Objetivo: Comparar o desempenho de diferentes curvas de referência de crescimento fetal em gestações gemelares com insuficiência placentária grave. Método: Estudo retrospectivo envolvendo gestações gemelares (n=47), com fluxo diastólico zero ou reverso, no estudo dopplervelocimétrico da artéria umbilical de um dos fetos, e ambos os fetos vivos no momento do diagnóstico. Não foram incluídas gestações com anomalia fetal \"major\", síndrome de transfusão feto-fetal, ou de ordem maior. Em ambos os fetos (acometido, FA; e cogemelar, CG), as estimativas de peso fetal foram convertidas em escore zeta de acordo com os critérios de Hadlock, Liao e Araújo. As medidas de circunferência abdominal foram convertidas de acordo com as curvas de Hadlock, Liao, Araújo, Ong e STORK. A análise estatística foi realizada segundo modelos de equações de estimação generalizada. Resultados: A idade materna média foi 27,8 ± 7,4 anos, 24 (51%) pacientes eram primigestas, 12 (25,5%) apresentavam antecedentes clínicos significativos e 61,7% (n=29) eram monocoriônicas. A idade gestacional média no momento do diagnóstico da diástole zero ou reversa foi de 27,4 ± 4,7 semanas. A idade gestacional média do parto foi de 32,9 ± 2,9 semanas e o peso médio ao nascimento dos fetos acometidos foi de 1075 ± 469 g, e dos cogemelares, 1749 ± 544 g. No modelo investigado, foram preditores significativos do escore-zeta: sexo fetal (p < 0,001) e a interação sub-grupo (feto acometido/cogemelar) e critério (p < 0,001). As estimativas do escore zeta médio (erro padrão) para o peso fetal estimado segundo cada critério examinado foram Hadlock FA: -2.98 (0,18), CG: -1,16 (0,15), Liao FA: -2,89 (0,24), CG: -0,58 (0,19), Araújo FA: -3,05 (0,29), CG: - 0,75 (0,18). Para circunferência abdominal, Hadlock FA: -3,14 (0,26), CG: - 1,13 (0,19), Liao FA: -2,63 (0,27), CG: -0,42 (0,19), Araújo FA: -2,44 (0,22), CG: -0,71 (0,14), Ong FA: -3,36 (0,34), CG: -1,48 (0,23) e STORK FA: -2,36 (0,14), CG: -1,18 (0,10). Conclusão: Em gestações gemelares, com diástole zero ou reversa em um dos fetos, as curvas que melhor diferenciaram os fetos acometidos de seus cogemelares foram as curvas nacionais, publicadas por Liao et al. e Araújo et al / Objectives: To compare the performance of different fetal growth reference curves in twin pregnancies with severe placental insufficiency. Methods: Retrospective analysis of 47 twin pregnancies with absent or reverse end diastolic flow in the umbilical artery in one fetus, and both twins alive at diagnosis. Pregnancies with major fetal abnormality, twin-twin transfusion and higher order were not included. At each ultrasound evaluation, estimated fetal weight zeta-scores were calculated for both fetuses (abnormal Doppler, AD; co-twin, CT) according to the following criteria: Hadlock, Liao and Araújo. Abdominal circumference zeta-scores were calculated according to Hadlock, Liao, Araújo, Ong and STORK. Statistical analysis was performed with generalized estimating equation regression. Results: Mean maternal age was 27.8 ± 7.4 years, 24 (51%) women were primigravida, 12 (25.5%) had a previous clinical history and 29 (61.7%) were monochorionic. Gestational age at abnormal Doppler diagnosis was 27.4 ± 4.7 weeks. Gestational age at delivery was 32.9 ± 2.9 weeks and mean birthweight was 1075 ± 469 g for AD twin, and 1749 ± 544 g in CT group. Zeta-score values were significantly related to fetal sex (p < 0.001) and subgroup (abnormal Doppler/co-twin) versus criteria interaction (p < 0.001). Estimated fetal weight mean zeta-score (standard error) according to each criteria were: Hadlock AD: -2.98 (0.18), CT: -1.16 (0.15), Liao AD: -2.89 (0.24), CT: -0.58 (0.19), Araújo AD: -3.05 (0.29), CT: -0.75 (0.18). Values for abdominal circumference were: Hadlock AD: -3.14 (0.26), CT: -1.13 (0.19), Liao AD: -2.63 (0.27), CT: -0.42 (0.19), Araújo AD: -2.44 (0.22), CT: -0.71 (0.14), Ong AD: -3.36 (0.34), CT: -1.48 (0.23) and STORK AD: -2.36 (0.14), CT: -1.18 (0.10). Conclusion: In twin pregnancies with absent or reversed end diastolic flow in the umbilical artery of one fetus, affected fetuses and their co-twins are best differentiated by Liao et al. and Araújo et al. reference ranges

Objetivos: Diversos trabalhos documentaram a associação entre o fumo ativo na gestação e a redução no peso,comprimento e perímetro cefálico dos recémnascidos. Porém, existem controvérsias quanto aos efeitos do fumo passivo. Esse estudo buscou colaborar na elucidação sobre os efeitos da exposição da gestante ao fumo nas medidas antropométricas do recém-nascido. Métodos: Estudo transversal, que incluiu 200 parturientes, identificando a intensidade da exposição das mesmas ao fumo através da mensuração da cotinina urinária e do auto-relato sobre seu hábito tabágico e de seus familiares,o que possibilitou categorizá-las em não fumantes, fumantes passivas e fumantes ativas e posterior comparação com as medidas antropométricas dos recémnascidos. Resultados: Encontramos uma diferença estatisticamente significativa no peso,quando comparamos as fumantes passivas às não fumantes, -152g (IC95%: -285 a -18;P=0,026) e a diferença encontrada nas fumantes ativas foi de - 159g (IC95%: -301 a -16; P=0,029), em relação às não fumantes. Na medida do comprimento, observou-se uma diferença significativa entre as fumantes passivas, -0,8cm (IC95%: -1,4 a -0,2;P=0,012) em relação às não fumantes, e entre as fumantes ativas a diferença foi de -1,0cm (IC95%: -1,6 a -0,3;P=0,003), quando comparado às não fumantes. Quanto à medida do perímetro cefálico, não foram observadas diferenças significativas quando os grupos, das fumantes passivas e fumantes ativas, foram comparados ao grupo das não fumantes. Conclusões: Os resultados sugerem que o fumo passivo durante a gestação pode apresentar efeitos semelhantes aos do fumo ativo nas medidas antropométricas dos recém-nascidos. / Objectives: Several studies have documented the association between active smoking during pregnancy to weight, height and head circumference reduction on newborns. However, there are controversies about the passive smoking. The present study sough the elucidation of the effects of tobacco exposition of pregnant women on anthropometric measurements of newborns. Methods: Cross-sectional study, including 200 in labor women, identifying the intensity of their exposition to tobacco through the measurement of urine cotinine and the self reported information about the smoking habit of their relatives and themselves, what allowed us to classify them as non-smokers, passive smokers and active smokers and later the comparison with the anthropometric measurements of newborns. Results: We found a statistically significant difference in weight when comparing passive smokers to non-smokers, -152g (CI 95%: -285 to –18; P=0.026) and the difference found on active smokers was - 159g (CI 95%: -301 to 16; P=0.029) when compared to non-smokers. On the height measurements, a significant difference was found within the group of passive smokers, -0,8 cm (CI 95%: -1,4 to -0.2; P=0.012) comparing to the non-smokers group, within the smokers group the difference was -1,0 cm (CI 95%: -1,6 to -0.3; P=0.003) when compared to nonsmokers. About the measurements of head circumference, no was found a significant difference when the passive smokers and active smokers group was compared to non-smokers group. Conclusions: The results suggest that the passive smoking during pregnancy may present similar effects as the active smoking on the anthropometric measurements of newborns.

Objetivo. Ao mesmo tempo em que a obesidade aumenta no mundo todo e se torna cada vez mais um problema de Saúde Pública, o stress aumenta no cotidiano das pessoas e na busca pela sobrevivência. Verificar a possível associação entre prevalências de obesidade centralizada e indicadores de stress é o objetivo desse trabalho. Métodos. Utilizam-se dados de um estudo transversal, com informações de 298 mulheres de 20 a 59 anos, moradoras de um município da Grande São Paulo, as quais responderam questionários especialmente elaborados para avaliar o stress psicológico. O diagnóstico de obesidade centralizada foi feito através da medida da circunferência da cintura (CC) e da razão cinturaquadril (RCQ). O stress psicológico foi medido em escores atribuídos às respostas dos questionários e classificado em 3 categorias: isento, resistência e exaustão. A análise estatística foi realizada mediante dois modelos de regressão linear generalizada múltipla entre a variável resposta obesidade centralizada em duas categorias (sim, não) e o stress psicológico em três fases (isento, resistência e exaustão), controlando-se as variáveis demográficas: idade e escolaridade. Resultados. As prevalências de obesidade centralizada foram semelhantes nos dois modelos, respectivamente 40,6 % e 42% para CC e RCQ. As prevalências de stress psicológico foram 61,7% e 8,4% para as fases resistência e exaustão. As associações entre a categoria sim foram positivas e significantes, respectivamente para CC e RCQ (RP 1,51, P 0,028 e RP 1,52, P 0,022) com o stress na fase de exaustão, com o aumento da idade (RP 1,02, P 0,001 e RP 1,01, P 0,002) e com baixa escolaridade (RP 0,67, P 0,030 e RP 0,59, P 0,005). O teste de tendência foi positivo (P 0,029) para a categoria sim do RCQ e aumento das categorias de stress. Conclusões. A fase de exaustão do stress mostrou associação positiva e significante com a obesidade centralizada nos dois modelos estudados, CC e RCQ. O teste significante de tendência com a RCQ sugere efeito gradativo das fases do stress sobre a obesidade centralizada. São necessários, no entanto, outros estudos que comprovem a associação da obesidade centralizada com o stress subdividido em categorias. / Objective. When observing modern life nowadays we find out that, at the same time that obesity increases all around the world and becomes a real concern to public health authorities, we also see stress proliferating in peoples everyday life, specially in the fight for survival. The purpose of this work is to verify the association between prevalence of abdominal obesity and stress indicators. Methods. This work uses given data of a transversal study, containing information of 298 women aged between 20 and 59, inhabitants of the Great São Paulo, who had been submitted to questionnaires especially formulated to evaluate psychological stress. The diagnosis of abdominal obesity was made using two models: measuring Waist Circumference (WC) and Waist - Hip ratio (WHR). Psychological stress was measured in scores attributed to answers of the questionnaires and classified in 3 categories: Exempt, Resistance and Exhaustion. The statistics analysis were carried through two models of multiple generalized linear regression between the variable which is the answer- abdominal obesity focused in two categories (Yes, No) and psychological stress focused in three categories (Exempt, Resistance, Exhaustion) maintaining under control the demographic variables such as age and scholarship. Results. The results referring to the prevalence of abdominal obesity were similar in the two models showing respectively 40.6% and 42% for WC and WHR. The results on the prevalence of psychological stress were 61.7% and 8.4% respectively for the phase of Resistance and the phase of Exhaustion. The associations in the Yes category were classified as being positive and significant, for WC and WHR respectively, Prevalence Ratio PR 1,51, significancy P 0,028 and PR 1,52, P 0,022 for the stress in the phase of Exhaustion, when considered also an increase in age (PR 1,02, P 0,001 and PR 1,01, P 0,002) and a decrease in the level of education (PR 0,67, P 0,030 and PR 0,59, P 0,005) The trend analysis was positive (P 0,029) for the increase of the WHR and the categories of stress. Conclusions. The phase of Exhaustion of Stress showed positive and significant association with the Abdominal Obesity in the two models, WC and WHR. The positive results in the trend tests with the WHR suggest that abdominal obesity may be gradually affected by the phases of stress. Nevertheless, there is the need of further investigation to confirm the association between abdominal obesity and the various categories of stress.

Death from hunger and starvation can be avoided with appropriate diagnosis and treatment if the necessary knowledge and resources are available. The current definitions of acute malnutrition are based either upon a weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ) below -2 standard deviations of the international reference population (World Health Organization 2006 Growth Standards) or a mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) lower than 125 mm. These indicators are used independently to define the sum of moderate and severe acute malnutrition, commonly referred to as global acute malnutrition (GAM). Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is defined as the children with WHZ < -3 SD or MUAC <115 mm. These cut-off points are used both to estimate the prevalence of malnutrition and also to identify those children who should be admitted for individual treatment of their acute malnutrition.However, the ramifications of the new WHO standards and the introduction of the absolute MUAC as an additional criterion have not been sufficiently explored. There appears to have been little detailed analysis of the variation of MUAC in children using these new standards. Thus, there is insufficient information available for predicting changes in patient load due to the addition of an absolute MUAC cut-off, the degree of overlap between the criteria and the factors that affect the selection of malnourished children using the two criteria, WHZ and MUACNevertheless, because of the ease of use of MUAC and strong advocacy based mainly the relative sensitivity and specificity of WHZ and MUAC in predicting long-term all-cause mortality in the community, many organizations and some governments are now moving from using MUAC to screen children in the community and elsewhere to MUAC-only programs with abandonment of using WHZ altogether.A better understanding of the relationship between these measures is important as differences can have significant implications on the decision to intervene in a nutritional crises, assessment of potential program size, resource requirements and outcome, selection of children admitted for treatment and the strategy which will have the greatest influence upon mortality and the other poor outcomes of being malnourished. To this end my thesis included the following studies which explored the variation of MUAC and WHZ in children for the assessment of malnutrition.In my first study, I examined the direction and degree of discrepancy between MUAC and WHZ of children aged 6-59 months in 1,832 anthropometric surveys from 47 countries, mainly in Africa. The results show that using MUAC or WHZ, 16.3% of children were identified with GAM and 3.5% with SAM. The proportion of overlap between the two indicators was 28.2% for GAM (15-38.5%) and 16.5 % for SAM (6.1-29.8%). Overlap for individual countries was especially low for SAM. The numbers of children diagnosed by either criterion varied dramatically by country: the difference between the relative case-load using WHZ and MUAC for GAM varied from minus 57% to plus 72%. For SAM, in four of the 38 countries, less than 25% of severely malnourished children would be identified and admitted for treatment if a MUAC-only admission policy were being used. For all countries examined, the discrepancies were not adequately explained by any single hypothesis. My second study was in three parts. Each part examined the veracity of the assertion that MUAC is a better indicator of mortality than WHZ. 1) I analysed individual data from 76,887 children admitted to a range of treatment programmes to determine the mortality rates associated with SAM. 2) I conducted an exhaustive search of the literature to identify reports of children diagnosed by WHZ or MUAC with their respective mortality rates.3) I analysed the effect of case load using the prevalence data published in the first study with Case Fatality Rates (CFRs) derived from the empirical data, the literature data and theoretical simulations. We found that mathematical coupling caused a reversal of significance generating Simpson’s paradox so that the interpretation of the relative mortality rates of WHZ and MUAC is unsafe when children with both criteria are included in each group being compared. The analysis suggests that children with SAM identified by WHZ <-3 and admitted for treatment are at as least as high a risk of death as children in treatment with MUAC<115cm and probably at higher risk. Review of 21 datasets that compared WHZ and MUAC mortality rates show problems with interpretation of the reported CFRs in each of the studies; inconsistencies greatly limit analysis, comparability and interpretation. Caseload is a more important determinant of the number of SAM related child deaths than the relative CFR to give the number of SAM attributable deaths. Where most of the children are identified as SAM using WHZ, rather than MUAC, it is estimated that fewer than half of all SAM related deaths will be identified using a MUAC-only programme.In my third study, I have conducted a Monte Carlo simulation of anthropometric surveys and imposed random errors of measurement on the data in order to examine the effect of measurement error. The results show that there is an increase in the standard deviation with each of the errors, that the spread becomes exponentially greater with the magnitude of the sort of error that occur in real life situations and that the effect of an increase in standard deviation (SD) that appears to be fairly trivial has a major effect upon the reported prevalence of the condition. I show that even within quite a narrow range of SDs (from 0.8 to 1.2) the proportion of children <-2 WHZ can increase from 6% to 15% - which would move the population from one of “acceptable” prevalence to an acute emergency situation. The corresponding SAM would increase from about 1% to nearly 5%. If one was to use such a survey to estimate the current case-load of SAM children the difference would be five-fold. However, this range of SDs is generally thought to represent a “good survey”. When larger and more complex surveys are considered, for example those included in the WHO database or the DHS surveys, the SD is frequently greater than 1.2 leading to give a higher reported prevalence of malnutrition than may be the actual prevalence. In my fourth study, I performed a secondary analysis of the surveys collected in my first study in order to examine the change in reliability of such surveys over time. I analysed the statistical distributions of the derived anthropometric parameters from 1,843 surveys conducted by 19 agencies between 1986 and 2015. The results show that with the introduction of standardised guidelines and software by 2003 and their more general application from 2007 the mean standard deviation, kurtosis and skewness of the parameters used to assess nutritional status have each moved to now approximate the distribution of the WHO standards when the exclusion of outliers from analysis is based upon the SMART flagging procedure. Where WHO flags, that only exclude data incompatible with life, are used the quality of anthropometric surveys has improved and the results now approach those seen with SMART flags and the WHO standards distribution. Agencies vary in their uptake and adherence to standard guidelines. Those agencies that fully implement the guidelines achieve the most consistently reliable results.In conclusion, well-defined and internationally accepted criteria to assess anthropometric survey quality should be universally applied and reported if the surveys are to be reliable, credible and form the basis for appropriate intervention. Using WHZ-only or MUAC-only estimates of prevalence will underestimate the burden of acute malnutrition. Such a program policy would result in between 300,000 and 600,000 SAM deaths occurring in children each year who have no possibility of being treated. WHZ and MUAC are complementary indicators, it is only by using both criteria to identify SAM and admit children for treatment that we will move towards reducing avoidable SAM- related mortality in most countries. This will only be realised when we can conveniently identify children with a low WHZ in community screening programs. / Doctorat en Sciences de la santé Publique / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Sedentary lifestyles and energy-rich diets are driving an increasing prevalence of abdominal obesity, which is associated with cardiovascular risk. Reliable estimates of the worldwide prevalence of abdominal obesity are needed to quantify the associated health risk. The International Day for the Evaluation of Abdominal obesity (IDEA) study is a large, international epidemiological cross-sectional study designed to provide reliable data on the distribution of waist circumference according to region, gender, age, and socio-economic level in 177 345 primary care patients from 63 countries across five continents. Any non-pregnant patient aged 18–80 consulting one of the randomly selected primary care physicians on two pre-defined half days was eligible to participate in the study. The primary objective was to estimate the prevalence of abdominal obesity in primary care, in each participating country. Secondary objectives were to estimate the prevalence of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidaemia, and smoking, and to evaluate their associations with abdominal obesity, according to age, gender, and socio-economic level and region. The IDEA study will provide the first global map of the prevalence of abdominal obesity and associated comorbidities in primary care practice.

Σκοπός: Να αξιολογηθεί ο λόγος αγόρια/κορίτσια (sex ratio) στα παιδιά καπνιστριών και μη καπνιστριών μητέρων, σε σχέση με τη σειρά γέννησης των παιδιών (τόκος). Να αξιολογηθεί το αποτέλεσμα του καπνίσματος της μητέρας κατά την εγκυμοσύνη στην εμβρυική ανάπτυξη σε σχέση με τον τόκο την ηλικία και τον αριθμό των τσιγάρων που κάπνιζαν οι μητέρες ανά ημέρα κατά την εγκυμοσύνη και το φύλο των παιδιών. Σχεδιασμός: Προοπτική μελέτη. Τόπος: Πανεπιστημιακό Γενικό Νοσοκομείο Πατρών. Αντικείμενο: Μελετήθηκαν 2.108 τελοιόμηνα νεογνά που γεννήθηκαν από το 1993 έως και το 2002, 665 νεογνά καπνιστριών μητέρων και 1.443 νεογνά μη καπνιστριών μητέρων. Αποτελέσματα: Ο λόγος αγόρια/κορίτσια στο σύνολο των νεογνών που μελετήθηκε ήταν 1,09. Η υπεροχή των αγοριών στα παιδιά των καπνιστριών και μη καπνιστριών μητέρων ήταν 1,26 και 1,03 αντίστοιχα. Στα παιδιά των καπνιστριών μητέρων που ήταν τόκων 1, 2 και ≥3 ήταν 1,47, 1,35 και 0,92 αντίστοιχα, ενώ στα παιδιά των μη καπνιστριών μητέρων ήταν 1,04, 1,00 και 1,03 αντίστοιχα. Η στατιστική ανάλυση παλινδρόμησης έδειξε ότι η πιθανότητα για γέννηση αγοριού από καπνίστριες μητέρες ήταν σημαντικά μεγαλύτερη στις πρωτότοκες παρά στους τόκους ≥3, ανεξάρτητα από την ηλικία της μητέρας. Αντίστροφα, η σειρά γέννησης των παιδιών δεν επηρέασε τον λόγο αγόρια/κορίτσια στις μη καπνίστριες μητέρες. Αυξανομένου του τόκου στα νεογνά των μη καπνιστριών μητέρων παρατηρήθηκε μια σταδιακή αύξηση της ανάπτυξης ενώ στα νεογνά μη καπνιστριών μητέρων παρατηρήθηκε μια σταδιακή μείωση της ανάπτυξης. Αυτό το αποτέλεσμα ήταν περισσότερο εμφανές στα αγόρια. Ένα σημαντικά αρρνητικό αποτέλεσμα στην αύξηση παρατηρήθηκε από την στην συσχέτιση του καπνίσματος με τον τόκο (p=0,0013) και, με το φύλο και τον τόκο (p=0,001). Υπήρχε μια σημαντική αρρνητική συσχέτιση ανάμεσα στον αριθμό των τσιγάρων που καπνίζονταν ανά ημέρα και της αύξησης η δύναμη της οποίας αυξανόταν με την αύξηση του τόκου, κυρίως στα αγόρια. Συμπεράσματα: Οι πρωτότοκες μητέρες που κάπνιζαν κατά την εγκυμοσύνη γέννησαν σημαντικά περισσότερα αγόρια απ’ ότι κορίτσια, ενώ μητέρες με τόκους ≥3 γέννησαν περισσότερα κορίτσια. Δευτερότοκες γυναίκες που κάπνιζαν λιγότερα από 10 τσιγάρα την ημέρα γέννησαν σημαντικά περισσότερα αγόρια, αλλά ο λόγος αγόρια/κορίτσια ελαττώθηκε όταν κάπνιζαν ≥10 τσιγάρα την ημέρα. Το κάπνισμα της μητέρας κατά την κύηση προκαλεί καθυστέρηση στην εμβρυική αύξηση, κυρίως στα αγόρια, ένα αποτέλεσμα που ενισχύεται με τον τόκο αλλά είναι ανεξάρτητο από την ηλικία της μητέρας. / Objective: To assess the sex ratio in offspring of smoking and nonsmoking mothers in relationship to the parity. To examine the effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy on fetal growth in relationship to maternal parity, age and number of cigarettes smoked/day, and offspring’s gender. Design: Prospective study. Setting: University hospital. Subjects: Were studied 2018 term singleton neonates born form 1993 to 2002, 665 from smoking and 1443 from nonsmoking mothers. Main outcome measures: Secondary sex ratio in regard to maternal periconseptual smoking and parity. Results: The male preponderance in the offspring of smoking and nonsmoking mothers was 0.558 and 0.506, respectively (p=0.031). In the smoking women parity 1, 2 and 3 it was 0.596, 0.574 and 0.462, respectively, whereas in the nonsmoking it was 0.511, 0.500 and 0.508, respectively (p=0.02, 0.04 and 0.64, respectively). Logistic regression analysis showed that the possibility for a boy to be delivered by mothers who smoked was significantly greater in primiparous than in party ≥3, independently of the maternal age. Conversely, parity did not affect the sax ratio in the offspring of the nonsmoking mothers. With increasing parity, in the neonates of nonsmoking mothers there was a gradual increase of growth, whereas in neonates of smoking mothers there was a gradual decrease of growth. This effect was more pronounced in males. A significant negative main effect on growth resulted from the interaction of smoking with parity (p=0,013), and with gender and parity (p=0,001). There was a significant negative correlation between number of cigarettes smoked per day and growth, the strength of which increased with parity, mainly in males. Conclusions: Among women who smoked in the periconceptual period, significantly more male than female offspring are born from primiparous, whereas parity >3 give birth to more female offspring; women parity 2 give birth to significantly more male, but the sex ratio declines when they smoked ≥10 cigarettes/day. Maternal smoking during pregnancy causes a delay in getal growth, which is greater in male offspring, an effect that is enhanced with parity but is independent of maternal age.

Un nombre significatif d’enfants autistes ont une macrocéphalie. Malgré plusieurs études du périmètre crânien en autisme, peu d’études ont été faites sur des adultes. Aussi, les références actuelles en périmètre crânien (PC) adulte datent d’environ 20 ans. Les objectifs de cette étude étaient de construire une échelle de référence du PC adulte, et de comparer les taux de macrocéphalie entre un groupe d’adultes autistes et un groupe d’adultes neurotypiques. Dans cette étude, 221 sujets masculins adultes étaient recrutés de différents milieux afin de déterminer le meilleur modèle prédictif du PC et de construire l’échelle de référence. La hauteur et le poids étaient mesurés pour chaque participant afin de déterminer leur influence sur les dimensions crâniennes. Pour la partie comparative, 30 autistes et 36 sujets neurotypiques, tous adultes, étaient recrutés à partir de la base de données du laboratoire de recherche. Pour l’échelle de référence, les résultats démontraient des corrélations positives entre le PC avec la hauteur et le poids. Après analyse, la corrélation conjointe de la hauteur et du poids sur le PC a été déterminée comme étant le modèle qui offre les résultats les plus significatifs dans la prédiction du PC. Pour la partie comparative, les taux de macrocéphalie atteignaient 10,00% chez les autistes contre 2,56% chez les neurotypiques selon la formule de régression linéaire obtenue du modèle. Cependant le test d’exactitude de Fisher n’a révélé aucune différence significative entre les 2 groupes. Mes résultats suggèrent qu’il est nécessaire de considérer la hauteur et le poids en construisant une référence du PC et que, même en utilisant la nouvelle référence, les taux de macrocéphalie demeurent plus élevés chez les autistes adultes que chez les adultes neurotypiques en dépit de l’absence de différences significatives. / A significant proportion of autistic children have macrocephaly. Despite numerous head circumference studies in autism, few studies in adults exist. Also, current adult head circumference (HC) references are around 20 years old. The purposes of this study were to construct an adult head measurement reference chart, and to compare macrocephaly rates between a group of autistic adults and a group of typically developing adults. In this study, 221 male adults were recruited from various settings in order to determine the best predictive model for HC and to construct the reference chart. Height and weight were measured for each participant in order to evaluate their influence on head dimensions. For the comparison part, 30 autistic and 36 typically developing adult subjects were recruited from within the research lab’s database. For the reference chart, results showed positive correlations between HC, and both height and weight. After analysis, the combined influence of both height and weight on HC size has was determined to be the model showing most significant results in predicting HC. For the comparison part, macrocephaly rates reached 10.00% in the autistic group against 2.56% in the control group according to the linear regression formula obtained from the model. However, the Fisher’s exact test revealed no significant difference in macrocephaly rates between both groups. My results suggest the necessity of considering both height and weight when constructing a head circumference reference chart and that, even using a new reference, macrocephaly rates remain higher than normal in autistic adults although not significantly different enough from the typically developing adults.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of disorders including central obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and hyperglycemia. Today's metabolic syndrome definitions identify central obesity by waist circumference (WC) measurements. A recent pilot study suggests that cut-points derived from a waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), or Index of Central Obesity (ICO), is a more accurate measurement of central obesity. This study compared the association between the metabolic syndrome components and central obese parameters (ICO and WC) among the white, black, and Hispanic adults in the United States. The subjects' data was obtained from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. ICO was highly correlated with metabolic syndrome components among white subjects and the least correlated in Hispanic subjects. Multivariate logistic regression analysis did not indicate that ICO was a better parameter for metabolic syndrome than WC. Other WHtR cut-points may be more sensitive in predicting metabolic syndrome components than the values used in this study.

Background: Obesity and the accompanying increased morbidity and mortality risk is highly prevalent among older adults. As obese elderly might benefit from intentional weight reduction, it is necessary to determine associated and potentially modifiable factors on senior obesity. This cross-sectional study focuses on multi-morbid patients which make up the majority in primary care. It reports on the prevalence of senior obesity and its associations with lifestyle behaviors. Methods: A total of 3,189 non-demented, multi-morbid participants aged 65–85 years were recruited in primary care within the German MultiCare-study. Physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and quantity and quality of nutritional intake were classified as relevant lifestyle factors. Body Mass Index (BMI, general obesity) and waist circumference (WC, abdominal obesity) were used as outcome measures and regression analyses were conducted. Results: About one third of all patients were classified as obese according to BMI. The prevalence of abdominal obesity was 73.5%. Adjusted for socio-demographic variables and objective and subjective disease burden, participants with low physical activity had a 1.6 kg/m2 higher BMI as well as a higher WC (4.9 cm, p<0.001). Current smoking and high alcohol consumption were associated with a lower BMI and WC. In multivariate logistic regression, using elevated WC and BMI as categorical outcomes, the same pattern in lifestyle factors was observed. Only for WC, not current but former smoking was associated with a higher probability for elevated WC. Dietary intake in quantity and quality was not associated with BMI or WC in either model. Conclusions: Further research is needed to clarify if the huge prevalence discrepancy between BMI and WC also reflects a difference in obesity-related morbidity and mortality. Yet, age-specific thresholds for the BMI are needed likewise. Encouraging and promoting physical activity in older adults might a starting point for weight reduction efforts.

Introdução - A partir dos estudos de Barker observou-se que o baixo peso ao nascer está associado ao desenvolvimento de doenças crônicas no adulto. Estudos sobre a composição corporal na infância também podem contribuir para a compreensão de seu papel no risco de desenvolvimento de doenças crônicas em etapas posteriores da vida. Objetivo - Analisar as relações entre o peso ao nascer, a composição corporal e o estado nutricional em crianças de 2 a 6 anos de idade. Métodos - Estudo de coorte histórica a partir de uma amostra aleatória probabilística, por conglomerados, das creches públicas de Taubaté - SP (2008 e 2009) compondo uma amostra de 950 crianças. As medidas antropométricas das crianças utilizadas ao nascimento foram peso e comprimento e as na idade pré-escolar foram peso, estatura, circunferência do braço (CB), circunferência da cintura (CC), dobra cutânea tricipital (DCT) e dobra cutânea subescapular (DCSE). Para avaliação do estado nutricional, utilizou-se o Índice de Massa Corpórea (IMC) em escore z e pontos de corte internacionalmente aceitos. Para a avaliação da composição corporal utilizouse a área muscular do braço (AMB) e a área gorda do braço (AGB) em escores z e a razão CC para estatura (CC/E). As análises foram realizadas a partir dos parâmetros de tendência central, dispersão e proporções, adotando-se um nível de significância de 5 por cento . Resultados - A média de peso ao nascer (PN) dos pré-escolares foi de 3150,1g com um desvio padrão (dp) de 487,7g e uma mediana de 3142,5g. As médias e os dp do escore z de estatura, peso e IMC foram: -0,05 (1,06), 0,27 (1,21), 0,43 (1,22), respectivamente. Nos préescolares nascidos com 3000g ou mais, a estatura atual correlacionou-se positivamente com o PN (r =0,16 e p<0,0001). Nos pré-escolares como um todo, quanto maior o PN, maior o IMC (r P =0,19 e p<0,0001). A mediana do escore z de IMC nos pré-escolares nascidos com mais de 3500g foi superior à observada nas demais faixas de PN. Pela regressão linear múltipla, cada aumento de 1kg no peso ao nascer corresponde um aumento de 0,45 escores z no IMC na idade pré-escolar. Observou-se uma correlação direta entre o PN e a AMB (r P =0,13 e p<0,0001) e a AGB (r =0,10 e p=0,003). Os pré-escolares com excesso de peso e que nasceram abaixo da mediana de PN apresentaram uma menor AMB em comparação com os nascidos acima da mediana. Não houve diferença para as medianas de AGB ou de CC entre esses grupos de peso ao nascer. A razão CC/E mostrou correlação direta com o IMC (r P =0,78), a AMB (r P =0,52), a AGB (r P =0,66) e com a proporção da AGB (r =0,54), p<0,0001. Já entre a razão CC/E e a proporção de AMB corrigida observou-se uma correlação inversa (r = -0,38), p<0,0001. Conclusões - Quanto maior o peso ao nascer das crianças, maior o seu IMC na idade pré-escolar. A massa magra e a massa gorda corporal também são maiores na idade pré-escolar nas crianças com maior peso de nascimento. O importante é que nos pré-escolares com excesso de peso a massa magra é menor nos que nasceram com menor peso, sem que se observe diferença para a massa gorda corporal em função do peso ao nascer. Quanto maior a razão CC/E também será maior a quantidade de massa magra e de massa gorda corporal, contudo o aumento da razão CC/E é acompanhado por um aumento desproporcionalmente maior da massa gorda em comparação com o da magra / Introduction - Barker studies evinced that low birth weight is a risk factor to develop chronic diseases in adults. Research about children body composition can also contribute to understand its role in the development of chronic diseases in later stages in life. Objective - To analyze the relationship among birth weight, body composition and nutritional status of 2 to 6 years old children. Methods - Historical cohort study of a probabilistic randomized sample by conglomerates, of public day care centers in Taubaté, SP (2008-2009) that resulted in a final sample of 950 children. The childrens anthropometric measures collected at preschool age were weight, height, upper arm circumference (AC), waist circumference (WC), triceps skinfold (TS), and subscapular skinfold (SS). Birth weight and length were retrospectively corrected. Body Mass Index (BMI) Z score was used to evaluate the children nutritional status based on cut-off points internationally accepted. Upper arm muscle area (UMA) and upper arm fat area (UFA) in Z-scores, and the waist-toheight ratio (WHtR) were used to evaluate the body composition. The analysis was carried out from measures of central tendency, dispersion and proportions, adopting a level of significance of 5%. Results - The mean birth weight (BW) of the preschool children was 3150.5g with a standard deviation (SD) of 487.7g and the median of BW was 3142.5g. The means and the SD of the Z-score of height, weight and BMI at pre-school age were respectively: -0.05(1.06), 0.27(1.21), 0.43(1.22). Height of preschool children born with 3000g or more showed a direct correlation with BW (r =0.16; p<0.0001). In the preschool sample as a whole, the higher the BW the higher the BMI (r P =0.19; p<0.0001). The median preschool children Z-score of BMI of the group born with more than 3500g was superior to the one observed in the group born with lower weight. By a multiple linear regression each increase of 1kg in the birth weight corresponds to an increase of 0,45 z scores in the BMI at preschool age. It was also observed a direct correlation between BW and the UMA (r P P =0.13; p<0.0001) and the UFA (r =0.10; p=0.003). The preschool children with excess of weight and that were born below the median of BW showed a lower UMA in comparison to those born with a weight above the median. There was no difference to the medians of UFA or WC according to birth weight. The WHtR showed a direct correlation with the BMI (r P P =0.78), the UMA (r =0.52), the UFA (r P =0.66) and the arm fat index (% fat area), r P P =0.54, p<0.0001. On the other hand it was observed an inverse correlation between the WHtR and the proportion of the UMA corrected (% muscle area), r = -0.38 and p<0.0001. Conclusions - The higher the childrens birth weight, the higher their BMI in preschool age. The lean and the fat body masses are also higher in the preschool age in children with a higher birth weight. The most relevant things observed is that in preschool children with excess of weight the lean mass is lower in the ones who were born with a lower weight, and that there were no correlation between UFA and birth weight. The higher the WHtR it will also be higher the amount of lean and fat mass; however the increase of the WHtR is followed by a disproportionately higher increase of the fat body mass when compared to that of the lean body mass.