Gender differences in blood pressure and body composition in schoolchildren ascendants from Amerindian and European

[Association between parents-children verbal communication time and the adiposity levels of chilean pre-schoolchildren]

OBJECTIVE

To determine the association between the time of verbal communication parents-children with the adiposity levels of pre-schoolchildren, and secondly to describe the socio-demographic, and body composition outcomes of pre-schoolchildren by the verbal communication parents-children time.

MATERIALES Y METHODS

A descriptive, cross-sectional study of multi-centric application, with participation of (n=70) pre-scholars. The outcomes described were the adiposity, socio-demographic data of parents and the time of verbal communication parents-children.

RESULTS

Considering a low (<100 min/day) versus a high (≥100 min/day) time of verbal communication parents-children, there were significant differences in the weight of the obesity classification "total communication/day" [TC] (TC<100 min/day 20.6±4 vs. TC≥100 min/day 18.4±3 kg, P=0.039), zweight/height (TC<100 min/day 1.791±8 vs. TC≥100 min/day 1.010±4, P=0.030), lean mass in kg (TC<100 min/day 7.5±3 vs. TC≥100 min/day 6.3±2 kg, P=0.046), body fat in % (TC<100 min/day 36.3±2 vs. TC≥100 min/day 33.9±3%, P<0.05). The height and ratio weight/height do not showed significant association with the time of verbal communication parents-children. Additionally, muscle mass (TC<100 min/day 5.7±3 vs. TC≥100 min/day 5.1±3 kg, P=0.047), and trunk lean mass (TC<100 min/day 5.2± 4 vs. 4.6±3 kg, P=0.039) were significantly associated with the main outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

The daily time of verbal communication parents-children is significantly associated with higher levels of adiposity by the weight, zweight/height, and body fat in pre-schoolchildren. These findings require major and more complex research for corroborating.

Lifestyle and cardiometabolic risk factors in the ethnic and non-ethnic population > 15 years of age: results from the National Chilean Health Survey 2016-2017

BACKGROUND

lifestyle and cardiometabolic risk factors information is scarce regarding youth and adults of Latin-American ethnics.

OBJECTIVE

the primary aim was to describe the lifestyle and cardiometabolic risk factors for arterial hypertension (HTN) and diabetes in ethnic Latin-American groups (Mapuche and Aymara) and other non-ethnics > 15 years of age in the Chilean population. A secondary aim was to determine the association between physical activity 'intensity' with HTN and diabetes markers.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

a representative sample from the National Chilean Health Survey 2016-2017, included Mapuche (EG-Map; women n = 166, men n = 300; total n = 466), Aymara (EG-Aym; women n = 96, men n = 55; total n = 151), and a non-ethnic population group (No-EG; women n = 2057, men n = 3445; total n = 5502). The main outcomes were; systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and fasting plasma glucose (GL), and secondary outcomes were other anthropometric, lipid profile, and lifestyle parameters.

RESULTS

the GL was significantly associated with nutrition (0.9 %, p < 0.0001), and tobacco and alcohol habits (0.6 %, p < 0.0001). SBP was significantly associated with nutrition (whole-grains 0.04, p = 0.001; water consumption 0.07, p < 0.0001), sleep hygiene (week 0.04, p = 0.030; on weekends -0.04, p = 0.026), and alcohol consumption (-0.06, p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

in conclusion, lifestyle differences among Mapuche and Aymara ethnic groups in comparison with non-ethnic Chilean peers > 15 years are significantly associated with blood pressure and glycemia.

A descriptive ranking of blood pressure and physical fitness of Latin-American ethnic schoolchildren

BACKGROUND

There is a general lack of information about how insufficient physical activity impacts blood pressure and physical fitness in Latin-American ethnic minorities.

AIMS

To describe the interactions between insufficient physical activity, blood pressure, and physical fitness outcomes in Latin-American schoolchildren of different ethnicity.

METHODS

This was a prospective, international, multi-center, and cross-sectional study of three Latin-American countries involving schoolchildren from seven ethnic groups of Colombia (Tikuna, Nasa, Embera), Brazil (African, Mulato), and Chile (Mapuche), and also European schoolchildren from Brazil and Chile. Data were categorized based on whether participants were physically active (PA) or insufficient physical activity (iPA) using the WHO physical activity recommendations. The main outcomes were systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP), and mean arterial (MAP) blood pressure, and scores for physical and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF, by estimated V˙O₂max), handgrip muscle strength (HGS), and standing long jump (SLJ). Secondary outcomes were anthropometric measures (weight, height, body mass index [BMI], waist circumference [WC], waist-to-height ratio), and body fat percentage (BF%, limited data by country). Primary and secondary outcomes were ranked.

RESULTS

For both PA and iPA categories, significant interactions between ethnic groups were found concerning SBP/DBP (F_(37.7), ES 0.08; F_(51.5), ES 0.08), V˙O₂max (F_(37.7), ES 0.08; F_(51.5), ES 0.08), HGS (F_(33.8), ES 0.07; F_(5.03), ES 0.04), and SLJ (F_(64.3), ES 0.14; F_(64.3), 0.14). In the iPA category, Mapuche schoolchildren were classified 1st (119.5; 81.5) with highest SBP/DBP and highest MAP (94.6 mmHg); Embera schoolchildren were classified 1st with lowest V˙O₂max (33.7 mL/kg/min); and European schoolchildren were classified 1st (19.9 kg) with lowest HGS and SLJ (121.4 m) physical fitness.

CONCLUSIONS

Under conditions of insufficient physical activity conditions, Mapuche schoolchildren had the most detrimental blood pressure, whereas Embera, Tikuna, and European schoolchildren had the lowest levels of physical fitness. These results serve to highlight the need for the early and appropriate promotion of physical activity based on ethnic differences in Latin-American schools.

Consequences of Low Sleep Duration in Anthropometric and Body Composition Parameters of Chilean Preschoolers

Reduced sleep duration in schoolchildren has been associated with poor health outcomes at the scholar level; however, there is little information on the effects of sleep loss on Chilean preschoolers. The aim of this study was to describe and compare cardiometabolic outcomes according with the sleep duration in Chilean preschoolers. A second aim was to identify potential risk outcomes (i.e., in odds ratios) for suffering anthropometric and body composition alterations related with participants’ sleep duration. A total of 99 (n = 54 boys; n = 45 girls) preschoolers (mean age (95% CI) 3.1 (2.7, 3.4 years), mean weight 16.1 (15.5, 16.6 kg)) were included in this study. Sleep duration was assessed using standardized questionnaires with the parents. Socio-demographic parents’ information, as well as anthropometric, nutritional, and handgrip strength outcomes in preschoolers were distributed by tertiles (T1; < 10 h, T2; 10 to < 11 h, and T3; ≥ 11 h) of sleep time. Children in the lowest tertile of sleep duration had significantly higher body mass indices (p = 0.036), weight-for-height Z-scores (p < 0.0001), waist–hip ratios (p = 0.041), and body fat in percent (p = 0.035) and kg (p = 0.044) compared to those in the top tertile. Low sleep duration was associated with significantly greater risks of overweight/obesity (OR 1.3 (0.9, 1.8)), low height (OR 1.2 (0.8, 1.6)), and increased BMI (OR 1.5 (0.4, 1.4)), but not with reductions in grip strength. Chilean preschoolers with low sleep duration showed higher cardiometabolic markers (anthropometric/body composition) and were more likely to be classified as obese than youth with longer sleep duration.

Food Habits and Screen Time Play a Major Role in the Low Health Related to Quality of Life of Ethnic Ascendant Schoolchildren

The objective of the present study was to determine the association between lifestyle parameters (i.e., physical activity (PA) level, screen time (ST), fitness and food habits) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in ethnic ascendant schoolchildren (i.e., Mapuche ascendant). This cross-sectional study included 619 schoolchildren with ethnic (EA; n = 234, 11.6 ± 1.0 years) and non-ethnicity ascendant (NEA; n = 383, 11.7 ± 1.1 years) from Araucanía, Chile. HRQoL and lifestyle were measured using a standard questionnaire and cardiometabolic markers (body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WtHR), systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP)) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) were additionally included. In the EA schoolchildren, the HRQoL reported association with CRF adjusted by age and sex (β; 0.12, p = 0.018) and non-adjusted with foods habits (β; 0.11, p = 0.034). By contrast, ST adjusted by age and sex presented an inverse association with HRQoL (β; −2.70, p < 0.001). EA schoolchildren showed low HRQoL (p = 0.002), low nutritional level (p = 0.002) and low CRF (p < 0.001) than NEA peers. Moreover, children’s ethnic presence showed an association with low nutritional levels (odd ratio (OR): 3.28, p = 0.002) and ST 5 h/day (OR: 5.34, p = 0.003). In conclusion, in the present study, EA schoolchildren reported lower HRQoL than NEA schoolchildren, which could be explained by the lifestyle patterns such as a low nutritional level and more ST exposure.