Consumption of Deep-Fried Food and Its Association with Cardiovascular Risk Factors among First-Year Students in a Chilean University

The increase in the consumption of deep-fried foods (DFFs) from street vendors in Chile affects body weight and health. However, the actual consumption frequency of these types of foods by population and their relationship with cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) is unknown. The consumption frequency of eight DFFs sold in street vendors was obtained through a questionnaire. CVRFs were determined through survey and anthropometric measurements. The prevalence of high values of CVRF was determined regarding gender and frequency of consumption of DFF monthly. 66% of the population consumed DFF more than 4 times monthly; each individual would consume about 4 (3.83) servings/week and with 81% of preference of products sold from street vendors. 89.2% of the population exhibited a family history of CVD. From the means comparison application, although the values obtained from CVRF were mostly within normal ranges at the population level, there were significant differences in CVRF according to gender in body mass index, waist circumference, systolic pressure, and sedentary. The prevalence of elevated values of CVRF according to gender was higher in men than in women in 7 of 12 of the parameters of CVF. The prevalence of elevated values of CVRF according to the frequency of consumption of DFF monthly was higher when students consume DFF more than 4 times monthly. The 12.7% of the population had between 3 or 4 CVRFs and consumed high quantities of DFF, preferably sold by street vendors near the university. This situation is worrying since the caloric and nutritional content is low and could generate a tendency to acquire cardiovascular pathologies in the medium term.

Prevalencia de factores de riesgo metabólico en estudiantes universitarios latinoamericanos: una revisión sistemática

Objetivo Describir la prevalencia de factores de riesgo de tipo metabólico en estudiantes universitarios latinoamericanos a través de una revisión sistemática.Metodología Se realizó una revisión sistemática de artículos en las bases de datos electrónicas de SciELO, PubMed y Google Académico. La búsqueda incluyó referencias publicadas a partir del año 2006 en idiomas español, portugués e inglés que describieran prevalencias de los factores de riesgo mencionados en población universitaria latinoamericana.Resultados Un total de 245 referencias fueron recuperadas, de las cuales 60 fueron seleccionados para su análisis. Los estudiantes universitarios en Latinoamérica presentaron una prevalencia de factores de riesgo metabólicos que, en algunos casos, fue similar a la de la media poblacional en general.Conclusiones Es necesario que la comunidad universitaria y los Gobiernos latinoamericanos planteen estrategias que promuevan estilos de vida saludables tendientes a reducir la adquisición de conductas de riesgo durante la vida universitaria.

Unhealthy Lifestyle and Nutritional Habits Are Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Diseases Regardless of Professed Religion in University Students

To date, few studies have evaluated the possible association between religion and nutritional habits, lifestyle and cardiovascular risk in the university population. This study identified differences in the eating habits of Christian and Muslim university students and determined a possible association between the impact of religion on their lifestyles and the parameters related to cardiovascular risk. A cross-sectional study was performed with a sample population of 257 students (22.4 ± 4.76 year) at the campus of the University of Granada in Melilla (Spain). An anthropometric evaluation and a dietary assessment were performed. Blood pressure was also measured. There was a higher prevalence of overweight (29.1%) among Christian university students. The prevalence of pre-hypertension was similar between Christians and Muslims (48.3%) but was higher among Christian males (74.5%). Christian students presented higher levels of visceral fat. Students of both religions ingested carbohydrates, saturated fatty acids and total cholesterol, proteins, sodium and alcohol in excess. Significant positive correlations were found between food energy, sweets, snacks, soft drinks and body mass index (BMI) in both sexes and between the consumption of sausages-fatty meats and the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and body adiposity index (BAI) variables. Muslim students were less likely to consume alcohol (odds ratio [OR] = 7.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.27, 14.54). Christian and Muslim students presented improvable lifestyles and intake patterns. The high intake of saturated fatty acids, total cholesterol, sodium and alcohol in Christian students could lead to the early development of cardiovascular disease.

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome among university students: A systematic review

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is defined as a set of conditions including high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance and visceral obesity. In recent years, an increase of obesity in university students has been observed, although the accurate prevalence of MS is unknown.Objective: To determine the prevalence of MS in university students between January 2000 and January 2016.Materials and methods: A systematic review of studies published in the PubMed, LILACS, ScienceDirect, UpToDate, Imbiomed, SciELO and Google Scholar databases was performed. To ensure the highest number of papers, different combinations of words related to MS were used in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.Results: A total of 16 studies met the inclusion criteria. Students from different health, social and human sciences careers from America, Asia and Europe participated in said studies. The prevalence of MS ranged from 0 to 19.2% according to NCEP-ATP III.Conclusions: The prevalence of MS varies widely across studies. It is important to expand MS research, as this would allow designing specific interventions for high-risk groups in the university context.

Blood Pressure and Its Association with Gender, Body Mass Index, Smoking, and Family History among University Students

Hypertension is one of the major risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we will assess the frequency of hypertension among healthy university students and its association with gender, body mass index, smoking, and family history of both hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. We screened healthy university students ranging from 18 to 26 years of age. For each participant, we performed blood pressure measurements using a previously validated device and obtained demographic data, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, and family history of both hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Out of the total number of 505 participants included in this study, 35.2% have blood pressure between 130/80 and 139/89, and 13.5% have blood pressure of more than 140/90. We found significant gender differences in both systolic pressure (p = 0.003) with mean difference = 18.08 mmHg (CI: 16.13 to 19.9) and diastolic pressure (p = 0.011) with mean difference = 3.6 mmHg (CI: 2.06 to 5.14), higher in males than in females. Upon comparing the mean difference in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure with BMI, we found significant differences in both systolic (p < 0.001) and diastolic (p = 0.002) blood pressure. We also found that smokers have significantly (p = 0.025) higher systolic blood pressure (mean difference = 4.2 mmHg, CI: 3.2 mmHg to 8.8 mmHg), but no significant difference for diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.386), compared to nonsmokers. First-degree family history of both hypertension and cardiovascular diseases affected systolic but not diastolic blood pressure. Taking into account the adverse short- and long-term effect of hypertension, we recommend adopting an awareness program highlighting the importance of screening blood pressure in young adolescent populations, keeping in mind that both high BMI and smoking are important modifiable factors.

Nutritional status, cardiovascular health, VO2 max and habits in university students: a comparison between two health promotion careers

Introducción. Los estudiantes universitarios se encuentran en una etapa del ciclo vital clave para la adopción de estilos de vida.Objetivo. El propósito de este estudio fue determinar y comparar el VO2máx, el porcentaje de masa grasa, el perfil bioquímico y el consumo de alcohol y tabaco en estudiantes universitarios de dos carreras.Materiales y métodos. Participaron en la investigación 53 estudiantes universitarios de primer año con un promedio de 19.25 años de edad. 30 eran de la carrera de Pedagogía en Educación Física y 23 de Nutrición y Dietética de la Universidad de La Frontera en el año 2014. Se evaluó peso, talla, índice de masa corporal, contorno cintura, porcentaje de masa grasa, presión arterial, perfil bioquímico y VO2máx.Resultados. El 32% de los estudiantes presentó exceso de peso, 50.9% reportó alteración de la presión arterial, 28.3% tuvo prehipertensión y 22.6%, hipertensión arterial. A su vez, el 50.9% presentó un nivel sobre lo normal de masa grasa, el 18.8% manifestó hábito tabáquico y el 41.5% reconoció consumir alcohol con frecuencia. En relación al VO2máx, se observó que un 48.9% estaba ubicado en el rango de malo a regular. Respecto a la comparación por carreras, se encontraron diferencias significativas en las variables talla, VO2máx (capacidad aeróbica máxima) y porcentaje de masa grasa (p<0.05).Conclusiones. Los estudiantes son propensos al desarrollo de enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles, lo que supone una situación preocupante, pues en el área profesional se transformarán en promotores de estilos de vida saludable.

Lipids profile among ART-naïve HIV infected patients and men who have sex with men in China: a case control study

Background

Dyslipidemia is commonly seen in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients. Understanding the risk factors of abnormal lipid profiles is urgent for proposing targeted approaches to prevention. Our objective was to assess the incidence and associated factors of abnormal lipid profiles and atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) among antiretroviral therapy (ART) naïve men who have sex with men (MSM) acute HIV infection (AHI) and chronic HIV infection (CHI) patients in China.

Methods

We compared lipids parameters such as triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and AIP between MSM HIV-infected patients and MSM HIV negative controls. Multivariable linear regression was used to evaluate risk factors of higher AIP.

Results

We performed a case control analysis of 110 AHI, 110 CHI and 100 HIV negative MSM participants. The TC, HDL-C and LDL-C levels were decreased in the AHI and CHI groups compared to the controls (3.90 ± 0.73 mmol/L and 3.72 ± 0.74 mmol/L versus 4.49 ± 0.91 mmol/L, p < 0.001; 1.00 ± 0.25 mmol/L and 1.01 ± 0.30 mmol/L versus 1.19 ± 0.29 mmol/L, p < 0.001; 2.11 ± 0.57 mmol/L and 2.22 ± 0.58 mmol/L versus 2.75 ± 0.78 mmol/L, p < 0.001). The AIP score was higher in the AHI patients compared to the control group [0.08 (−0.05–0.20) versus−0.04 (−0.21–0.22), p = 0.039]. In total groups, AIP was associated with AHI and TG positively (β = 0.029 ± 0.012, p = 0.015;β = 0.273 ± 0.009, p < 0.001) and correlated with HDL-C inversely (β = -0.444 ± 0.023, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

HIV infection contributed to decreased TC, LDL-C and HDL-C. AHI contributed to higher AIP level. An urgent need exists for earlier HIV diagnosis and better prevention of dyslipidemia in China.