Predictors of overweight/obesity in a Brazilian cohort after 13 years of follow-up

Hypertension evaluated in the public and private Brazilian health system hypertension in public and private service

Introduction

Hypertension (HT) remains the leading cause of death worldwide. In Brazil it is estimated that 35% of the adult population has HT and that about 20% of these have blood pressure values within the targets recommended for the reduction of cardiovascular risk. There are some data that point to different control rates in patients treated by cardiologists in public and private referral center and this is an important point to be investigated and discussed.

Objective

To compare sociodemographic characteristics, body mass index (BMI), antihypertensive (AH) drugs, blood pressure (BP) and control rate in public (PURC) and private (PRRC) referral centers.

Methodology

A cross-sectional multicenter study that analyzed data from hypertensive patients assisted by the PURC (one in Midwest Region and other in Northeast region) and PRRC (same distribution). Variables analyzed: sex, age, BMI, classes, number of AH used and mean values of systolic and diastolic BP by office measurement and home blood pressure measurement (HBPM). Uncontrolled hypertension (HT) phenotypes and BP control rates were assessed. Descriptive statistics and χ2 tests or unpaired t-tests were performed. A significance level of p < 0.05 was considered.

Results

A predominantly female (58.9%) sample of 2.956 patients and a higher prevalence of obesity in PURC (p < 0.001) and overweight in PRRC (p < 0.001). The mean AH used was 2.9 ± 1.5 for PURC and 1.4 ± 0.7 for PRRC (p < 0.001). Mean systolic and diastolic BP values were higher in PURC as were rates of uncontrolled HT of 67.8% and 47.6% (p < 0.001) by office measurement and 60.4% and 35.3% (p < 0.001) by HBPM in PURC and PRRC, respectively.

Conclusion

Patients with HT had a higher prevalence of obesity in the PURC and used almost twice as many AH drugs. BP control rates are worse in the PURC, on average 15.3 mmHg and 12.1 mmHg higher than in the PRRC by office measurement.

[Incidence of increase and decrease in Body Mass Index in middle-aged men and women: four-year follow-up]

The scope of this study was to analyze the incidence of increase and decrease in Body Mass Index (BMI) among middle-aged men and women according to sociodemographic characteristics and classification of nutritional status. It involved a population-based cohort of 689 adults aged 40 to 64 years followed up for four years. The proportion of reduction and increase in BMI (≥1 kg/m²) was verified according to sociodemographic variables and classification of nutritional status in the baseline by means of crude and adjusted Poisson regression. There was a higher incidence of reduced BMI among men in the 55-64 age group (RR: 1.78; 95%CI: 1.06-3.00), in those without a partner (RR: 1.85; 95%CI: 1.09-3.14), in those classified as overweight (RR: 2.06; 95%CI: 1.13-3.74) and in those classified as obese (RR: 2.33; 95%CI: 1.24-4.35), and among women in the 55-64 age group (RR: 1.43; 95%CI: 1.02-2.00) and in those classified as obese (RR: 2.10; 95%CI%: 1.30-3.38). The incidence of increased BMI was lower in the 55 to 64 age group among men (RR: 0.62; 95%CI: 0.41-0.95) and women (RR: 0.68; 95%CI: 0.49-0.95). These data are important for understanding the factors related to the variation of BMI and the elaboration of public policies aimed at the health care of middle-aged adults.

Factors associated with body mass index changes among older adults: a ten-year follow-up

To examine changes in body mass index (BMI) among older Brazilian adults and associated factors. Longitudinal, population-based study, conducted in São Paulo, Brazil. Adults aged 60 years or over (n = 1,796) from the first wave of data collection from the Health, Well-Being, and Aging Study (SABE Project) conducted from 2000 to 2010. Repeated mixed-effects linear regression was used to analyze longitudinal changes in BMI and to examine whether sociodemographic characteristics, health conditions, and social behaviors were associated with these changes. Mean BMI decreased after 70 years. Men had lower BMI than women (β = -1.86, 95%CI: -2.35; -1.37). Older adults who consumed alcohol (β = 0.30, 95%CI: 0.06; 0.54), had more than one chronic disease (β = 0.19, 95%CI: 0.26; 0.72) and who did not perform physical activity (β = 0.56, 95%CI: 0.38; 0.74) had higher BMI. Subjects who smoked (β = -0.40, 95%CI: -0.76; -0.04) and who reported having eaten less food in recent months (β = -0.48, 95%CI: -0.71; -0.24) had lower BMI. In older Brazilians, several sociodemographic characteristics, health conditions, and behaviors predict BMI. Increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and growing sedentary behaviors in Brazil may have detrimental effects on BMI at older ages.

Association between alcohol intake and overweight and obesity: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of 127 observational studies

Several studies have assessed the relationship between alcohol intake and overweight/obesity; however, the reported results are inconsistent. Therefore, the present systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of observational studies was designed to investigate the association between alcohol intake and general and abdominal obesity among the adults. Literature search was conducted in the PubMed/Medline and Web of Science databases up to August 2020. Odds ratio (OR), risk ratio (RR), or hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were used to pool effect size. To conduct dose-response meta-analysis, amount of alcohol intake was classified into three categories including light (<14 g/d), moderate (14-28 g/d), and heavy (>28 g/d). In the present study, 127 eligible studies were included. In cohort studies, there was no significant association between alcohol drinking and risk of overweight (OR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.46 to 1.89), obesity (OR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.52 to 1.37), overweight/obesity (OR: 1.15, 95% CI: 0.84 to 1.58), and abdominal obesity (OR: 1.13, 95% CI: 0.90 to 1.41). In cross-sectional studies, alcohol intake was associated with the increased odds of overweight (OR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.18), overweight/obesity (OR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.11 to 1.37), and abdominal obesity (OR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.09 to 1.29); but not obesity (OR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.95 to 1.12). Results of dose-response analysis indicated that heavy alcohol drinking was positively associated with odds of overweight (OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.24), overweight/obesity (OR: 1.32, 95% CI: 1.16 to 1.51), and abdominal obesity (OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.12 to 1.38) compared to non- or light alcohol drinking. There was no publication bias among studied on outcomes of interest. In conclusion, our results revealed alcohol drinkers, especially heavy alcohol drinkers, had increased odds of overweight, overweight/obesity, and abdominal obesity than non-alcohol drinker or light alcohol drinkers among cross-sectional studies but not cohort studies.

Rapid BMI Increases and Persistent Obesity in Small-for-Gestational-Age Infants

Purpose: In order to compensate for the early intrauterine growth restriction, small-for-gestational age (SGA) infants have "catch-up growth" after birth. Increased caloric intake has been suggested for SGA infants conventionally. It is important to determine if the early growth rate of body mass index (BMI) is associated with risk of persistent obesity later in life. In this longitudinal cohort study, we assessed the BMI of a large cohort of children who were SGA at birth to determine their risk of persistent obesity at school age (6-7 years) due to excessive weight gain in the first 3 years of life. Methods: We collected the height and weight data of 23,871 SGA babies. A polynomial function was used to fit the BMI-for-age z-score (BAZ) values of 0-6 years old SGA children and interpolate their growth trajectory. In addition, we screened out 6,959 children from 23,871 children to further evaluate the dynamic changes of early childhood BMI. We divided the school-age children into groups as non-obese (BAZ < 2) and obese (BAZ > 2), and determined the association between changes in BMI and school-age obesity. Results: From the perspective of BMI distribution, the interpolated growth trajectory indicated that SGA children reaching overweight status or developing obesity by 3 years of age, continued to have obesity until school age (R², 0.65; R², 0.21). The retrospective analysis showed that children who were overweight and had obesity during school age had a high BMI from early age. By analyzing the changes in early BMI, we found that the fastest growth of SGA children occurred in the early infancy before 6 months and they continued to grow rapidly for a period of time. Interestingly, former SGA children who maintained a near overweight (1 < BAZ < 2) status before the age of 2 maintained an appropriate growth rate and usually did not develop obesity. Conclusions: A rapid increase in BMI during early infancy in former SGA newborns leads to a persistent risk of obesity. The energy intake of SGA infants should appropriately meet the infants' growth needs and early BMI changes should be closely monitored for an optimal integrated management.

The Relationship between Vegetable Intake and Weight Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Cohort Studies

The relationship between vegetable consumption and measures of adiposity was assessed in cohort studies. Seven databases were searched from inception until February 2018. The quality of individual studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal of Cohort Studies tool. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system was applied to determine the quality of the body of evidence. Ten studies were included. Six measured change in vegetable intake over time. Two showed that increasing vegetable consumption resulted in weight loss of 0.09⁻0.1 kg over four years (p < 0.001). Increased vegetable intake was also associated with a reduced risk of weight gain and overweight or obesity (Odds ratios (ORs) ranged from 0.18 to 0.88) in other studies. Four studies measured vegetable intake at the baseline only. One showed that intakes >4 servings/day reduced the risk of weight gain (OR 0.27 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.08⁻0.99) and another found an inverse association with waist circumference in women (-0.36 cm per vegetable serving/day). This review provides moderate quality evidence for an inverse association between vegetable intake and weight-related outcomes in adults. When these findings are coupled with no apparent harm from vegetable consumption, the evidence-base can be used with acceptable confidence to guide practice and policy.

Insights into infancy weight gain patterns for term small-for-gestational-age babies

BACKGROUND

Too fast or slow weight gain in infancy is bad for health in later life. In this study, we aim to investigate the optimal weight gain pattern during the first 2 y of life for term small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants.

METHOD

We employed data from a longitudinal, community-based cohort study on the growth and development of SGAs collected between 2004 and 2010 in Shanghai, China. Latent class growth analysis (LCGA) was applied to identify weight gain patterns among 3004 SGAs. BMI curves for each latent class from 1 mo to 5 y were produced through mixed-effects regression analysis. Multivariable regression was performed to examine the association between various classes and adverse outcomes (overweight/obesity/ malnutrition) during 2-5 y.

RESULT

Five weight gain patterns aged 0-2 y of 3004 term SGAs were identified and labeled as follows--class 1: excessively rapid catch-up growth (10.7%); class 2: rapid catch-up growth (19.7%); class 3: appropriate catch-up growth (55.7%); class 4: slow catch-up growth (10.2%); class 5: almost no catch-up growth (3.7%). A decreasing age at adiposity rebound (AR) and an increasing BMI value were observed from class 5 to 1. Class 1 and 2 showed an early appearance of AR (< 4 y). SGAs in class 1 and 2 had a higher BMI in 2-5 y of life. After adjustment for potential confounding variables, class 1 and 2 were found to have an increased risk of being overweight/ obese. At the same time, we found the risk of malnutrition was especially prominent among SGAs in classes 4 and 5.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that for term SGA infants, catch-up growth that crossing two centile levels, that is, from < 10th to the interval between 25th and 50th (ΔWAZ> 1.28) in the first several months, along with on track growth and maintenance at a median level by age 2 may be the optimal catch-up growth trajectory, minimizing risk of childhood adverse health outcomes.

Self-rated health status and illiteracy as death predictors in a Brazilian cohort

Cohort studies assessing predictive values of self-rated health (SRH) and illiteracy on mortality in low-to-middle income countries are missing in the literature. Aiming to determine if these two variables were death predictors, an observational prospective population-based cohort study was conducted in a Brazilian small city. The cohort was established in 2002 with a representative sample of adults living in the city, and re-assessed in 2015. Sociodemographic (including illiteracy), anthropometric, lifestyle, previous CVD, and SRH data were collected. Cox proportional hazard models were designed to assess SRH and illiteracy in 2002 as death (all causes, CVD and non-CVD) predictors in 2015. From a total of 1066 individuals included in this study, 95(9%) died of non-CVD causes and 53(5%) from CVD causes. Mortality rates were higher among those with worse SRH in comparison to better health status categories for all causes of death, CVD and non-CVD deaths (p<0.001 for all outcomes). Similarly, illiterate individuals had higher mortality rates in comparison to non-illiterate for all causes of death (p<0.001), CVD (p = 0.004) and non-CVD death (p<0.001). Higher SRH negatively predicted CVD death (HR 0.44; 95%CI 0.44–0.95; p = 0.027) and all causes of death (OR 0.40; 95%CI 0.20–0.78; p = 0.008) while illiteracy positively predicted Non-CVD death (OR 1.59; 95%CI 1.03–2.54; p = 0.046). In conclusion, we found in this large Brazilian cohort followed for 13 years that better health perception was a negative predictor of death from all causes and CVD deaths, while illiteracy was a positive predictor of non-CVD deaths.