METHOD: Participants of Juara Sihat (n=55) were followed-up at 18 months after completion of the intervention. Juara Sihat intervention was implemented over 12 weeks and focused on four key components: (i) five one-hour nutrition education classes, (ii) four one-hour physical activity education sessions, (iii) family involvement, and (iv) empowerment of Parents and Teachers Association. Anthropometric variables (body mass index, body fat percentage and waist circumference) were measured and physical activity level was evaluated by using Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C) at baseline (P0), immediately upon completion of intervention (P1), at three-month post-intervention (P2), and at 18-month postintervention (P3). Analyses of repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with intention-to-treat principle were applied.
RESULTS: Sustained effects were found in BMI-for-age z-score which showed a reduction (P0 2.41±0.84 vs P3 2.27±0.81) and physical activity level which showed positive improvements (P0 2.46±0.62 vs P3 2.87±0.76) at 18 months after intervention was completed. Body fat and waist circumference had increased over the same time period.
CONCLUSION: Overall, this study successfully demonstrated sustained intervention effects of Juara Sihat intervention on BMI-for-age z-score and physical activity, but not on body fat percentage and waist circumference.
Methods: A total of 279 older adults aged 60 years and above were randomly selected. Respondents were classified as non-frail (<2 criteria) or frail (≥3 criteria) based on the 'phenotype of frailty'. A binary logistic regression was used to determine predictors of frailty.
Results: The prevalence of frailty was 18.3%. The frail older adults were positively associated with advanced age, being unmarried, hospitalisation in the previous year, poor self-rated health, and lower body mass index.
Discussion: These results give an overview on underlying effects and guiding actions for prevention programmes functioning to reverse and minimise the adverse effects of frailty syndrome.
METHODS: 93 patients and 78 spousal/sibling controls underwent comprehensive assessment of diet, clinical status, muscle strength/performance, frailty, body composition (using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), and serum levels of neurogastrointestinal hormones and inflammatory markers.
RESULTS: PD patients were older than controls (66.0 ± 8.5 vs. 62.4 ± 8.4years, P = 0.003). Mean body mass index (24.0 ± 0.4 vs. 25.6 ± 0.5kg/m2, Padjusted = 0.016), fat mass index (7.4 ± 0.3 vs. 9.0 ± 0.3kg/m2, Padjusted<0.001), and whole-body fat percentage (30.7 ± 0.8 vs. 35.7 ± 0.9%, Padjusted<0.001) were lower in patients, even after controlling for age and gender. There were no between-group differences in skeletal muscle mass index and whole-body bone mineral density. Body composition parameters did not correlate with disease duration or motor severity. Reduced whole-body fat percentage was associated with higher risk of motor response complications as well as higher levels of insulin-growth factor-1 and inflammatory markers. PD patients had a higher prevalence of sarcopenia (17.2% vs. 10.3%, Padjusted = 0.340) and frailty (69.4% vs. 24.2%, Padjusted = 0.010). Older age and worse PD motor severity were predictors of frailty in PD.
CONCLUSIONS: We found reduced body fat with relatively preserved skeletal muscle mass, and a high prevalence of frailty, in PD. Further studies are needed to understand the patho-mechanisms underlying these alterations.
PURPOSE: This study compared cervical supine side-bending (CSSB) and cervical supine traction (CST) radiographs to assess the flexibility and predict the correctability of the proximal thoracic (PT) curve for patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) classified as Lenke 1 and 2.
OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Knowledge of the flexibility of the PT curve is crucial in the management of patients with AIS. There are no reports comparing CSSB and CST radiographs to assess this parameter.
METHODS: Thirty patients with Lenke 1 and 2 AIS scheduled for posterior spinal fusion surgery were recruited. A standing whole spine radiography and physician-supervised CSSB and CST radiographies were performed. Patient demographic and radiological parameters were recorded, including age, gender, weight, height, body mass index, PT angle, main thoracic angle, CSSB PT angle, CST PT angle, and postoperative PT angle. From the data collected, the curve flexibility and curve correction index were calculated and compared.
RESULTS: CSSB had a significantly (p <0.05) smaller PT angle (16.6°±10.4°) in comparison to CST (23.7°±10.7°). CSSB had significantly (p <0.05) greater flexibility (44.2%±19.7%) in comparison to CST (19.5%±18.1%). The CSSB correction index (1.2±0.9) was significantly closer to 1 in comparison to the CST correction index (4.4±5.3). There was no difference (p =0.72) between the CSSB PT angle (16.6°±10.4°) and the postoperative PT angle (16.1°±7.5°). However, the CST PT angle (23.7°±10.7°) was significantly (p <0.05) larger than the postoperative PT angle (16.1°±7.5°).
CONCLUSIONS: CSSB radiographs were better for demonstrating PT flexibility and more accurately predicted correctability in comparison to the CST radiographs.
METHODS: Data were obtained from the 2012 Malaysia Global School-based Student Health Survey. Generalized ordered logit regression analysis was conducted on 24 339 adolescents by PA status.
RESULTS: Early- (ages 11-13) and middle-stage (ages 14-16) adolescents were associated with higher overweight and obesity risks than their older peers (ages 17-18). Male adolescents faced higher underweight and obesity likelihoods than females. Hunger due to food shortage at home was associated with higher likelihoods of underweight and normal weight BMI categories. Smokers were more likely to be underweight or normal weight than non-smokers. Segmented-sample analysis by PA status indicated that, while the direction of associations was parallel across PA status, the magnitudes of association between age, hunger and smoking status with BMI status were greater among active than inactive adolescents.
CONCLUSIONS: Male adolescents faced a dual burden of underweight and obesity. Other sociodemographic and dietary-lifestyle factors were associated with adolescent BMI categories. Segmented-sample analysis by PA status uncovered varying associations between factors that would otherwise be masked in pooled sample analysis. Public health authorities should take these factors into consideration when deliberating programs to ensure healthy adolescent body weight.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the pattern of gestational weight gain (GWG) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and their risk factors among a cohort of Emirati and Arab women residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A secondary objective was to investigate pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and its socio-demographic correlates among study participants.
METHODS: Data of 256 pregnant women participating in the cohort study, the Mother-Infant Study Cohort (MISC) were used in this study. Healthy pregnant mothers with no history of chronic diseases were interviewed during their third trimester in different hospitals in UAE. Data were collected using interviewer-administered multi-component questionnaires addressing maternal sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics. Maternal weight, weight gain, and GDM were recorded from the hospital medical records.
RESULTS: Among the study participants, 71.1% had inadequate GWG: 31.6% insufficient and 39.5% excessive GWG. 19.1% reported having GDM and more than half of the participants (59.4%) had a pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. The findings of the multiple multinomial logistic regression showed that multiparous women had decreased odds of excessive gain as compared to primiparous [odds ratio (OR): 0.17; 95% CI: 0.05-0.54]. Furthermore, women with a pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 had increased odds of excessive gain (OR: 2.23; 95%CI: 1.00-5.10) as compared to those with pre-pregnancy BMI
AIM: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between -174 G>C IL-6 polymorphism gene on the level of IL-6 and CRP in the population of western Indonesia obese who are obese.
METHODS: In this study, we examined 178 subjects consisting of 89 who are obese with BMI> 25, and controls with BMI between 18.5 and 23. Fasting blood was taken from each subject for the examination of IL-6 and CRP levels by the ELISA method. Determination of genotype -174 G>C IL-6 gene was examined by Polymerase Chain reaction- Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methods.
RESULTS: The results of this study showed increased levels of IL-6 and CRP in the obese group compared to the controls. In the obese group, CC genotype had higher CRP and lower IL-6 levels than the GC and GG genotypes. The frequency of CC genotype in the obese group was 47.2% compared with 28.1% in controls and this genotype was considered a risk factor for obesity. Carriers of the C genotype as a dominant or a recessive model had greater risk of obesity.
CONCLUSION: It was concluded that the polymorphism - 174G>C IL-6 gene is a risk factor for obesity and is associated with increased levels of IL-6 and CRP in an obese group of the Western Indonesian ethnic population.