Facteurs de risque cardio-vasculaires en Algérie. Une analyse du sous-groupe de l’étude « Africa/Middle East Cardiovascular Epidemiological »

ObjectivesThis cross-sectional epidemiological study aimed at determining the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF; including obesity, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, diabetes and smoking), among patients from the Algerian sub-population of the “Africa/Middle East Cardiovascular Epidemiological” study attending general practitioners at primary healthcare facilities, and stratified according to their environment (rural/urban), sex and age.Patients and methodsThe study sites, located in 10 wilayas (administrative regions), were situated in urban and rural areas (rural populations defined as living at least 50 km away from urban centres, or lacking access to suburban transport).ResultsFour hundred and ten subjects (262 female, 148 male) were enrolled; 287 subjects were from an urban environment and 123 from a rural environment. Mean age was 50.4 years. Ninety one point eight percent of patients had ≥ 1 CVRF; 48.2% had ≥ 3 CVRF. Prevalence for the different CVRF was: 61.7% for dyslipidaemia; 39.5% for hypertension; 25.0% for diabetes; 10.0% for smoking, 70.0% for abdominal obesity and 32.0% for a body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m².ConclusionThe high prevalence of all CVRF observed in the Algeria sub-group, especially among the rural population, should encourage us to develop a carefully planned strategy for primary prevention, opportunistic screening and early management, in both urban and rural settings, and with particular attention to young adults. These actions should involve all state bodies and those active in civil society, in order to guarantee full achievement of set goals.The ACE trial is registered under NCT01243138.     

Effects of short-term supplementation with bovine lactoferrin and/or immunoglobulins on body mass and metabolic measures: a randomised controlled trial

Given the role of the intestinal microbiota in obesity and related disease, strategies to modulate the composition of the intestinal microbiota may augment traditional weight-management approaches. Here, we examined the safety and tolerability of 28 days of supplementation with bovine whey-derived lactoferrin and immunoglobulin supplements in a cross-sectional cohort of free-living adults. Participants (n?=?20 each group) received enteric-coated whey-derived bovine lactoferrin (200?mg), immunoglobulin (200?mg or 800?mg), combination lactoferrin/immunoglobuiln supplements (200?mg/200?mg, 200?mg/800?mg) or placebo in a double-blind design. Supplement use was generally well tolerated and routine haematology, and clinical chemistry measures were largely unchanged following supplementation. Measures of body composition remained stable and indices of glycaemic control and blood lipids revealed fluctuations of?<5% but were not significantly different between groups. Overall, short-term lactoferrin/immunoglobulin supplementation was well tolerated in this cohort; use of these types of supplements to enhance other weight management strategies should be investigated over extended periods.     

Efficacy of live attenuated influenza vaccine against influenza illness in children as a function of illness severity

A recent study of inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) in children aged 3–8 years demonstrated higher efficacy against moderate/severe influenza. A meta-analysis of all previous published randomized clinical trials of live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) that collected information on illness severity in children aged 24–71 months was conducted. Moderate/severe influenza was defined as fever >39 °C, acute otitis media, or lower respiratory tract illness; other cases were classified as milder influenza. LAIV efficacy versus placebo was 95.4% [95% confidence interval: 88.5, 98.1] (year 1) and 88.5% [77.4, 94.9] (year 2) against moderate/severe influenza and 91.4% [77.9, 96.7] (year 1) and 84.2% [56.7, 94.3] (year 2) against milder influenza. The relative efficacy of LAIV versus IIV was 52.2% [31.6, 66.6] for moderate/severe influenza and 45.0% [28.6, 57.5] for milder influenza. Efficacy against all influenza illnesses, regardless of severity, is critical to prevent influenza illness and transmission in the community.