Resting energy expenditure in patients with intermittent claudication and critical limb ischemia

Obesity and Peripheral Artery Disease: Current Evidence and Controversies

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Obesity is a significant public health problem and a major risk factor for the development and progression of atherosclerosis and its cardiovascular manifestations. Lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects 3%-10% of the Western population and, if left untreated, can lead to devastating outcomes with both an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Interestingly, the association between obesity and PAD remains debatable. Whereas it is well known that PAD and obesity frequently overlap in the same patients, many studies have demonstrated a negative association between obesity and PAD and a protective effect of obesity on disease development and progression, a phenomenon described as the "obesity paradox." Possible mechanisms for this paradox may include genetic background, as assessed by mendelian randomization studies, adipose tissue dysfunction, and body fat distribution rather than adiposity, while other factors, such as sex, ethnicity, sarcopenia in the elderly population, or aggressive treatment of co-existing metabolic conditions in individuals with obesity compared to those with normal weight, could have some impact as well.

RECENT RINDINGS

Few reviews and meta-analyses examining systematically the relationship between obesity and PAD exist. The impact of PAD development due to the presence of obesity remains largely controversial. However, the most current evidence, backed by a recent meta-analysis, suggests a potential protective role of a higher body mass index on PAD-related complications and mortality. In this review, we discuss the association between obesity and PAD development, progression, and management, and the potential pathophysiologic mechanisms linking the two diseases.

Nutritional Considerations for Peripheral Arterial Disease: A Narrative Review

Those with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) require important considerations with respect to food and nutrition, owing to advanced age, poor diet behaviours and immobility associated with the disease process and co-morbid state. These considerations, coupled with the economic effectiveness of medical nutrition therapy, mandate that dietetic care plays a vital role in the management of PAD. Despite this, optimising dietetic care in PAD remains poorly understood. This narrative review considers the role of medical nutrition therapy in every stage of the PAD process, ranging from the onset and initiation of disease to well established and advanced disease. In each case, the potential benefits of traditional and novel medical nutrition therapy are discussed.

Should we calculate or measure energy expenditure? practical aspects in the ICU

Indirect calorimetry is currently a gold standard of resting energy expenditure (REE) assessment in critically ill patients. Many predictive equations of energy expenditure have been proved to imprecisely predict REE and lead to under- or overfeeding. The benefits of indirect calorimetry-guided nutrition therapy rather than calculation-based strategy have been demonstrated in randomized controlled trials. To minimize energy debt in the intensive care unit, we support early enteral feeding. REE should be measured as soon as the patient's conditions allow and the target of delivered calorie should be around 0.7 to 1 of measured REE to avoid overfeeding. The supplemental parenteral nutrition should be prescribed to close the caloric gap if the goal is not reached by enteral nutrition alone.

The role of nutrition and body composition in peripheral arterial disease

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has not been as extensively investigated as other cardiovascular diseases. However, the available data suggest that nutrition-based treatment strategies have the potential to reduce the cost-economic burden of PAD substantially. Abdominal obesity is associated with PAD and prospective and cross-sectional studies have shown that a low dietary intake of folate and reduced synthesis of vitamin D are associated with an increased risk of PAD and severe walking impairment in patients who have the disease. However, dietary patterns that are associated with decreased cardiovascular risk might protect against PAD. A small number of clinical trials have provided evidence that increased intakes of niacin and insoluble fiber might be associated with decreased levels of LDL cholesterol and thrombogenic biomarkers, as well as increased serum levels of HDL cholesterol in patients with PAD. However, little evidence that antioxidants, vitamins B(6) and B(12), or essential fatty acid supplements improve clinical outcomes in these patients exists. Overall, data on the effects of nutrition, body composition, and nutritional supplementation on the risk, progression, and prognosis of PAD are scarce. Further research into these areas is required to allow the development of evidence-based nutritional guidelines for the prevention and treatment of the disease.