Vaspin association with insulin resistance is related to physical activity and body fat in Brazilian adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Background: Vaspin is a newly-identified adipocytokine associated with insulin resistance (IR). Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between plasma vaspin concentrations and IR and determine whether this association is affected by body composition, physical activity and pubertal stage in adolescents. Methods: Were studied 484 Brazilian adolescents aged 10-14 years whose anthropometric, clinical, biochemical, and lifestyle measurements were analized. We evaluated the correlation between vaspin and risk factors for IR in adolescents with normal and high body fat percentage (%BF) and did a logistic regression to calculate the odds ratio for IR according to vaspin quartiles sex specific for the sample. Results: Vaspin was positively correlated with IR in adolescents with high %BF (r = 0.23, p = 0.003). The logistic regression analysis adjusted for sex, age, BMI, and pubertal stage showed that adolescents in the 2nd (OR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.23-0.80, p = 0.008) and 3rd (OR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.25-0.85, p = 0.014) quartile of vaspin concentration had a lower risk for IR. When the model was adjusted for %BF and physical activity, the association remained statically significant only for adolescents in the 2nd quartile. Conclusion: Vaspin was correlated positively with risk factors associated with insulin metabolism in adolescents with high %BF. Vaspin was associated with a reduced risk of IR independently of BMI and pubertal stage and the association was influenced by body fat and physical activity in these adolescents.

Threshold values of sagittal abdominal diameter for the detection of cardio-metabolic risk factors in Northeastern Mexico: a cross-sectional study

Background: The use of sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) has been proposed for screening cardio-metabolic risk factors; however, its accuracy can be influenced by the choice of thresholds values. Aim: To determine the SAD threshold values for cardio-metabolic risk factors in Mexican adults; to assess whether parallel and serial SAD testing can improve waist circumference (WC) sensitivity and specificity; and to analyze the effect of considering SAD along with WC and body mass index (BMI) in detecting cardio-metabolic risk. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during 2012-2014 in Northeast Mexico (n = 269). Data on anthropometric, clinical, and biochemical measurements were collected. Sex-adjusted receiver-operating characteristic curves (ROC) were obtained using hypertension, dysglycemia, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance as individual outcomes and metabolic syndrome as a composite outcome. Age-adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using logistic regression. Results: The threshold value for SAD with acceptable combination of sensitivity and specificity was 24.6 cm in men and 22.5 cm in women. Parallel SAD testing improved WC sensitivity and serial testing improved WC specificity. The co-occurrence of high WC/high SAD increased the risk for insulin resistance by 2.4-fold (95% CI: 1.1-5.3), high BMI/high SAD by 4.3-fold (95% CI: 1.7-11.9) and SAD alone by 2.2-fold (95% CI: 1.2.-4.2). Conclusions: The use of SAD together with traditional obesity indices such as WC and BMI has advantages over using either of these indices alone. SAD may be a powerful screening tool for interventions for high-risk individuals.

Alcohol consumption and Mediterranean Diet adherence among health science students in Spain: the DiSA-UMH Study

Objective: To describe the association between consumption of different alcoholic beverages and adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted of the baseline data of the DiSA-UMH study, an ongoing cohort study with Spanish health science students (n = 1098) aged 17-35 years. Dietary information was collected by a validated 84-item food frequency questionnaire. Participants were grouped into non-drinkers, exclusive beer and/or wine drinkers and drinkers of all types of alcoholic beverages. Mediterranean diet adherence was determined by using a modification of the relative Mediterranean Diet Score (rMED; score range: 0-16) according to consumption of 8 dietary components. We performed multiple linear and multinomial regression analyses. Results: The mean alcohol consumption was 4.3 g/day (SD: 6.1). A total of 19.5%, 18.9% and 61.6% of the participants were non-drinkers, exclusive beer and/or wine drinkers and drinkers of all types of alcoholic beverages, respectively. Participants who consumed beer and/or wine exclusively had higher rMED scores than non-drinkers (β: 0.76, 95%CI: 0.25-1.27). Drinkers of all types of alcoholic beverages had similar rMED scores to non-drinkers. Non-drinkers consumed less fish and more meat, whereas drinkers of all types of alcoholic beverages consumed fewer fruits, vegetables and more meat than exclusive beer and/or wine drinkers. Conclusions: The overall alcohol consumption among the students in our study was low-to-moderate. Exclusive beer and/or wine drinkers differed regarding the Mediterranean diet pattern from non-drinkers and drinkers of all types of alcohol. These results show the need to properly adjust for diet in studies of the effects of alcohol consumption.

The impact of serum uric acid on the diagnostic of metabolic syndrome in apparently healthy Brazilian middle-aged men

Background: Hyperuricemia is related to Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and cardiovascular diseases, but the use of serum uric acid (UA) to diagnose MetS is currently ignored in clinical practices. Objectives: To examine the impact of serum UA on the diagnostic of MetS and the relationship of serum UA with cardiometabolic risk factors in apparently healthy Brazilian middle-aged men residents in a city of Minas Gerais. Methods: In a cross-sectional analysis, 289 apparently healthy middle-aged men underwent anthropometric, clinical, sociodemographic and blood serum biochemical evaluation. By using receive operating curve the internal cutoff of serum UA was determined (5.25 mg/dL). Results: Subjects with two or more components of MetS exhibited higher serum UA as compared to those with one or none component. The inclusion of serum UA ≥ 5.25mg/dL as an additional component of MetS increased the occurrence of this syndrome by 13%. Subjects with UA ≥ 5.25mg/dL showed high prevalence for MetS and association with its components (central obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, dyslipidemia and hypertension) as well as atherogenic risk. Conclusions: Serum UA has an important impact on the diagnostic of MetS and is related to cardiometabolic risk factors in apparently healthy Brazilian middle-aged men. Its use in clinical practices could aggregate accuracy to diagnose MetS.