Maternal dietary patterns during pregnancy and intelligence quotients in the offspring at 8years of age: Findings from the ALSPAC cohort

© 2017 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd Dietary intake during pregnancy may influence child neurodevelopment and cognitive function. This study aims to investigate the associations between dietary patterns obtained in pregnancy and intelligence quotients (IQ) among offspring at 8years of age. Pregnant women enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children completed a food frequency questionnaire at 32weeks' gestation (n=12,195). Dietary patterns were obtained by cluster analysis. Three clusters best described women's diets during pregnancy: “fruit and vegetables,” “meat and potatoes,” and “white bread and coffee.” The offspring's IQ at 8years of age was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Models, using variables correlated to IQ data, were performed to impute missing values. Linear regression models were employed to investigate associations between the maternal clusters and IQ in childhood. Children of women who were classified in the meat and potatoes cluster and white bread and coffee cluster during pregnancy had lower average verbal (β=−1.74;

Epidemiological and clinical profile of HIV-infected patients from Southwestern Goias State, Brazil

Knowledge about epidemiological distribution patterns of HIV infection in different geographic regions is relevant to understand the dynamics of the disease in Brazil. This study aims to characterize the epidemiological and clinical profile of HIV-infected patients from Southwestern Goias State, from 2005 to 2015. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect clinical-epidemiological, virological, and immunological data from the medical records of all HIV-infected patients (n=539) who were followed at the regional reference center of Jatai, Goias State, Brazil, from 2005 to 2015. We detected the prevalence of male patients and the heterosexual route of transmission, as well as an expressive number of young women infected with HIV. The HIV infection was more prevalent in reproductive ages (55.3%). Most patients presented clinical manifestations related to HIV infection at the time of diagnosis. Twenty-four patients presented coinfection with hepatitis C virus, syphilis, hepatitis B virus, leprosy or Chagas disease. Pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis jirovecii was the most common opportunistic infection, followed by neurotoxoplasmosis, tuberculosis, and neurocryptococcosis. Combined antiretroviral therapy improved CD4+ T-cell counts: the mean CD4+ T-cell counts after treatment was twice as high as those found at the first medical appointment; and highly active antiretroviral therapy promoted viral suppression in a significant number of patients. Considering the increasing distribution of HIV infection to the interior of Brazil, this descriptive study outlines the clinical-epidemiological characteristics of HIV infection in Southwestern Goias and contributes to develop local prevention strategies and public service plans

Dietary patterns associated with anthropometric indicators of abdominal fat in adults

This study aimed to identify dietary patterns and assess their association with abdominal fat. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Central West Region of Brazil with a probabilistic sample of 208 adults of both sexes. Data on food intake was obtained using a food frequency questionnaire and factor analysis (principal components) was conducted to identify dietary patterns. Waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were used to assess abdominal fat. The association between dietary patterns and body fat distribution was examined using multiple linear regression analysis adjusted for confounders. Three dietary patterns were identified: Western, regional traditional, and prudent. A positive association was found between the Western pattern and WC (p = 0.04) and WHR (p = 0.001) and between the regional traditional pattern and WHR (p = 0.05) among women. A slight association was also found between the latter pattern and WC (p = 0.07) also among women. An association was found between the Western and regional traditional dietary patterns and a larger concentration of abdominal fat among women

Epidemiological and clinical profile of HIV-infected patients from Southwestern Goias State, Brazil

ABSTRACT Knowledge about epidemiological distribution patterns of HIV infection in different geographic regions is relevant to understand the dynamics of the disease in Brazil. This study aims to characterize the epidemiological and clinical profile of HIV-infected patients from Southwestern Goias State, from 2005 to 2015. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect clinical-epidemiological, virological, and immunological data from the medical records of all HIV-infected patients (n=539) who were followed at the regional reference center of Jatai, Goias State, Brazil, from 2005 to 2015. We detected the prevalence of male patients and the heterosexual route of transmission, as well as an expressive number of young women infected with HIV. The HIV infection was more prevalent in reproductive ages (55.3%). Most patients presented clinical manifestations related to HIV infection at the time of diagnosis. Twenty-four patients presented coinfection with hepatitis C virus, syphilis, hepatitis B virus, leprosy or Chagas disease. Pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis jirovecii was the most common opportunistic infection, followed by neurotoxoplasmosis, tuberculosis, and neurocryptococcosis. Combined antiretroviral therapy improved CD4+ T-cell counts: the mean CD4+ T-cell counts after treatment was twice as high as those found at the first medical appointment; and highly active antiretroviral therapy promoted viral suppression in a significant number of patients. Considering the increasing distribution of HIV infection to the interior of Brazil, this descriptive study outlines the clinical-epidemiological characteristics of HIV infection in Southwestern Goias and contributes to develop local prevention strategies and public service plans