Gerardo Huitrón-Bravo

Association between sweetened beverage consumption and body mass index, proportion of body fat and body fat distribution in Mexican adolescents.

Background/Aims: It was the aim of this study to evaluate the relationships between sweetened beverage (SB) consumption and the following indicators of overweight/fatness among Mexican adolescents: body mass index, body composition and body fat distribution. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data from adolescents participating in the baseline assessment of the Health Workers Cohort Study. Information on sociodemographic conditions, sexual maturation, dietary patterns and physical activity was collected via self-administered questionnaires. SB consumption was evaluated through a validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Anthropometric measures were assessed with standardized procedures. The associations of interest were evaluated by means of multivariate regression and logistic regression models. Results: A total of 1,055 adolescents, 10–19 years old (mean age 14.5 ± 2.5 years), were evaluated. The overweight/obesity prevalence was 31.6% among girls and 31.9% among boys. We found that for each additional SB serving consumed daily, the subject’s body mass index increased by on average 0.33 (p < 0.001). Subjects consuming 3 daily servings of SB face a 2.1 times greater risk of proportionally excess body fat than those who consume less than 1 SB a day. Conclusions: Our data support the hypothesis that the consumption of SB increases the risk of overweight and/or obesity and encourages excess body fat and central obesity in Mexican adolescents.

Health workers cohort study: methods and study design

Objective: To examine different health outcomes that are associated with specific lifestyle and genetic factors. Materials and methods: From March 2004 to April 2006, a sample of employees from three different health and academic institutions, as well as their family members, were enrolled in the study after providing informed consent. At baseline and follow-up (2010-2013), participants completed a self-administered questionnaire, a physical examination, and provided blood samples. Results: A total of 10 729 participants aged 6 to 94 years were recruited at baseline. Of these, 70% were females, and 50% were from the Mexican Social Security Institute. Nearly 42% of the adults in the sample were overweight, while 20% were obese. Conclusion: Our study can offer new insights into disease mechanisms and prevention through the analysis of risk factor information in a large sample of Mexicans.

Dificultades en la clasificación del síndrome metabólico. El ejemplo de los adolescentes en México

OBJETIVO. Determinar la diferencia entre las definiciones del National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel (ATPIII) y de la International Diabetes Federation (IDF) para sindrome metabolico (SM) en adolescentes mexicanos. MATERIAL Y METODOS. Estudio transversal en 575 adolescentes de 14 a 16 anos. Se utilizaron pruebas t de Student, ji cuadrada y correlacion de Spearman. RESULTADOS. La prevalencia de SM fue mayor por ATPIII (18.6%) versus IDF (8.2%) (p<0.001), con 41.1% de concordancia. CONCLUSIONES. Existe una diferencia estadistica de la prevalencia del SM en adolescentes mexicanos entre las dos definiciones.

Effects of a physical activity program on markers of endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and metabolic status in adolescents with metabolic syndrome.

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a precursor of diabetes. Physical activity (PA) improves endothelial dysfunction and may benefit patients with MetS. Aims. To evaluate the effect of a physical activity (PA) program on markers of endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress in adolescents with (MetS). Methods. We carried out a cohort study of 38 adolescents with and without MetS (18 females and 20 males). All participants completed a 3-month PA program. All variables of the MetS as well as markers of endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress tests were evaluated. Results. Females with and without MetS showed significant differences for almost all components of the MetS, whereas males were significantly different in half of the components. After the PA program, components of the MetS were not different from baseline values except for HDL-C levels. Some baseline endothelial dysfunction markers were significantly different among adolescents with and without MetS; however, after the PA program, most of these markers significantly improved in subjects with and without MetS. Conclusion. PA improves the markers of endothelial dysfunction in adolescents with MetS although other changes in the components of the MetS were not observed. Perhaps the benefits of PA on all components of MetS would appear after a PA program with a longer duration.

Pathogens and acute respiratory distress syndrome

1 is the most common reason for seeking medical attention and the fourth cause of mortality in Mexico. 2 The principal agents associated with this syndrome are viral; 3 however, bacterial agents are associated with increased mortality, and the most common microorganisms are Streptococ-cus pneumoniae, Haemophillus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Streptococcus pyo-genes. 4 In our community there is an increase in failures of common treatments, presumably provoked by an increase in resistant microorganisms or by the presence of uncommon ones. In order to determine the pathogens most frequently associated with ARDS, their prevalence, and resistance patterns to common antimicrobials, we conducted a clinical survey of 194 students with acute respiratory infection who had not previously received treatment. The students were selected from five high schools belonging to the Uni-versidad Autónoma del Estado de Mé-xico (UAEM). A clinical diagnosis and appropriate bacteriological culture from the affected sites was conducted for each case. The clinical distribution of ARDS was: pharyngitis (60.8%), pharyngoton-sillitis (34.5%), nasopharyngitis (4.1%) and rynitis (0.5%). The agents associated with these were; S. pyogenes (23%), M. catarrhalis (55.1%) and S. aureus (49.4%). In addition, no bacterial pathogen could be isolated in 27 of the cultures. A high bacterial resistance to common antimicro-bials was found: S. pyogenes showed a resistance pattern to pefloxacine (86.7%) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (51.1%), whereas the resistance of M. catarrhalis to ampicilin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and carbenicillin was higher than 60% and lower than 21% to gentamicyn, metilmicin, and nitrofu-rantoin. The microbial resistance of S. aureus to cefotaxime, ampicillin, penicillin , dicloxacin, and cefatazidime was higher than 80% and lower than 21% for trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, gentamicyn, cefalotine, and erytromicin. Strains S. pyogenes producing β-lactamase were not found. ARDS is well recognized as a serious public health problem among specific age groups. 4, 5 Free access to antibiotics and self-medication in most cases, regardless of etiology, 6 have favored an increase in the rate of bacterial resistance in the three most common pathogens: S. pneu-moniae, H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis. 7 It has been suggested that the use of mi-crobiologic tests, such as cultures of the affected sites, can improve diagnostic and therapeutic accuracy and avoid the emergence of resistant strains. 8 S. pyogenes was the most common pathogen isolated in a single form; however , the indentification of M. catarrhalis in all clinical diagnoses, with the exception of nasopharyngitis, was not expected in this population. Currently, it is accepted that M. …

Predictors of hyperlipidemia during the first half of pregnancy in Mexican women

OBJECTIVE To determine the predictors of hypercholesterolemia and of hypertriglyceridemia during the first half of pregnancy in Mexican women. METHODS Cross-sectional comparative study of pregnant women with less than 21 weeks of gestational age. MEASUREMENTS Demographic information, obstetric history, prepregnancy body mass index, cholesterol and triglycerides. Cross tabulations and multiple logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS 230 participants; 61 women with normal prepregnancy body mass index, 108 with overweight, and 61 with obesity. Dyslipidemia was defined as elevated cholesterol (>180 mg/dL) or triglycerides (>170 mg/dL). After adjusting by potential confounders, independent predictors of hypercholesterolemia included being overweight (OR=2.8, 95% CI 1.4-5.9), being obese (OR=3.7 95% CI 1.6-8.4) or being on the second trimester of pregnancy. The same predictors were found for hypertriglyceridemia, respectively OR=2.8, 95% CI 1.4-5.6, OR=2.9, 95% CI 1.3-6.5, OR=2.6, 95% CI 1.4-4.7. CONCLUSION Mexican women with prepregnancy overweight or obesity have greater risk of suffering hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia during pregnancy. Women in the second trimester had higher levels of both lipids as compared to the first one. This is the first Mexican study that confirms the increase of lipids as gestational age progresses.