Indicadores antropométricos como marcadores de risco para anormalidades metabólicas

Unveiling the causal link between metabolic factors and ovarian cancer risk using Mendelian randomization analysis

Background

Metabolic abnormalities are closely tied to the development of ovarian cancer (OC), yet the relationship between anthropometric indicators as risk indicators for metabolic abnormalities and OC lacks consistency.

Method

The Mendelian randomization (MR) approach is a widely used methodology for determining causal relationships. Our study employed summary statistics from the genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and we used inverse variance weighting (IVW) together with MR-Egger and weighted median (WM) supplementary analyses to assess causal relationships between exposure and outcome. Furthermore, additional sensitivity studies, such as leave-one-out analyses and MR-PRESSO were used to assess the stability of the associations.

Result

The IVW findings demonstrated a causal associations between 10 metabolic factors and an increased risk of OC. Including "Basal metabolic rate" (OR= 1.24, P= 6.86×10-4); "Body fat percentage" (OR= 1.22, P= 8.20×10-3); "Hip circumference" (OR= 1.20, P= 5.92×10-4); "Trunk fat mass" (OR= 1.15, P= 1.03×10-2); "Trunk fat percentage" (OR= 1.25, P= 8.55×10-4); "Waist circumference" (OR= 1.23, P= 3.28×10-3); "Weight" (OR= 1.21, P= 9.82×10-4); "Whole body fat mass" (OR= 1.21, P= 4.90×10-4); "Whole body fat-free mass" (OR= 1.19, P= 4.11×10-3) and "Whole body water mass" (OR= 1.21, P= 1.85×10-3).

Conclusion

Several metabolic markers linked to altered fat accumulation and distribution are significantly associated with an increased risk of OC.

Self-perceived health among workers at a University Hospital and associations with indicators of adiposity, arterial blood pressure and physical activity habits

It has been shown that self-perceived health has a close relationship with indicators of morbidity and mortality. Since there is a lack of information on the self-perceived health status of hospital workers, the objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of satisfaction with health among people working at a University Hospital (UH) and its associations with indicators of adiposity, arterial blood pressure (BP) and physical activity (PA). A total of 380 adults took part in the study, with ages ranging from 20 to 59 and a mean age of 43.92 (SD = 8.46) years. Self-perceived health was assessed using a question from the "WHOQOL-bref" questionnaire. Overall satisfaction with health was 60.8%, and women reported lower satisfaction than men. An analysis adjusted for sex showed that having a healthy BMI was associated with the highest rate of satisfaction with health (PR = 1.478 [95%CI: 1.272 - 1.717]), followed by WC (PR = 1.323 [95%CI: 1.135 - 1.541]). Neither BP nor PA were associated with self-perceived health. It was concluded that the UH workers are aware of risks to their health, but that they do not recognize the importance of maintaining healthy blood pressure or of engaging in regular PA in order to delay onset of chronic conditions that could be harmful to them.

Physical benefits and reduction of depressive symptoms among the elderly: results from the Portuguese "National Walking Program"

The aim of this study was to investigate alterations in physical fitness and anthropometric parameters as well as depression symptoms among the elderly after participation in the "National Walking Program" (Portugal). The sample consisted of 26 elderly people over six months with a total of 72 exercise sessions. The exercise sessions consisted of aerobics (walking and running) and strength and flexibility exercises. Participants were assessed pre- and post-intervention for physical fitness with the Rikli & Jones test. The anthropometric measurements were assessed with a bioimpedance scale and a stadiometer, and depression with Yesavage's Geriatric Depression Scale. Physical activity was only assessed with an accelerometer at the pre-intervention phase. For statistical analysis, the student t test for paired samples was performed using SPSS 21 software. Statistically significant improvements were found in depressive symptoms (p ≤ 0.001), and in all physical fitness tests (p ≤ 0.05) except for flexibility tests (p ≥ 0.05). Waist circumference reduction also showed the positive effects of the intervention (p = 0.031). The conclusion drawn is that participation in the "National Walking Program" for 6 months was effective in improving the physical and psychological health of the elderly.

[Body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry in women with fibromyalgia]

OBJECTIVES

To assess body composition in women with fibromyalgia (FM) comparing to the reference value for healthy women.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Cross-sectional observational analytical study, with 52 women selected with Fibromyalgia, according American College of Rheumatology (ACR, 1990) criteria. The patients were selected in Hospital de Clínicas da Universidade Federal do Paraná (HC-UFPR) and divided into two groups, 28 patients with a BMI (Body Mass Index) equal or higher (≥) than 25kg/m2 and 24 patients with BMI less or equal (≤) 24.99 kg/m2, subjected to physical examination for the count of tender points (TP) and completing the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ). The assessment of body composition was performed by the Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA). The values of the fat mass percentage (MG %) found in the two groups were compared to the average percentage of MG by age and sex, described by Heward (2004).

RESULTS

The mean age of the study groups was 47.8 ± 8.6 years, the FIQ score was 70.5 ± 18.6 and TP 16.2 ± 2.0. The mean BMI was 26.4 ± 4.1 kg/m2, and the amount of MG was 25.2 ± 7.8 kg and 39.5 ± 6.8%, and lean mass (LM) was 37 2 ± 3.7 kg and 60.4 ± 7.3%. In the group with BMI ≤ 25 kg/m2, the MG % was 33.8% (21.5 -42.4) and in the group with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 of the MG was 44.4% (37.6 -56.2).

CONCLUSION

Both groups women with FM eutrophic as the overweight and obese group, presented higher reference MG% levels comparing with the standard levels for healthy women.