Masayo Nakamori

Prevalence of dental caries and sugar consumption among 6-12-y-old schoolchildren in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines

Objective:To determine the prevalence of dental caries and the level of sugar consumption among 6–12-y-old schoolchildren in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines.Design:A Cross-sectional study as a baseline survey for a later intervention program. A questionnaire was distributed to obtain information on dental history and total consumption of food with sugar. Caries were diagnosed based on the WHO recommendation.Results:A total of 1200 schoolchildren, aged 6–12 y were included. The prevalence of dental caries in primary dentition was 71.7% and in the permanent dentition, 68.2%. The mean total decayed, extracted due to caries and filled primary teeth (DMFT) and decayed, missing and filled permanent teeth (DMFT) were 4.12 (s.d. 4.03) and 2.40 (s.d. 2.57), respectively. As age increased the mean DMFT increased. Majority (70%) had tooth brushing practices, and less than half (42.5%) had a dental visit only when necessary. Their sugar intake was twice more than the WHO recommendation with a mean daily total intake of 59 g per person. Most common sources of dietary sugar were hard candies (89%), banana cue (84.9%), camote cue (84.9%) and soft drinks (84.4%). No significant correlation was found between sugar intake and dental caries.Conclusion:The results indicate that dental caries is highly prevalent and increase with augmented sugar consumption. This maybe due to a widespread neglect of oral health and an increased availability of refined sugary products. Caries rates mirrored those of the developing countries with untreated lesions dominating all ages. The high level of untreated caries in all age groups is a cause for concern.

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.

Effect of community-based nutrition education intervention on calcium intake and bone mass in postmenopausal Vietnamese women

OBJECTIVE To examine the effect of community-based nutrition education intervention on calcium intake and bone mass in Vietnamese postmenopausal women. DESIGN A controlled trial was conducted in two groups as intervention and control. The intervention group was given nutrition education during 18 months to improve calcium intake, while the control subjects had the usual diet. Calcium intake and bone mass were evaluated every 6 months. Bone mass was assessed by speed of sound (SOS) at calcaneus, referred to as quantitative ultrasound measurement. Anthropometric indices and serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) were determined at baseline and at the end of intervention. SETTING Two rural communes of Hai Duong province located in the Red River Delta in Vietnam. SUBJECTS A total of 140 women aged 55-65 years, who were more than 5 years postmenopausal and with low calcium intake (<400 mg/d), were recruited. After 18 months of intervention, 108 women completed the study. RESULTS Calcium intake in the intervention group had increased significantly (P < 0.01) while it had no significant changes in controls. SOS values were not changed significantly in the intervention subjects while it decreased significantly by 0.5 % in the controls (P < 0.01). The intervention led to a decrease in serum PTH by 12 % (P < 0.01). In the controls, there was an increase in serum PTH by 32 % (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Nutrition education intervention was effective in improving calcium intake and retarding bone loss in the studied subjects.

Vitamin A deficiency during pregnancy of HIV infected and non-infected women in tropical settings of Northwest Ethiopia

BackgroundVitamin A deficiency (VAD) is known to be a major public health problem among women of reproductive age in South East Asia and Africa. In Ethiopia, there are no studies conducted on serum vitamin A status of HIV-infected pregnant women. Therefore, the present study was aimed at determining the level of serum vitamin A and VAD among pregnant women with and without HIV infection in tropical settings of Northwest Ethiopia.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, blood samples were collected from 423 pregnant women and from 55 healthy volunteers who visited the University of Gondar Hospital. Serum concentration of vitamin A was measured by high performance liquid chromatography.ResultsAfter controlling for total serum protein, albumin and demographic variables, the mean ± SD serum vitamin A in HIV seropositive pregnant women (0.96 ± 0.42 μmol/L) was significantly lower than that in pregnant women without HIV infection (1.10 ± 0.45 μmol/L, P < 0.05). Likewise, the level of serum vitamin A in HIV seropositive non-pregnant women (0.74 ± 0.39) was significantly lower than that in HIV negative non-pregnant women (1.18 ± 0.59 μmol/L, P < 0.004). VAD (serum retinol < 0.7 μmol/L) was observed in 18.4% and 17.7% of HIV infected and uninfected pregnant women, respectively. Forty six percent of non-pregnant women with HIV infection had VAD while only 28% controls were deficient for vitamin A (P = 0.002).ConclusionThe present study shows that VAD is a major public health problem among pregnant women in the tropical settings of Northwest Ethiopia. Considering the possible implications of VAD during pregnancy, we recommend multivitamin (which has a lower level of vitamin A) supplementation in the care and management of pregnant women with or without HIV infection.

Association of estrogen receptor alpha gene polymorphisms and lifestyle factors with calcaneal quantitative ultrasound and osteoporosis in postmenopausal Vietnamese women

AbtractGenetic and lifestyle factors are important in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. We investigated the relationships of PvuII and XbaI polymorphisms of the estrogen receptor alpha (ER-α) gene, lifestyle factors with speed of sound at the calcaneus (calcaneal SOS) and osteoporosis in a population-based study of 140 healthy postmenopausal women. By an analysis of covariates, women with higher copies of P or X alleles had higher calcaneal SOS compared with others (P=0.012, PP vs. pp; P=0.045, Xx vs. xx). Women with lower copies of px or higher copies of PX haplotypes had higher calcaneal SOS compared with others (P=0.021, 0 px vs. 2 px; P=0.011, 1 PX vs. 0 PX). The px and PX haplotypes, age and years since menopause were found to be independent predictors of calcaneal SOS in multiple linear regression models. Using logistic regression, we found an increased osteoporosis risk with evidence for a px haplotype dose effect (OR=2.82, 95% CI=1.50-5.31, P=0.001) and for a PX haplotype dose effect (OR=0.42, 95% CI=0.19−0.93, P=0.033). An increased educational level was associated with a reduced risk of osteoporosis (P=0.035 in the model with px, P=0.044 in the model with PX). In conclusion, the present study suggests that PvuII and XbaI polymorphims of the ER-α gene, age, years since menopause and educational level are associated with bone density, as assessed by calcaneal SOS, and osteoporosis in postmenopausal Vietnamese women.

Resting metabolic rate of Vietnamese adolescents

Objective:To evaluate the FAO/WHO/UNU equations for predicting resting metabolic rate (RMR) in Vietnamese adolescents.Design:A cross-sectional study involving healthy subjects was carried out at the Basic Nutrition Department, National Institute of Nutrition, Vietnam. The RMR was measured by indirect calorimetry and anthropometric indices were recorded. Equations derived by linear regression of RMR and body weight were compared to the FAO/WHO/UNU (1985) predictive equations.Subjects:A total of 110 subjects who had normal body mass index (5–85 percentile) and divided into two groups by sex.Results:Mean RMRs (MJ/kg/day) were 0.1146±0.0054 for males and 0.1062±0.0103 for females. Compared to the FAO/WHO/UNU equation, our findings were 7.8% and 11.7% lower in the two groups, respectively (P<0.001).Conclusion:Our findings suggest that the FAO/WHO/UNU equations may overestimate RMR in Vietnamese adolescents. Further studies on establishing reference of daily energy needs for Vietnamese adolescents should be carried out.

Resting Metabolic Rate of Elderly Vietnamese

Background/Aims: To evaluate the FAO/WHO/UNU equations for predicting resting metabolic rate (RMR) in elderly Vietnamese. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving healthy and elderly subjects was carried out at the Basic Nutrition Department, National Institute of Nutrition, Vietnam. A total of 75 subjects who had a normal body mass index (BMI) were divided into two groups according to sex. The RMR was measured by indirect calorimetry and anthropometric indices were recorded. Equations derived by linear regression of RMR and body weight were compared to the FAO/WHO/UNU (1985) predictive equations. Results:The mean age of males and females were 65.03 ± 4.0 and 66.48 ± 4.61 years, respectively. Mean RMRs (MJ/kg/day) were 0.0963 ± 0.0121 for males and 0.0925 ± 0.0117 for females. Compared to the FAO/WHO/UNU equations, our findings were 10.9 and 11.1% lower in males and females, respectively (p < 0.05). Conclusion:Our findings suggest that the FAO/WHO/UNU equations may overestimate RMR in elderly Vietnamese. Further studies to find out the most appropriate equation or to establish new predictive equations for RMR in elderly Vietnamese should be conducted.