Weight Gain from Birth to Adolescence and TyG Index at Age 18 Years: A Cohort Study in Northeast Brazil

BACKGROUND

Developmental models suggest that the phenotypes may arise from an immediate or mediated adaptive metabolic response of the perinatal growth. Evidence on the cumulative effects of growth and factors associated with risk of insulin resistance in adolescents is lacking.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association between birthweight, weight gain during infancy, childhood and adolescence and the triglyceride-glucose index in adolescents.

METHODS

This is a cohort of 217 children born at term, followed for the first six months, and reassessed at 8 and 18 years of age. The variables of interest were birthweight, postnatal growth defined as rapid postnatal growth when the weight gain from birth to six months of age was greater than 0.67 z-score, and the same criterion was used for high BMI gain from ages 6 months to 8 years, and from 8 to 18 years. Socioeconomic condition, nutritional status, practice of physical exercises and consumption of ultra-processed foods were verified. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to verify the effect of the variables on the triglyceride-glucose index.

RESULTS

Birthweight was not associated with triglyceride-glucose index in adolescence. Rapid postnatal growth during the first 6 months, higher BMI gain from 8 to 18 years and higher waist circumference contributed significantly to explain higher triglyceride-glucose index.

CONCLUSION FOR PRACTICE

Our findings suggest that rapid postnatal growth may be one of the first signs of a higher triglyceride-glucose index in adolescence and that attention should be paid to the greater gain in body mass between childhood and adolescence for the risk of a higher triglyceride-glucose index.

Birthweight, postnatal growth and blood pressure in adolescents of low socioeconomic condition: a cohort study in Northeast Brazil

OBJECTIVE

To verify the influence of low birth weight and rapid postnatal weight gain and associated factors on blood pressure in adolescence in a population of low socioeconomic status, considering that injuries occur in the perinatal period can be predictors of future metabolic changes and are still poorly explored.

METHODS

A cohort study was carried out with 208 adolescents, 78 born with low weight and 130 born with appropriate weight. The infants were followed up during the first six postnatal months and reassessed at 8 and 18 years of age. The independent variables were birthweight and postnatal weight gain. Rapid postnatal weight gain was defined when above 0.67 z score. The co-variables were sex, maternal height and family income at birth, nutritional status at eight years old, socioeconomic conditions, nutritional status, fat mass index, and physical activity level at 18 years. The outcome variable was blood pressure at 18 years old. The bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis were realized and p < 0,05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

The proportion of adolescents with elevated blood pressure was 37.5%. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed the variables independently associated with a higher chance of elevated blood pressure in adolescence were rapid postnatal weight gain (OR = 2.74; 95% CI 1.22-6.14; p = 0.014), male sex (OR = 4.15; 95% CI 1.66-10.38; p = 0.002) and being physically active (OR = 2.70; 95% CI 1.08-6.74; p = 0.034).

CONCLUSIONS

The rapid postnatal weight gain was a predictor for elevated blood pressure in adolescence, independently of other factors.

Ruminal biohydrogenation and abomasal flow of fatty acids in lactating cows fed diets supplemented with soybean oil, whole soybeans, or calcium salts of fatty acids

Ruminants have a unique metabolism and digestion of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA). Unlike monogastric animals, the fatty acid (FA) profile ingested by ruminants is not the same as that reaching the small intestine. The objective of this study was to evaluate whole raw soybeans (WS) in diets as a replacer for calcium salts of fatty acids (CSFA) in terms of UFA profile in the abomasal digesta of early- to mid-lactation cows. Eight Holstein cows (80 ± 20 d in milk, 22.9 ± 0.69 kg/d of milk yield, and 580 ± 20 kg of body weight; mean ± standard deviation) with ruminal and abomasal cannulas were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square experiment with 22-d periods. The experiment evaluated different fat sources rich in linoleic acid on ruminal kinetics, ruminal fermentation, FA abomasal flow, and milk FA profile of cows assigned to treatment sequences containing a control (CON), with no fat source; soybean oil, added at 2.68% of diet dry matter (DM); WS, addition of WS at 14.3% of diet DM; and CSFA, addition of CSFA at 2.68% of diet DM. Dietary fat supplementation had no effect on nutrient intake and digestibility, with the exception of ether extract. Cows fed fat sources tended to have lower milk fat concentration than those fed CON. In general, diets containing fat sources tended to decrease ruminal neutral detergent fiber digestibility in relation to CON. Cows fed WS had lower ruminal digestibility of DM and higher abomasal flow of DM in comparison to cows fed CSFA. As expected, diets containing fat supplements increased FA abomasal flow of C18:0 and total FA. Cows fed WS tended to present a higher concentration of UFA in milk when compared with those fed CSFA. This study suggests that under some circumstances, abomasal flow of UFA in early lactation cows can be increased by supplementing their diet with fat supplements rich in linoleic acid, regardless of rumen protection, with small effects on ruminal DM digestibility.