Associations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in breast milk and dietary habits and demographic factors in Taiwan

The aim of this study was to examine levels of PBDEs in breast milk associated with seafood consumptions of Taiwanese mothers. Our participants were selected from healthy women recruited between December 2000 and November 2001 from a medical center in central Taiwan. The congeners of PBDEs in 20 milk samples were analyzed by a gas chromatograph with a high resolution mass detector. The mean level of BDE47 in breast milk from mothers with pre-pregnant BMI <22.0 kg/m² had a significantly higher magnitude compared to those with pre-pregnant BMI 22.0 kg/m² (1.59 vs. 0.995 ng/g lipid, p = 0.041). We did not find significant correlations between PBDEs exposure levels and women’s age, parity, blood pressure, annual household income, and education level. Women who ate more fish and meat did not show significantly higher PBDE levels than those who ate less, but a significant difference in PBDE levels was demonstrated between the higher (2.15 ng/g lipid) and lower (3.98 ng/g lipid) shellfish consuming subjects (p = 0.002) after an adjustment for the confounders. The ratios of PCB153/BDE47, PCB153/BDE153, and PCB153/PBDEs were significantly correlated with frequent consumption of fish and shellfish. The PCB153/BDE153 ratio was not associated with the other dietary habits (i.e. meat). The ratios of PCB153/PBDEs may therefore be a new indicator for exposure as a result of seafood consumption.     

Childhood Obesity and COVID-19 Lockdown: Remarks on Eating Habits of Patients Enrolled in a Food-Education Program

Childhood obesity is a worldwide health emergency. In many cases, it is directly linked to inappropriate eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle. During lockdown aimed at containing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread, children have been forced to stay at home. The present study aimed at investigating the lifestyles of outpatients (aged 5–17 years) with complicated obesity enrolled in the day-hospital food education program at the Children’s Hospital Bambino Gesù in Rome. A survey was performed based on a structured questionnaire, investigating dietary habits and lifestyles. The questionnaire answers were rated as “yes/no/sometimes” or “often/never/sometimes”. Eighty-eight families correctly completed the questionnaire between March and May 2020. The results highlighted that 85.2% (N = 75) of the patients ate breakfast regularly, and 64.3% (N = 72) consumed fruit as an afternoon snack. However, 21.6% (N = 19) did just “often” home workouts, and 50.0% (N = 44) reported an increase of feeling hungry with “sometimes” frequency. There is a significant relationship of feeling hungry with gender (p < 0.0001) and age (p = 0.048) and, also, between gender with having breakfast (p = 0.020) and cooking (p = 0.006). Living a healthy lifestyle during lockdown was difficult for the outpatients, mainly due to the increase in a sedentary lifestyle and the increase in feeling hungry, but some healthy eating habits were maintained, as advised during the food education program provided before lockdown.     

Association of BMI,Diet, Physical Activity,and Oral Hygiene Practices with DMFT Index of Male Dental Students at King Faisal University,Al-Ahsa

Despite sufficient knowledge of good oral hygiene habits, dental students still suffer from oral health problems owing to dietary habits, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle. This cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate an association of BMI (body mass index), diet, physical activity, and oral hygiene practices with DMFT (decayed, missing, and filled teeth) of male dental students and interns at King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia, from August to September 2020. One hundred and eighty-five male participants completed the study questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic information and nineteen close-ended questions about current diet, physical activity, and oral hygiene practices. Students’ height (cm) and weight (kg) were measured to calculate BMI. The principal investigator performed the oral clinical examinations for the DMFT status in the dental clinic. The chi-square test was used for the dichotomous variables and a t-test was used for the continuous variables. Linear and multinomial logistic regression were performed to detect the significant predictors of the DMFT score. The mean age of participants was 22.29 ± 2.13 years, and the BMI was 24.94 ± 3.36 (Kg/m²). Parents’ higher education and income levels were significantly (p < 0.001) associated with a higher BMI. Most dietary variables, especially sugar products, and low physical activity, were significantly (<0.047) associated with higher BMI. All oral hygiene practices, except miswak and mouthwash, were significantly (<0.003) associated with higher BMI. Decayed and missing teeth were significantly (<0.001) higher in the overweight and obese. A simple linear regression analysis demonstrated association between BMI and decayed teeth, with an R = 0.35 (<0.001); BMI and missing teeth had an R = 0.12 (p = 0.867); BMI and filled teeth had an R = 0.15 (p = 0.033), and BMI with DMFT had an R = 0.33 ((<0.001). This study demonstrated a strong significant association of the decayed and missing teeth with higher BMI levels. In addition, BMI was significantly associated with diet and physical activity, despite acceptable oral hygiene practices.     

Oral habits in a group of consecutively treated orthodontic patients,using standardized video recordings for diagnosis

Abstract

Objective. To investigate the prevalence and correlation of soft tissue dysfunctions documented by standardized video recordings in a group of orthodontic patients and to evaluate orthodontic treatment changes. Subjects and methods. The presence of an oral habit was evaluated from standardized pre- and post-treatment video recordings of 80 consecutive patients (30 boys and 50 girls, mean age 12.2 ± 1.7 years). Any digit-sucking habit was noted during a routine interview. Pre- and post-treatment cephalograms were traced to assess sagittal and vertical jaw and incisor relationships. Correlations and differences were tested for statistical significance using the t-test and Odds-ratio. Results. 56.3% had one or more habits before treatment. The total prevalence fell during treatment. A clear correlation was found between digit sucking and atypical tongue activity. Pre-treatment cephalograms showed that patients with a habit had a larger overjet, smaller overbite, more proclined and protruded incisors, a greater ANB angle and a greater inter-maxillary angle (ML/NL) than those without a habit. Cephalometric differences between the groups after orthodontic treatment were much less pronounced. Those with an oral habit also showed a tendency for increased treatment time/number of visits. Conclusions. Standardized video recordings improved the reliability of the recordings of the oral soft tissue dysfunctions. Their overall reduction after the end of orthodontic treatment coincided with a normalization of the sagittal skeletal and dental variables.     

Prevalence of and factors associated with current asthma symptoms in school children aged 6–7 and 13–14 yr old in Bogotá, Colombia

This cross‐sectional study of children aged 6–7 years and adolescents aged 13–14 years in Bogotá, Colombia, assessed the prevalence of asthma symptoms and their associations with dietary, health, and behavioral habits. This study is part of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC)‐phase III. Asthma prevalence among the children was assessed using a parental self‐administered written questionnaire (WQ), and among adolescents using a WQ together with a video questionnaire (VQ). Associations were estimated with bivariate and multivariate analysis. The study found that the 6–7 year age‐group were more likely to report current asthma symptoms than the 13–14 year age‐group (10.4% [WQ] vs. 8.6% [WQ] and 8.0% [VQ], respectively). Factors associated with current asthma symptoms among the 6–7 year age‐group included higher maternal education (OR = 1.7, [95% CI 1.2–2.6], p = 0.007), a cat in the home during the last year (OR = 1.5, [95% CI 1.0–2.3], p = 0.036), watching TV 1–2 hours/day (OR = 2.1, [95% CI 1.2–3.9], p = 0.013), and medication with acetaminophen in the first and most recent year of life (OR = 1.8, [95% CI 1.3–2.4], p < 0.001; OR = 2.2, [95% CI 1.7–2.8], p < 0.001, respectively) or antibiotics in the first year of life (OR = 1.9, [95% CI 1.4–2.5], p < 0.001). Among the 13–14 year age‐group, factors associated with current asthma symptoms included medication with acetaminophen during the last year (OR = 1.8, [95% CI 1.4–2.3], p < 0.001); cereal, milk, and fruit consumption 3 or more times weekly (OR = 1.5, [95% CI 1.1–1.9], p = 0.010; OR = 0.8, [95% CI 0.6–1.0], p = 0.046; OR = 0.6, [95% CI 0.4–1.0], p = 0.031, respectively). Overall, compared with that in other Latin American centers, asthma prevalence in Bogotá is close the lower estimates. However, associations with dietary, health, and behavioral habits need further study to assess their complex relationship with asthma.     

Stress and dietary quality in black adolescents in a metropolitan area

Adolescents from families with low socio‐economic status (SES) experience more stress and have poorer diets than adolescents from families with high SES. This study investigated whether change in dietary quality among urban, black adolescents related to changes in the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Daily Hassles Microsystem Scale (DHMS) while controlling for household income. At two times 1 month apart, 25 adolescents completed a modified Adolescent Food Habits Checklist (AFHC), the PSS and the DHMS. Change scores from time 1 to time 2 for each measure were computed. AFHC change and PSS change had a significant, negative correlation (r = ?0.458, p < 0.05), even when controlling for income (r = ?0.585, p < 0.05). For girls, AFHC change and PSS change had a significant, negative correlation (r = ?0.599, p < 0.05), even when controlling for income (r = ?0.697, p < 0.05). No significant correlation was observed for boys (r = 0.003, p = 0.993), and when controlling for income (r = ?0.346, p = 0.448). The correlation between AFHC change and DHMS change was not significant. Black adolescent girls, but not boys, tended to make more unhealthy dietary choices when under increased stress. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

父母提示对儿童少年饮食行为的影响

目的 了解父母提示或强迫对城市儿童少年饮食行为的影响，为制定营养教育策略提供科学依据。方法 采用三阶段分层随机整群抽样的方法从广泛，上海，济南和哈尔滨等4个城市，随机选取学龄前儿童和中小学生家长9464名作为调查对象，使用问卷调查子总是或经常服从的比率为38．0％－44．0％；有10．1％－10．9％的父母在就餐时总是或经常强迫孩子吃某种食物，强迫后，孩子总是或经常服从的比率为28．2％－33．5％。结论 城市儿童少年父母就餐时对孩子的提示或强迫会影响孩子的饮食，应在家长中开展营养知识教育，使他们能够正确指导孩子的饮食。     

新疆南部维吾尔族尿石症患者病例对照研究

目的探讨新疆南部维吾尔族泌尿系结石发病的危险因素。方岳采用问卷调查的方式，研究了阿克苏地区90例维吾儿族泌尿系结石患者一般情况及生活习惯、饮食习惯，并对其结石成分进行分析。结果21—50岁为尿结石高发年龄组（74．4％），男性略多于女性，结石患者较对照组多口味偏咸，饮水量较少，差异有统计学意义（P〈0．001）；结石成分以草酸钙为主者81例（90．0％），磷酸钙结石1例（1．1％），尿酸结石5例（5．6％），磷酸镁铵结石2例（2．2％），胱氨酸结石1例（1．1％）。结论泌尿系结石发病主要受饮食习惯和饮水量的影响。     

Food intake at age 8 3. Distribution and food density by meal

This report describes how nutrient intake was distributed throughout the day, and the nutrient density according to meal, in 78 boys and 63 girls who have been studied from birth. The food intake was calculated from 4 day weighed records using the CSIRONET data bank based on British tables of food composition.
The percentages of total energy from breakfast, lunch, evening meal, and snacks were 20, 26, 31, 23%. There was a very wide range of individual nutrient intake for each meal. The evening meal made the largest contribution to fat and protein intake. Most starch came from lunch (30%) and least from snacks (16%). Snacks contained a large portion of the simple sugars (39%).
Breakfast was an important source of calcium and B vitamins, but with wide ranges of micronutrients occurring for each meal.
This analysis of nutrient density and distribution contributes towards the formulation of practical recommendations about beneficial dietary changes.     

仪征某地区人群高血压的危险因素研究

目的 探讨影响仪征某地区人群高血压发病的危险因素。方法 对该地区体检出的208例高血压患者病例与416例正常对照进行病例对照研究。结果 区小事单因素logistic回归分析发现，血糖、甘油三酯、吸烟量、饮食偏甜四个因素是高血压的危险因素。多因素logistic回归进一步分析发现吸烟量进入回归方程。结论 高血糖、高血脂、吸烟量以及饮食偏甜可能影响该地区高血压患病的危险因素。