Raquel Canuto

Prevalência de capacidade mastigatória insatisfatória e fatores associados em idosos brasileiros

We estimated the prevalence of poor self-rated mastication and associated factors among Brazilian elders. The study used data from a national survey of 5,124 Brazilian elderly in 250 cities. Data collection included dental examinations and household interviews with the elderly. The outcome was self-rated mastication. Data analyses used Poisson regression, and the prevalence of poor self-rated mastication was 49.7% (95%CI: 47.5-51.8). Adjusted analyses showed that increased prevalence was associated with: black color/race (PR = 1.13; 95%CI: 1.02-1.26); low income (PR = 1.22; 95%CI: 1.12-1.33.); high rates of tooth loss (PR = 1.66; 95%CI: 1.02-2.66); untreated caries (PR = 1.16; 95%CI: 1.08-1.25); never having visited a dentist (PR = 1.26; 95%CI: 1.10-1.44); toothache (PR = 1.47; 95%CI: 1.39-1.57); use of partial (PR = 0.87; 95%CI: 0.76-0.99) or total prostheses (PR = 0.81; 95%CI: 0.75-0.88); and need for partial (PR = 1.13; 95%CI: 1.03-1.25) or total prostheses (PR = 1.27; 95%CI: 1.16-1.39). The high prevalence emphasizes the dental care needs of this older group. Policies to deal with the problem should take the associated factors into account.

Focused Principal Component Analysis: a graphical method for exploring dietary patterns

The aim of the present study was to introduce Focused Principal Component Analysis (FPCA) as a novel exploratory method for providing insight into dietary patterns that emerge based on a given characteristic of the sample. To demonstrate the use of FPCA, we used a database of 1,968 adults. Food intake was obtained using a food frequency questionnaire covering 26 food items. The focus variables used for analysis were age, income, and schooling. All analyses were carried out using R software. The graphs generated show evidence of socioeconomic inequities in dietary patterns. Intake of whole-wheat foods, fruit, and vegetables was positively correlated with income and schooling, whereas for refined cereals, animal fats (lard), and white bread this correlation was negative. Age was inversely associated with intake of fast-food and processed foods and directly associated with a pattern that included fruit, green salads, and other vegetables. In an easy and direct fashion, FPCA allowed us to visualize dietary patterns based on a given focus variable.

Epidemiology of Abdominal Obesity

Abdominal obesity (AO) is associated with endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, metabolic syndrome, and cancer. AO is a multifactorial disorder arising from genetic, environmental, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors. Thus, in this chapter, we devote ourselves to the exercise of trying to explain the epidemiology of AO in adults. We showed the increasing prevalence of AO around the world, and a gender difference in this determination was observed. Among women, the population group who is the most affected by AO, a higher prevalence of AO is observed in individuals living in lowor middle-income countries (LMIC), who are older, multiparous, and in the menopausal transition, and who belong to the poorest strata and have lower educational level. While among men, the risk of AO is positively associated with socioeconomic status, particularly in LMIC. Regarding behavioral factors (eating frequency, sleep duration, physical activity, and smoking), gender differences are difficult to be detected due to the lack of studies investigating their association with AO according to sex. However, the current evidence suggests that men benefit more from consuming a greater number of meals a day and women are more affected by the harmful effects of physical inactivity. We argued AO, despite biological conditions associated with behavior factors, should be examined as an important issue of gender inequality in health, possibly mediated by socioeconomic and behavioral differences between men and women.

Factors associated with metabolic syndrome in adults attending a nutrition outpatient clinic

OBJETIVOS: Estudar os fatores associados a sindrome metabolica em pacientes adultos atendidos em um ambulatorio de nutricao. n nMETODOS: Um estudo transversal incluiu pacientes de 18 a 59 anos de idade, de ambos os sexos, encaminhados para atendimento no Ambulatorio de Nutricao da Secretaria de Saude da Prefeitura Municipal de Portao, estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Foram coletadas informacoes sociodemograficas e comportamentais atraves de questionarios estruturados, padronizados e pre-codificados. Para avaliacao do estado nutricional e da obesidade abdominal foram realizadas medidas antropometricas. O diagnostico da sindrome metabolica foi realizado de acordo com as recomendacoes do Harmonizing the Metabolic Syndrome. n nRESULTADOS: Foram estudados 156 pacientes, sendo 119 (84,3%) mulheres e 37 (17,7%) homens. A prevalencia de sindrome metabolica foi 54,7% e o componente mais frequentemente alterado foi a circunferencia da cintura (88,6%). A presenca da sindrome metabolica esteve associada diretamente a idade, sendo sua prevalencia de 75% entre os individuos com idade maior ou igual a 52 anos; inversamente a escolaridade, com prevalencia de 64,5% em pessoas com escolaridade menor ou igual a quatro anos; associada ao tabagismo, observando-se maior prevalencia entre os ex-fumantes (69,8%); e ao estado nutricional, evidenciando-se um maior percentual (75%) entre os individuos com maior indice de massa corporal. n nCONCLUSOES: O estudo revelou uma elevada prevalencia de sindrome metabolica nos adultos que demandam atendimento nutricional. A presenca da sindrome metabolica esteve associada a maior idade, menor escolaridade, tabagismo e maior indice de massa corporal.