Daisuke Kunii

Prevalence and risk factors for diabetes in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Aims  To determine the prevalence of diabetes and associated risk factors in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Anthropometric characteristics, dietary patterns and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Vietnam.

Objective: To determine the impact of anthropometric characteristics and dietary patterns on Type 2 diabetes mellitus in Vietnam. Methods: Data from 144 subjects (9m/39f newly diagnosed diabetics; 18m/78f control subjects) were analyzed in this case-control study. Height, weight, waist and hip circumferences and percent body fat were measured. Dietary intakes were assessed by 24-hour recall on three non-consecutive weekdays. Fasting blood samples were collected for the analysis of plasma glucose, fructosamine, protein and lipid concentrations. Results: Although the body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) was similar between diabetic and control subjects, diabetic subjects had significantly greater percent body fat (31.1 ± 5.8% vs. 27.7 ± 6.2%) and waist-hip ratios (WHR, 0.91 ± 0.07 vs. 0.86 ± 0.08). Diabetic subjects had higher intakes of protein (p < 0.01), especially animal protein (p < 0.001), and consumed more meat (p < 0.01) than control subjects. Percent body fat and WHR were positively associated with diabetes (odds ratios [OR] 1.53 [95%CI 1.29–1.79] and 1.09 [95% CI 0.89–1.58], respectively) as were protein intake (OR 1.21 [95% CI 1.12–1.31]) and animal protein intake (OR 1.18 [95% CI 1.10–1.26]). Conclusions: This study indicates that percent body fat and WHR are risk factors associated with diabetes even when the BMI is normal. Evolving dietary patterns with increasingly more protein and meat consumption may also contribute to the deterioration of glucose metabolism among Vietnamese people.

Elevated concentrations of linoleic acid in erythrocyte membrane phospholipids in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn disease (CD), is a disorder characterized by diffuse inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The immune response and inflammation are mediated by polyunsaturated fatty acids and influenced by dietary fats and lipid metabolism. This study examined the qualitative and quantitative fat intake of IBD patients and healthy controls on plasma phospholipid and erythrocyte membrane phospholipid (EMP) fatty acid content. Measurement of the fatty acid composition of plasma phospholipid and EMP were performed in 29 UC patients, 20 CD patients, and 31 healthy controls. Anthropometric characteristics and data on dietary intake were also collected. We observed significantly lower lipid intake in UC and CD patients vs controls. The UC and CD patients had significantly higher levels of linoleic acid in their EMP than did controls. There were no significant differences in the levels of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, but there were significantly higher levels of the n-6 in the EMP of UC and CD patients compared with controls. The significant differences persisted after the data were adjusted for potential confounders and lipid intake. Higher levels of linoleic acids and n-6 fatty acids, which are involved in production of proinflammatory mediators, were found in IBD patients compared with controls, thereby implicating n-6 fatty acids in the pathophysiology of the disease.

FAO/WHO/UNU equations overestimate resting metabolic rate in Vietnamese adults

Objective:To evaluate the FAO/WHO/UNU equations for predicting resting metabolic rate (RMR) in Vietnamese adults.Design:A cross-sectional study with healthy subjects was carried out at the Basic Nutrition Department, National Institute of Nutrition, Vietnam. RMR was measured by indirect calorimetry, and anthropometric indices were recorded. Equations derived by linear regression of RMR vs body weight were compared to the FAO/WHO/UNU 1985 predictive equations.Subjects:A total of 188 subjects (98 males and 90 females) had a normal body mass index (BMI) and were divided into four groups by sex and age (male and female subjects 18–29 and 30–60 y old).Results:Mean RMR (MJ/kg/day) in males was lightly significant by higher than that in female subjects in the 18–29 y old age group (0.1074±0.0100 vs 0.0965±0.0123) and the same result was seen in the 30–60 y old group (0.1018±0.0114 vs 0.0922±0.0129). However, differences were not statistically significant in the two age groups. Compared to the FAO/WHO/UNU equation, our findings were 7.4, 9.0, 11.7, and 13.5% lower in the four groups, respectively (P<0.001).Conclusion:Our findings suggest that the FAO/WHO/UNU equations may overestimate RMR in Vietnamese adults. Further studies examining the relationship between body weight and RMR are needed, and establishing new predictive equations for RMR in Vietnamese should be a priority.

Obesity is associated with increased risk of allergy in Vietnamese adolescents

Background:The prevalence of allergic diseases has remarkably increased in the last decades in tandem with the number of obese individuals. Results of studies on obesity and allergic diseases are controversial, and most of them are related to asthma and asthma-like symptoms.Objective:In our study, we evaluated the association of several obesity indices and the prevalence of allergic diseases, including bronchial asthma, allergic rhino-conjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis and food allergy.Design:Cross-sectional study.Results:From a total of 1185 adolescents (49.3% boys) aged 12 to 17 y old, 19.3% reported a physician-diagnosed allergic disease, and 35.3% reported undiagnosed allergic symptoms. Logistic regression analysis revealed a higher risk of allergy in children of middle (OR=2.02, CI: 1.12–3.64) and high (OR=2.40, CI: 1.25–4.61) compared to low socioeconomic status, in subjects reporting industrial emissions in the neighborhood (OR=2.19, CI: 1.40–3.41), and in adolescents with parental history of allergy (OR=1.92, CI: 1.26–2.92). Body mass index (BMI) and percentage of body fat (%BF) were significantly related to allergy (OR=1.16, CI: 1.01–1.34 for BMI; OR=1.03, CI: 1.01–1.06 for %BF). After controlling for socioeconomic status, industrial emissions and parental history of allergy, only %BF remained statistically significant (OR=1.03, CI: 1.01–1.06). Food allergy was not related to obesity in our study population, and when adolescents with food allergy were excluded from the analysis, the odds of having allergy increased 28% with each increase in SD of BMI (OR=1.28, CI: 1.05–1.57) and 5% for each unit increase in the percentage of body fat (OR=1.05, CI: 1.01–1.08).Conclusion:In conclusion, being overweight was associated with an increased risk of allergy in our study population. Our results point towards an association between being overweight and rhino-conjunctivitis, but not food allergy. No association was observed with other allergic diseases.

Relationship between smoking habits and serum oxygen radical absorbance capacity and dietary intake in Japanese adults.

1. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of smoking habits on dietary intake, serum oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and lifestyle in Japanese adults.

Ameliorative effects of nucleosides on senescence acceleration and memory deterioration in senescence-accelerated mice

Abstract We investigated the effects of a mixture of dietary nucleosides and nucleotides (NS+NT) on memory in senescence-accelerated mice (SAM). Memory retention was studied with passive avoidance and active avoidance tests. In old mice, the time of passive avoidance was significantly higher in the NS+NT group than in the control group at days 1 and 7. However, such an effect of NS+NT was not observed in young mice. In the active avoidance test, the incidence of successful avoidance in old mice was significantly higher in the NS+NT group than in the control group at days 1 and 2. The percentages of specific brain cells containing lipofuscin were significantly lower in NS+NT groups than in the control groups in both young and old mice. The number of monovacuoles and multiple vacuoles in specific brain regions tended to be lower in NS+NT than in control groups, with significant differences in the microvacuoles of the middle cortex of young mice and in the multiple vacuoles in the hind cortex of old mice. These results suggest that increased dietary NS+NT may be associated with decreases in the age-induced deterioration of brain morphology and certain memory tasks.

Agreement of body weight, body fat percentage values between two body composition analyzers

Abstract In order to assess the agreement of body weight (BW), body fat index values between total body (foot to hand) and segment body (foot to foot) analyzers, we measured BW and body fat percentage (BF%) of 37 subjects by both analyzers in the same condition. As a result, the Pearson correlation of body weight and BF% values were r BW = 1.00 and r BF% = 0.81, respectively (p BW = −0.281kg and d BF% = 0.662% respectively; and the standard deviation of these differences were s d(BW) = 0.143 and s d(BF%) = 3.898. In addition, the 95% limits of agreement of difference of BW was (−0.567 to +0.005) and (−7.135 to +8.459) for difference of BF%. In conclusion, the results indicated that agreement of BW and BF% values between the two analyzers is acceptable, thus they might be interchangeable for epidemiological studies.