Insufficient Answer During the Public Health Emergency: A Lesson from the Persistence of Food Insecurity in Low-Income Communities

Cohort study in deprived communities to investigate the persistence of food insecurity (FI) during the COVID-19 was conducted. Sample were derived from a list of mobile phone numbers provided by community leaders and local nonprofit organizations. Temporal trends and prevalence ratios of FI persistence, categorized as "never," "occasional FI," "consistent FI," were calculated. A total of 302 households completed three assessments, the majority nonwhite women. During the follow-up, families covered by social assistance increased; however, their income decreased (p < 0.05). 33% were "consistent," and 46% "occasional" FI. Permanent difficulties accessing gas canisters, hygiene products, and hand sanitizers were observed.

Vitamin B12 sources in non-animal foods: a systematic review

Interest in plant-based diets and vegetarianism is increasing worldwide, however, a concern for total vegetarians is vitamin B12 (B12) deficiency. We conducted a systematic review to investigate non-animal food sources of B12. Databases were PubMed, LILACS, Cochrane, Embase and Google Scholar, up to September 9, 2020. Quality of the eligible studies were assessed. We identified 25 studies which assessed B12 content in seaweeds, mushrooms, plants and fermented foods. Initial studies were microbiological bioassay, ELISA and HPLC. In the last decade, more sensitive method for real B12 determination was used, the liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry chromatograms. Real B12 content varied from mean (SD) mcg/portion size of seaweed hijiki 3 × 10-3/7 g to nori 1.03 - 2.68/sheet; mushroom white button cap 2 × 10-3(7 × 10-4)/20 g dry weight (dw) to shiitake 0.79(0.67)-1.12 (0.78)/20 g dw; and fermented foods from soy yogurt 20/cup. It is possible that daily recommendations for B12 can be met by a varied diet containing non-animal B12 food sources. Future research should consider different methods of storage, preparation, fermented foods and standardization of the production of certain foods.Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2022.2053057.

Psychological distress, low-income, and socio-economic vulnerability in the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVES

Although literature broadly reports the impact of COVID-19 on global mental health, little is known about the extent of its deleterious impact on the most vulnerable individuals. The present study aimed to evaluate the level of psychological distress of adult's residents of two urban shantytown communities located in São Paulo city, Brazil.

STUDY DESIGN

This was a cross-sectional study.

METHODS

An online questionnaire was divided into four sections: (1) informed consent, (2) socio-economic data, (3) 12-item general health questionnaire, and (4) Brazilian food insecurity scale was applied.

RESULTS

Of the 495 family headship (448 females and 47 males), the mean age was 36.1 years, 85% have an indication of psychological distress, 61.4% had a monthly income less than or equal to $70, and the incidence of households experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity was 40%. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that respondents who experienced moderate or severe food insecurity (odds ratio [OR] = 2.701, confidence interval [CI] 95% = 1.265-5.769; P = 0.010) and lower monthly income (OR = 2.031, CI 95% = 1.056-3.908; P = 0.034) had a higher risk of psychological distress. On the other hand, having an employment is a protective factor against the stressful situations caused by COVID-19 pandemic (P = 0.029).

CONCLUSION

The present study identified low-income younger women residents of urban slums who suffer from food insecurity as high-risk groups to have psychological distress. Our findings are of particular importance because they showed the intersection of vulnerabilities during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Cancer cases and deaths attributable to lifestyle risk factors in Chile

Background

To identify modifiable risk factors that contribute to cancer holds important public health relevance for setting up prevention strategies. Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate the proportion of cancer cases and deaths attributable to alcohol consumption, high body mass index (BMI), low fruits and vegetables consumption, lack of physical activity, tobacco smoking, and passive smoking in Chile in 2018.

Methods

We retrieved data from a national representative survey to describe the distribution of six lifestyle risk factors. Relative risks of each risk factor-cancer pair were obtained from published meta-analysis and pooled cohort studies. Cancer cases and deaths were obtained from the GLOBOCAN 2018.

Results

Nearly 30% of all cancer cases (15,097 out of 50,320 cases) and 36% of all cancer deaths (10,155 out of 28,010 deaths) in Chile in 2018 were attributable to lifestyle risk factors. Smoking and high BMI accounted for most of the cancer cases (9232 and 4394, respectively) and deaths (6868 and 2572). The cancer burden of other lifestyle risk factors varied by sex. In men, the proportion of all cancer cases attributed to alcohol were 3.7% compare to 2.0% for women. Cancers cases and deaths of the larynx, lung, oral/cavity, esophagus and bladder could be at least halved if lifestyle risk factors were eliminated.

Conclusion

Smoking and high BMI were the leading causes of preventable cancer cases and deaths within the six lifestyles factors considered. Cancer prevention strategies should consider evidence-based interventions and public policies to encourage the adoption of a healthier lifestyle.

Agreement between nutritional status and perception of body image in indigenous Khisêdjê of the Xingu Indigenous Park

OBJECTIVE

To determine the agreement between body self-image (based on the Stunkard figure rating scale) and nutritional status and to evaluate body satisfaction among the Khisêdjê indigenous people of Parque Indígena do Xingu (Xingu Indigenous Park).

METHODS

A cross-sectional study involving 131 natives aged 20 and older. Data on body image, body mass index and waist circumference were collected. Kappa statistics, χ2 (p < 0.05), crude and adjusted prevalence ratios and Student's t-test were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

The prevalence of overweight and obesity was respectively 42 and 5.3%. The percentage of satisfaction with body profile was 61.8% with no difference between the sexes. There was good agreement between actual and ideal self-image (p < 0.001), but poor agreement between actual and ideal self-image with nutritional status for both sexes. A higher prevalence of body dissatisfaction due to overweight was detected in individuals with central obesity and overweight.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that body self-image evaluated by the Stunkard silhouette scale has little applicability as an indicator of nutritional status among the indigenous Khisêdjê of Xingu Indigenous Park.

Educational interventions on nutrition among older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

Poor nutrition is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases and nutritional deficiencies. Dietary interventions have been proposed to improve eating habits. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the efficacy of randomized clinical trials of nutritional interventions in food habits among older people. A systematic literature review using the MEDLINE, LILACS, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases was conducted, according to PRISMA guidelines. The keywords were: food and nutrition education OR educación alimentaria y nutricional OR educação alimentar e nutricional AND clinical trial OR ensayo clínico OR ensaio clínico AND elderly OR aged OR anciano OR idoso AND human OR seres humanos. The pooled standardized mean differences (SMD) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using a random-effects model. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed using I² tests. After screening based on the title and abstract, and a full-text assessment, 11 studies remained. Results of pooling eleven studies were as follows: SMD = 0.25 (95 % CI = 0.15 - 0.34; I² = 0,0%) for vegetable, SMD = 0.18 (95 % CI = 0.08 - 0.27; I² = 0,0%) for fruit and SMD = 0.27 (95 % CI = 0.18 - 0.36; I² = 58,3%) for fibre intake. Our results suggest that nutritional interventions were effective in increasing vegetable, fruit and fibre intake. However, these results should be analyzed carefully, due to the small number of studies included in the meta-analysis. Further studies should be encouraged due to the aging process.

Fruits and vegetables and cervical cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

We conducted a meta-analysis to examine the association of fruits and vegetables intake with the occurrence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and invasive cancer. MEDLINE, LILACS, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases and gray literature on Google Scholar were searched before December 17, 2018. Odds ratio (OR) or relative risk (RR) estimates for the highest vs. the lowest intake of intake and 95% confidence intervals (CI) from the included studies were pooled using fixed and random-effects models. We found 18 studies: 17 case-control studies (n = 9,014 cases, n = 29,088 controls) and one cohort study (n = 299,651). No association was observed for CIN. The pooled adjusted ORs (95% CI) for cervical cancer were 0.61 (95% CI 0.52-0.73) for vegetables and 0.80 (95% CI 0.70-0.93) for fruits. However, no association was observed when the pooled effect was estimated among studies that adjusted for human papillomavirus (HPV). Consumption of vegetables and fruits was not associated with incidence of cervical cancer among studies that controlled for HPV infection. The level of evidence is limited because only one cohort study was included in the analysis.

Assessing the validity of a food frequency questionnaire among low-income women in São Paulo, southeastern Brazil

This study describes the validity of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) in 93 low-income women (20-65 years), participating in a case-control study in São Paulo, Brazil. Two FFQ (FFQ1 and FFQ2, 12 months apart) and three 24-hour dietary recalls (24hR) were conducted between 2003 and 2004 to estimate dietary intake during the past year. The Pearson correlation coefficients (crude, energy-adjusted and de-attenuated) were used for comparisons between FFQ and 24hR. The agreement between the methods was further examined by the Bland-Altman analysis. For the assessment of long-term reliability, the energy-adjusted intra-class correlation coefficients were mostly around 0.40, but higher for vitamin A and folate (0.50-0.56). Energy-adjusted, attenuation-corrected Pearson validity correlations between FFQ and DR ranged from 0.30-0.54 for macronutrients to 0.20-0.48 for micronutrients, with higher value for calcium (0.75). There were small proportions of grossly misclassified nutrient intakes, while Bland-Altman plots indicated that the FFQ is accurate in assessing nutrient intake at a group level.

Preditores sócio-demográficos, de estilo de vida e gineco-obstétricos das concentrações séricas ou plasmáticas de homocisteína, ácido fólico e vitaminas B12 e B6 em mulheres de baixa renda de São Paulo, Brasil

O presente estudo investigou fatores sócio-demográficos, de estilo de vida e gineco-obstétricos associados às concentrações séricas ou plasmáticas de homocisteína, ácido fólico, vitaminas B12 e B6 em mulheres de baixa renda de São Paulo, Brasil. Concentrações séricas de ácido fólico e vitamina B12 foram analisadas por fluoroimunoensaio; concentrações plasmáticas de homocisteína e vitamina B6, por cromatografia líquida de alta performance em fase reversa. Variáveis independentes foram inicialmente selecionadas segundo pressupostos teóricos, correlação de Pearson ou teste Kruskal-Wallis (p < 0,20). Concentrações alteradas segundo pontos de corte para homocisteína, ácido fólico, vitaminas B12 e B6 foram observadas em 20%, 6%, 11% e 67% das participantes, respectivamente. Idade foi positivamente correlacionada à vitamina B6 e homocisteína plasmáticas (p < 0,001). Índice de massa corporal foi positivamente correlacionado à vitamina B6 plasmática (p < 0,001). Modelos de regressão linear múltiplos explicaram 10,2%, 5,8%, 14,4% e 9,4% das concentrações de ácido fólico, vitamina B12, vitamina B6 e homocisteína, respectivamente. No presente estudo, variáveis sócio-demográficas, de estilo de vida e gineco-obstétricas apresentaram contribuição importante na variação das concentrações dos indicadores bioquímicos avaliados.

[Assessment of the food list and serving size of a Food Frequency Questionnaire in an adult population]

This study examined both the food list and portion size values from a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) among participants in a case-control study in São Paulo, Brazil. Two hundred adult respondents to a case-control study were randomly selected (101 men and 99 women; age range: 35-69 years). FFQ food items were examined on the basis of their contribution to total population nutrient intake estimated by 24-hour dietary recall (1-DR). We examined the frequency distribution of equivalent-gram weights of each selected food from the 1-DR and identified the portion sizes as small, medium, and large in the distribution (percentiles 25, 50, and 75, respectively). The FFQ provided close estimation of total fat, saturated fatty acids, cholesterol, total fiber, vitamin B6, and folic acid compared to the 1-DR (paired t-test; p < 0.05). The FFQ food list covered the study population's main dietary nutrient sources.