Análisis de la Morfología del Raquis Torácico y Lumbar en Mujeres Trabajadoras de una Cooperativa Hortofrutícola

The aim of this study was to analyze the sagittal spinal morphology of thoracic and lumbar spine in standing and sitting in women workers from a cooperative in the production, handling and marketing business of vegetable and fruit products. A total of 50 women (mean age: 43.62±8.43 years old) were evaluated. The Spinal Mouse system was used to mesasure the sagittal thoracic and lumbar curvatures in standing and relaxed sitting. The values for thoracic and lumbar curvatures were 32.74±8.76 and -21.66±19.12 in standing and 36.32±10.55 and -1.08±18.14 in sitting. A high frequency (86.0% and 68.3%) of normal thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis were found in standing posture. While sitting the 74.0% and 20.0% presented thoracic hyperkyphosis and lumbar kyphosis. In conclusion, a high percentaje of women workers presented normality values in standing posture, although a high percentage of women were found with thoracic hyperkyphosis and lumbar flexed while sitting relaxed. It is recommended that these women carry out a program to improve their actitudinal postures in their work place.

Dietary fibre intake and risks of cancers of the colon and rectum in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition (EPIC).

BACKGROUND Earlier analyses within the EPIC study showed that dietary fibre intake was inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk, but results from some large cohort studies do not support this finding. We explored whether the association remained after longer follow-up with a near threefold increase in colorectal cancer cases, and if the association varied by gender and tumour location. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS After a mean follow-up of 11.0 years, 4,517 incident cases of colorectal cancer were documented. Total, cereal, fruit, and vegetable fibre intakes were estimated from dietary questionnaires at baseline. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models stratified by age, sex, and centre, and adjusted for total energy intake, body mass index, physical activity, smoking, education, menopausal status, hormone replacement therapy, oral contraceptive use, and intakes of alcohol, folate, red and processed meats, and calcium. After multivariable adjustments, total dietary fibre was inversely associated with colorectal cancer (HR per 10 g/day increase in fibre 0.87, 95% CI: 0.79-0.96). Similar linear associations were observed for colon and rectal cancers. The association between total dietary fibre and risk of colorectal cancer risk did not differ by age, sex, or anthropometric, lifestyle, and dietary variables. Fibre from cereals and fibre from fruit and vegetables were similarly associated with colon cancer; but for rectal cancer, the inverse association was only evident for fibre from cereals. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Our results strengthen the evidence for the role of high dietary fibre intake in colorectal cancer prevention.

Social inequalities and mortality in Europe-results from a large multi-national cohort

BACKGROUND Socio-economic inequalities in mortality are observed at the country level in both North America and Europe. The purpose of this work is to investigate the contribution of specific risk factors to social inequalities in cause-specific mortality using a large multi-country cohort of Europeans. METHODS A total of 3,456,689 person/years follow-up of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) was analysed. Educational level of subjects coming from 9 European countries was recorded as proxy for socio-economic status (SES). Cox proportional hazard model's with a step-wise inclusion of explanatory variables were used to explore the association between SES and mortality; a Relative Index of Inequality (RII) was calculated as measure of relative inequality. RESULTS Total mortality among men with the highest education level is reduced by 43% compared to men with the lowest (HR 0.57, 95% C.I. 0.52-0.61); among women by 29% (HR 0.71, 95% C.I. 0.64-0.78). The risk reduction was attenuated by 7% in men and 3% in women by the introduction of smoking and to a lesser extent (2% in men and 3% in women) by introducing body mass index and additional explanatory variables (alcohol consumption, leisure physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake) (3% in men and 5% in women). Social inequalities were highly statistically significant for all causes of death examined in men. In women, social inequalities were less strong, but statistically significant for all causes of death except for cancer-related mortality and injuries. DISCUSSION In this European study, substantial social inequalities in mortality among European men and women which cannot be fully explained away by accounting for known common risk factors for chronic diseases are reported.

Diets based on virgin olive oil or fish oil but not on sunflower oil prevent age-related alveolar bone resorption by mitochondrial-related mechanisms.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Aging enhances frequency of chronic diseases like cardiovascular diseases or periodontitis. Here we reproduced an age-dependent model of the periodontium, a fully physiological approach to periodontal conditions, to evaluate the impact of dietary fat type on gingival tissue of young (6 months old) and old (24 months old) rats. METHODS/FINDINGS Animals were fed life-long on diets based on monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) as virgin olive oil, n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-6PUFA), as sunflower oil, or n-3PUFA, as fish oil. Age-related alveolar bone loss was higher in n-6PUFA fed rats, probably as a consequence of the ablation of the cell capacity to adapt to aging. Gene expression analysis suggests that MUFA or n-3PUFA allowed mitochondria to maintain an adequate turnover through induction of biogenesis, autophagy and the antioxidant systems, and avoiding mitochondrial electron transport system alterations. CONCLUSIONS The main finding is that the enhanced alveolar bone loss associated to age may be targeted by an appropriate dietary treatment. The mechanisms involved in this phenomenon are related with an ablation of the cell capacity to adapt to aging. Thus, MUFA or n-3PUFA might allow mitochondrial maintaining turnover through biogenesis or autophagy. They might also be able to induce the corresponding antioxidant systems to counteract age-related oxidative stress, and do not inhibit mitochondrial electron transport chain. From the nutritional and clinical point of view, it is noteworthy that the potential treatments to attenuate alveolar bone loss (a feature of periodontal disease) associated to age could be similar to some of the proposed for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, a group of pathologies recently associated with age-related periodontitis.

Consumption of vegetables, fruit and other plant foods in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohorts from 10 European countries.

OBJECTIVE To describe and compare the consumption of the main groups and sub-groups of vegetables and fruits (V&F) in men and women from the centres participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis. Dietary intake was assessed by means of a 24-hour dietary recall using computerised interview software and standardised procedures. Crude and adjusted means were computed for the main groups and sub-groups of V&F by centre, separately for men and women. Adjusted means by season, day of the week and age were estimated using weights and covariance analysis. SETTING Twenty-seven centres in 10 European countries participating in the EPIC project. SUBJECTS In total, 35 955 subjects (13 031 men and 22 924 women), aged 35-74 years, randomly selected from each EPIC cohort. RESULTS The centres from southern countries had the highest consumption of V&F, while the lowest intake was seen in The Netherlands and Scandinavia for both genders. These differences were more evident for fruits, particularly citrus. However, slightly different patterns arose for some sub-groups of vegetables, such as root vegetables and cabbage. Adjustment for body mass index, physical activity, smoking habits and education did not substantially modify the mean intakes of vegetables and fruits. CONCLUSIONS Total vegetable and fruit intake follows a south-north gradient in both genders, whereas for several sub-groups of vegetables a different geographic distribution exists. Differences in mean intake of V&F by centre were not explained by lifestyle factors associated with V&F intake.

Use of Two-Part Regression Calibration Model to Correct for Measurement Error in Episodically Consumed Foods in a Single-Replicate Study Design: EPIC Case Study.

In epidemiologic studies, measurement error in dietary variables often attenuates association between dietary intake and disease occurrence. To adjust for the attenuation caused by error in dietary intake, regression calibration is commonly used. To apply regression calibration, unbiased reference measurements are required. Short-term reference measurements for foods that are not consumed daily contain excess zeroes that pose challenges in the calibration model. We adapted two-part regression calibration model, initially developed for multiple replicates of reference measurements per individual to a single-replicate setting. We showed how to handle excess zero reference measurements by two-step modeling approach, how to explore heteroscedasticity in the consumed amount with variance-mean graph, how to explore nonlinearity with the generalized additive modeling (GAM) and the empirical logit approaches, and how to select covariates in the calibration model. The performance of two-part calibration model was compared with the one-part counterpart. We used vegetable intake and mortality data from European Prospective Investigation on Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. In the EPIC, reference measurements were taken with 24-hour recalls. For each of the three vegetable subgroups assessed separately, correcting for error with an appropriately specified two-part calibration model resulted in about three fold increase in the strength of association with all-cause mortality, as measured by the log hazard ratio. Further found is that the standard way of including covariates in the calibration model can lead to over fitting the two-part calibration model. Moreover, the extent of adjusting for error is influenced by the number and forms of covariates in the calibration model. For episodically consumed foods, we advise researchers to pay special attention to response distribution, nonlinearity, and covariate inclusion in specifying the calibration model.