiplatelet drugs were independent risk factors, while discontinuation of antiplatelet treatment four or more days before the tooth was extracted was a protective factor. This suggests that clinicians should assess the thrombotic risk associated with the interruption of antiplatelet drugs as well as the risk of bleeding for each patient before dental extraction. Strong and effective measures for haemostasis may be preferred over blind discontinuation of antiplatelet drugs. This study is registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (No. ChiCTR1800014355).     

Determinants of Weight Loss Dieting Among Adolescents: A Longitudinal Analysis

PurposeTo prospectively assess characteristics associated with dieting behaviors in adolescence.MethodsWe analyzed 1,640 adolescents evaluated at 13 and 17 years old (EPITeen cohort), Porto, Portugal. Dieting was assessed only at 17 years, as self-reported frequency of dieting to lose weight in the previous 12 months. The association between participants' characteristics and dieting was summarized using multinomial logistic regression for girls and binary logistic regression for boys.ResultsDieting at 17 years old was significantly more prevalent in girls than in boys (respectively 27.6% and 10.5% for occasional dieting and 12.2% and 2.6% for frequent dieting). In both sexes, overweight and obese adolescents were significantly more likely to engage in dieting but body dissatisfaction was the strongest determinant among girls. Furthermore, dieting frequency also increased with depressive symptomatology and among those involved in health compromising behaviors.ConclusionsBesides body mass index, body image concerns and depressive symptomatology predict dieting throughout adolescence.     

Advanced dental maturity of Finnish 6‐ to 12‐yr‐old children is associated with high energy intake

We studied the association of dental maturity with body mass index (BMI), energy intake, and macronutrient intake. A randomly selected subset (n = 148) of the Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP) was invited to an oral follow‐up study, and the 6‐ and 12‐yr‐examination data (n = 111, 60 boys) were used. Food records for four consecutive days and BMI values were extracted from the databank of the main STRIP project. The developmental stage of seven permanent mandibular teeth was assessed using panoramic radiographs. The resulting maturity scores were converted to dental age estimates. Three dental‐maturity groups (delayed, average, and advanced) and two BMI groups [normal BMI (≤mean+1SD) and high BMI (>mean+1SD)] were formed. The dental age was higher than the chronological age by 0.6–0.8 yr. Maturity scores for girls were statistically significantly higher than for boys. The distribution of girls into dental‐maturity groups at age 12 yr was different from that of the boys and there were more boys than girls among the high‐BMI group. Children of the advanced dental‐maturity group had a statistically significantly higher energy intake than children in the other groups. We conclude that advanced dental maturity is associated with higher energy intake.