Anaemia prevalence and risk factors among children aged 6 to 23 months in rural China

INTRODUCTION

Anaemia is a global public health problem among children. However, few studies have examined anaemia prevalence and risk factors among Chinese children of different ages, particularly in poor rural areas. This study investigated these two aspects among children aged 6 to 23 months in poor rural areas of China.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 1132 children aged 6 to 23 months in three prefectures of the Qinba Mountains area. A finger prick blood test for haemoglobin and anaemia was conducted, along with household surveys of socio-demographic characteristics, illness characteristics, and feeding practices. Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were used to determine predictors of anaemia.

RESULTS

Overall, 42.6% of children in the study displayed anaemia. Children aged 6 to 11 months had the highest anaemia prevalence (53.6%). Anaemia risk factors differed among age-groups and throughout the overall sample. Bivariate and multivariable regression results showed that continued breastfeeding, any history of formula feeding, and consumption of iron-rich or iron-fortified foods were prominent risk factors for anaemia. However, continued breastfeeding and any history of formula feeding had the greatest impact across age-groups (both P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Anaemia remains a severe public health problem among children aged 6 to 23 months in rural China. Healthy feeding practices, nutritional health knowledge, and nutrition improvement projects are needed to reduce the burden of anaemia among children in rural areas of China.

Evidence for embryonic haemoglobins from Sparus aurata under normal and hypoxic conditions

Teleost haemoglobins vary in polymorphisms and primary structure, although display similar functional properties. Key amino acids for Root effect (a reduction in oxygen-carrying capacity and loss of cooperativity with declining pH) are conserved throughout fish evolution. For the first time, we cloned and characterised Sparus aurata L. embryonic globin chains (eα1, eα2, eβ). We also studied haemoglobins (eHbI, eHbII) behaviour in normal and low-oxygen conditions. Several amino acids in fry globins are different in chemical type (e.g. polar → non-polar and vice versa), compared to adult globins. His55α1, crucial for Root effect, is substituted by Ala in fry, presumably enhancing oxygen capture, transport and reducing the dependence of Root effect from pH. Phylogenetic trees demonstrate that eα1 globin diversified more recently than eα2; moreover, eα1, eα2 and eβ globins evolved earlier than adult α and β globins. In low-oxygen conditions, fry haemoglobins display the same behaviour of the adult haemoglobins (probably, embryonic and adult-type I Hbs display a higher oxygen affinity than type II Hbs, operating through a rapid cycle of heme-Fe auto-oxidation/reduction). Therefore, based on our results and on the comparison with adult haemoglobins, we hypothesise that embryonic haemoglobins have evolved to better adapt fry to variable habitats. We studied Sparus aurata for its economical relevance in Mediterranean aquaculture. The information we provide can help understand Sparus aurata behaviour in the wild and in rearing conditions. Further studies with functional assays will deepen the knowledge on the molecular mechanisms of fry haemoglobin physiology.

BOLD cardiac MRI for differentiating reversible and irreversible myocardial damage in ST segment elevation myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVES

BOLD imaging is a quantitative MRI technique allowing the evaluation of the balance between supply/demand in myocardial oxygenation and myocardial haemorrhage. We sought to investigate the ability of BOLD imaging to differentiate reversible from irreversible myocardial injury as well as the chronological progression of myocardial oxygenation after reperfusion in patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

METHODS

Twenty-two patients (age, 60 ± 11 years; 77.3% male) with STEMI underwent cardiac MRIs on four occasions: on days 1, 3, 7 and 30 after reperfusion. BOLD MRI was obtained with a multi-echo turbo field echo (TFE) sequence on a 3-T scanner to assess myocardial oxygenation in MI.

RESULTS

T2* value in MI with intramyocardial haemorrhage (IMH) was the lowest (9.77 ± 3.29 ms), while that of the salvaged zone was the highest (33.97 ± 3.42 ms). T2* values in salvaged myocardium demonstrated a unimodal temporal pattern from days 1 (37.91 ± 2.23 ms) to 30 (30.68 ± 1.59 ms). T2* values in the MI regions were significantly lower than those in remote myocardium, although the trends in both were constant overall. There was a slightly positive correlation between T2* in MI regions and EF (Rho = 0.27, p < 0.05) or SV (Rho = 0.22, p = 0.04) and a slightly negative correlation between T2* in salvaged myocardium and LVEDV (Rho = - 0.23, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

BOLD MRI performed in post-STEMI patients allows accurate evaluation of myocardial damage severity and could differentiate reversible from irreversible myocardial injury. The increased T2* values may imply the pathophysiological mechanism of salvaged myocardium. BOLD MRI could represent a more accurate alternative to the other currently available options.

KEY POINTS

• Myocardial oxygenation and haemorrhage after myocardial infarction affect BOLD MRI values • BOLD MRI could be used to differentiate irreversible from reversible myocardial damage • Changed oxygenation implies the pathophysiological mechanism of salvaged myocardium.

Evaluation of the anti-nitrative effect of plant antioxidants using a cowpea Fe-superoxide dismutase as a target

Nitric oxide cytotoxicity arises from its rapid conversion to peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)) in the presence of superoxide, provoking functional changes in proteins by nitration of tyrosine residues. The physiological significance of this post-translational modification is associated to tissue injury in animals, but has not been yet clarified in plants. The objective of this study was to establish new approaches that could help to understand ONOO(-) reactivity in plants. A recombinant Fe-superoxide dismutase from cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.), rVuFeSOD, was the target of the ONOO(-)-generator SIN-1, and the anti-nitrative effect of plant antioxidants and haemoglobins was tested in vitro. Nitration on rVuFeSOD was evaluated immunochemically or as the loss of its enzymatic activity. This assay proved to be useful to test a variety of plant compounds for anti-nitrative capacity. Experimental data confirmed that rice (Oryza sativa L.) haemoglobin-1 (rOsHbI) and cowpea leghaemoglobin-2 exerted a protective function against ONOO(-) by diminishing nitration on rVuFeSOD. Both plant haemoglobins were nitrated by SIN-1. The chelator desferrioxamine suppressed nitration in rOsHbI, indicating that Fe plays a key role in the reaction. The removal of the haem moiety in rOsHbI importantly suppressed nitration, evidencing that this reaction may be self-catalyzed. Among small antioxidants, ascorbate remarkably decreased nitration in all tests. The phenolic compounds caffeic acid, gallic acid, pyrogallol, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and the flavonoid gossypin also diminished tyrosine nitration and protected rVuFeSOD to different extents. It is concluded that small plant antioxidants, especially ascorbate, and haemoglobins may well play key roles in ONOO(-) homeostasis in vivo.