Dietary Patterns of Young Females and Their Association With Waist Circumference as a Health Index in Northwest of Iran, 2007

Association of dietary patterns with blood pressure and body adiposity in adolescents: a systematic review

This paper aimed to systematically review the results of observational studies that investigated the association of dietary patterns with blood pressure and body adiposity markers in adolescents. Articles were searched in July 2020 in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). Of the 3408 studies found, 24 fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were considered in this review. Almost all studies (n = 23) identified at least one unhealthy pattern, predominantly characterized as consumption of confectionery, refined grains, sweets, sweetened drinks, red meats, and processed meats. Fourteen of the twenty-four studies found a significant association between any dietary pattern and blood pressure and/or body adiposity markers. There was a positive association of dietary patterns - characterized by the consumption of foods rich in sodium, animal fat, refined carbohydrates, and low in fiber - with increased blood pressure and body adiposity. Our findings highlight the importance of studies with this scope, whose results can support the surveillance of adolescent's health. However, considering the limited number of studies that found a significant association and their limitations, the present results should be interpreted carefully. More prospective studies are needed to determine how adherence to dietary patterns could influence blood pressure and body adiposity markers in the long term.

Energy Dense Salty Food Consumption Frequency Is Associated with Diastolic Hypertension in Spanish Children

High blood pressure (BP) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and sodium consumption is related to high BP. Moreover, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) influence BP. For this reason, we investigated whether: 1) children with risk of elevated BP had a higher consumption frequency (CF) of energy-dense salty foods (EDSF), high-sugary foods (HSF) and SSB or a low DASH score; and 2) children with a higher CF of EDSF showed a worse anthropometric and metabolic profile. Anthropometry, BP and general biochemical parameters were measured in 687 Spanish children (5-16 years) with normal or excess weight. A food frequency questionnaire was used to calculate EDSF, HSF and SSB consumption, and modified DASH score. Results showed that sex and pubertal stage influenced modified DASH score. Diastolic hypertension was associated to higher CF of EDSF in the whole sample and to higher CF of SSB in pubertal children, both independently of nutritional status. In addition, CF of EDSF was positively associated with CF of HSF and SSB and inversely associated with modified DASH score. Targeted policies and intervention programs, specific for different age ranges, should be established that aim to reduce salt consumption from snacks and processed foods, which could reduce HSF and SSB consumption as well.

Major dietary patterns in relation to menstrual pain: a nested case control study

Background

Dysmenorrhea is one of the most prevalent gynecological disorders, experienced by approximately two third of young women during menstruation. According to literature, nutrition can play a key role in the prevalence and severity of dysmenorrhea. This study aims to investigate the relation between dietary patterns and the risk of dysmenorrhea among university students.

Methods

A nested case control study was conducted among 293 students of Urmia University of Medical Sciences who were randomly recruited via a proportional cluster sampling method. From 293 students, 46 students with moderate to severe dysmenorrhea and 54 students without dysmenorrhea were assigned to the case and control groups, respectively. The major dietary patterns of students were identified by factor analysis and the association between dietary patterns and risk of dysmenorrhea was investigated using logistic regression analysis in SPSS 20.

Results

Three major dietary patterns were found and nominated as “Lacto-vegetarian”, “Snacks” and “Mixed food items” patterns. After controlling for family history of dysmenorrhea, subjects in the second and third tertiles of “snacks” pattern had a 4.23 (95% CI = 1.32–13.58, P = 0.01) and 3.41 (95% CI = 1.10–10.50, P = 0.03) times, respectively, higher chance to experience moderate to severe dysmenorrhea in comparison with subjects in the first tertile. There was no significant association between the risk of dysmenorrhea and two other dietary patterns.

Conclusions

The results indicate that adherence to “snacks” pattern is associated with an increased risk of moderate to severe dysmenorrhea during menstruation among young women.