Sarcopenia: prevalence and its main risk factors in older women

Introduction: Sarcopenia is a major public health concern. It is defined as a progressive and generalized skeletal muscle disorder that is associated with an increased likelihood of falls, fractures, physical disability, and ultimately, premature death.  Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence and determine the role of physical activity, nutrient intake, and selected risk factors for the development of sarcopenia in older women.  Methods: The study involved 302 women aged ≥65 years (mean age: 72.1± 5.9 years). Bioelectrical impedance analysis of body composition, static muscle strength measurements, Timed Up and Go test, and the assessment of current physical activity using accelerometers were performed. Diets were assessed using the 24-h recall method from two non-consecutive days. The energy and nutrient content of diets was calculated using the computer program DIETA 6.  Results: Sarcopenia was present in 28.8% of the women studied. The most important factor in the decrease in the risk of sarcopenia was protein intake ≥ 0.9 g/kg b.m. (OR=0.08;p<0.001), and physical activity ≥ 4000 steps/day. However, these results were not statistically significant (OR=0.58; p=0.08). Furthermore, the risk of developing sarcopenia increased as BMI (OR=1.36; p<0.001) or percent of body fat (OR=1.29; p<0.001) increased

Effect of elevated physical activity on changes in body composition and subcutaneous fat distribution in boys aged 10 to 16 years: a longitudinal study

AbstrAct: The study is aimed at evaluation of the effect of regular physical activity on total and subcutaneous body fat and its distribution in boys aged 10 to 16 years. A three-year longitudinal study was carried out in order to monitor physical development in 237 boys from sports schools and regular schools in Warsaw, Poland. The boys were selected so that their rate of puberty changes was similar based on evaluation of voice and facial hair. The authors measured 5 skinfolds in the following sites: triceps, calf, subscapular, suprailiac, and abdominal skinfolds. The percentage fraction of total body fat in body mass was measured by means of Tanita TBF 300 electronic body composition analyser. A limb fat to trunk fat ratio (LF/TF) was also calculated in order to evaluate the type of distribution of subcutaneous fat in boys and monitor its changes as affected by regular high physical activity throughout puberty. Lower total body fat and subcutaneous fat in boys from sports schools was the effect of considerably higher physical activity. It was demonstrated that with some minimal values of total body fat and subcutaneous fat, physical activity did not cause a reduction in body fat. It was found that elevated physical activity in boys is conducive to development of a more limb-oriented (peripheral) fatness, which is more favourable to human health

Twenty four year time trends in fats and cholesterol intake by adolescents. Warsaw Adolescents Study

The objective of this study was to determine time trends (1982–2006) in total fat intake and changes in fatty acid structure intake in adolescents from Warsaw in view of increasing prevalence of obesity. Data come from four successive surveys randomly selected samples of adolescents (aged 11–15 years old), from Warsaw region. In total 9747 pupils have been examined, with response rate varying from 55% to 87% depending on year. Surveys were done always in the spring season of the year. Food intake was assessed by using 24 hours recall method of consumption by the pupils all products, including enriched, dishes and beverages as well as diet supplements, in the last 24 hours preceding the examination. The content of energy and nutrients was calculated by means of own computer softwares (DIET 2 and 4), taking into account successive revisions of the tables of food composition and nutritional values, as well as current Polish DRI. A significant decreasing trend was found in intake of total fat, of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and cholesterol. The percentage of energy from total fat, also decreased both in boys (to 35,1%) and girls (to 33,7%), what failed to reach the desired level below 30% of energy from fat which is recommended. Also significant decrease of SFA consumption was not satisfactory enough to approach the values <10% of energy recommended as was from 13% to 15%. Decreasing trends in fat intake was not in accordance with the trend in obesity prevalence in the adolescents as average BMI is going up. To stabilize the health-oriented changes especially in the diets of adolescents, further activity is desired from professionals working with prevention of adolescents obesity

Twenty four year time trends in fats and cholesterol intake by adolescents. Warsaw Adolescents Study

The objective of this study was to determine time trends (1982–2006) in total fat intake and changes in fatty acid structure intake in adolescents from Warsaw in view of increasing prevalence of obesity. Data come from four successive surveys randomly selected samples of adolescents (aged 11–15 years old), from Warsaw region. In total 9747 pupils have been examined, with response rate varying from 55% to 87% depending on year. Surveys were done always in the spring season of the year. Food intake was assessed by using 24 hours recall method of consumption by the pupils all products, including enriched, dishes and beverages as well as diet supplements, in the last 24 hours preceding the examination. The content of energy and nutrients was calculated by means of own computer softwares (DIET 2 and 4), taking into account successive revisions of the tables of food composition and nutritional values, as well as current Polish DRI. A significant decreasing trend was found in intake of total fat, of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and cholesterol. The percentage of energy from total fat, also decreased both in boys (to 35,1%) and girls (to 33,7%), what failed to reach the desired level below 30% of energy from fat which is recommended. Also significant decrease of SFA consumption was not satisfactory enough to approach the values <10% of energy recommended as was from 13% to 15%. Decreasing trends in fat intake was not in accordance with the trend in obesity prevalence in the adolescents as average BMI is going up. To stabilize the health-oriented changes especially in the diets of adolescents, further activity is desired from professionals working with prevention of adolescents obesity

Consumption of Dairy Products and the Risk of Developing Breast Cancer in Polish Women

Lack of consistency in the relationship between dairy products consumption and breast cancer (BC) risk motivated us to evaluate this association in a case-control study of BC among Polish women. The study includes 1699 women 26&ndash;79 years of age, 823 BC cases identified in Cancer Registries and 876 randomly selected controls from the national population registry. Using a validated, semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), the consumption of dairy products was collected for a time period of 10&ndash;15 years prior to BC diagnosis. We used logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders, to assess the relationship between total dairy consumption as well as individual dairy groups of milk, cottage cheese and hard cheese and BC risk for premenopausal and postmenopausal women. For total consumption, a significant decrease in BC risk was observed with increased consumption of one serving/week, OR trend = 0.98, 2% decrease in risk, for premenopausal women only. For milk, a significant decrease in BC risk was observed for an increase in consumption of one glass/week, OR trend = 0.95, 5% decrease, in both strata of menopause. In contrast, for hard cheese, a significant increase in the risk of 10% was observed only in premenopausal women, OR trend = 1.10. Cottage cheese consumption significantly reduced BC risk by 20%, OR trend = 0.80, for an increase in one serving/week for postmenopausal women only. Our results show that individual dairy products have a statistically significant but bi-directional relationship with BC risk, which differs for premenopausal and postmenopausal women

Cabbage and Sauerkraut Consumption in Adolescence and Adulthood and Breast Cancer Risk among US-Resident Polish Migrant Women

Background: Breast cancer (BC) incidence and mortality are lower in Poland than in the United States (US). However, Polish-born migrant women to US approach the higher BC mortality rates of US women. We evaluated the association between consumption of cabbage/sauerkraut foods and BC risk in Polish-born migrants to US. Methods: We conducted a case–control study of BC among Polish-born migrants in Cook County and the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Cases (n = 131) were 20–79 years old with histological/cytological confirmation of invasive BC. Population-based controls (n = 284) were frequency matched to cases on age and residence. Food frequency questionnaires assessed diet during adulthood and age 12–13 years. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated with conditional logistic regression. Consumption of total, raw/short-cooked, and long-cooked cabbage/sauerkraut foods was categorized as low, medium, or high (frequency of servings/week). Results: Higher consumption of total and raw/short-cooked cabbage/sauerkraut foods, during both adolescence and adulthood, was associated with a significantly lower BC risk. Consumption of long-cooked cabbage/sauerkraut foods was low and not significantly associated with risk. The multivariate OR for total cabbage/sauerkraut consumption, high vs. low (&gt;4 vs. ≤2 servings/week) during adolescence was 0.36 (95% CI = 0.18–0.71, ptrend &lt; 0.01) and 0.50 (95% CI = 0.23–1.06, ptrend = 0.08) during adulthood. For raw/short-cooked cabbage/sauerkraut (&gt;3 vs. ≤1.5 servings/week), the ORs were 0.35 (95% CI = 0.16–0.72, ptrend &lt; 0.01) during adolescence and 0.37 (95% CI = 0.17–0.78, ptrend &lt; 0.01) during adulthood. For joint adolescent/adult consumption of raw/short-cooked cabbage/sauerkraut foods, (high, high) vs. (low, low), the OR was 0.23 (95% CI = 0.07–0.65). The significant association for high adolescent consumption of raw/short-cooked cabbage/sauerkraut foods and reduced BC risk was consistent across all levels of consumption in adulthood. Conclusion: Greater consumption of total and raw/short-cooked cabbage/sauerkraut foods either during adolescence or adulthood was associated with significantly reduced BC risk among Polish migrant women. These findings contribute to the growing literature suggesting a protective effect of a potentially modifiable factor, cruciferous vegetable intake, on breast cancer risk

Metabolic syndrome is associated with similar long-term prognosis in non-obese and obese patients. An analysis of 45 615 patients from the nationwide LIPIDOGRAM 2004-2015 cohort studies

Aims We aimed to evaluate the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and long-term all-cause mortality. Methods The LIPIDOGRAM studies were carried out in the primary care in Poland in 2004, 2006 and 2015. MetS was diagnosed based on the National Cholesterol Education Program, Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP/ATP III) and Joint Interim Statement (JIS) criteria. The cohort was divided into four groups: non-obese patients without MetS, obese patients without MetS, non-obese patients with MetS and obese patients with MetS. Differences in all-cause mortality was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses. Results 45,615 participants were enrolled (mean age 56.3, standard deviation: 11.8 years; 61.7% female). MetS was diagnosed in 14,202 (31%) by NCEP/ATP III criteria, and 17,216 (37.7%) by JIS criteria. Follow-up was available for 44,620 (97.8%, median duration 15.3 years) patients. MetS was associated with increased mortality risk among the obese (hazard ratio, HR: 1.88 [95% CI, 1.79-1.99] and HR: 1.93 [95% CI 1.82-2.04], according to NCEP/ATP III and JIS criteria, respectively) and non-obese individuals (HR: 2.11 [95% CI 1.85-2.40] and 1.7 [95% CI, 1.56-1.85] according to NCEP/ATP III and JIS criteria respectively). Obese patients without MetS had a higher mortality risk than non-obese patients without MetS (HR: 1.16 [95% CI 1.10-1.23] and HR: 1.22 [95%CI 1.15-1.30], respectively in subgroups with NCEP/ATP III and JIS criteria applied). Conclusions MetS is associated with increased all-cause mortality risk in non-obese and obese patients. In patients without MetS obesity remains significantly associated with mortality. The concept of metabolically healthy obesity should be revised