Is beverage consumption associated with increased body weight among adolescents?

Background: Recently, considerable attention has been given to beverage intake as a source of calories which may be linked to pediatric obesity. Objective: To examine the association between beverage consumption and changes in weight status among adolescents. Material/Methods: A total of 600 adolescents, aged 14-18 years, were involved in the study. Body weight, height, and waist circumference were measured. BMI percentiles were calculated and adolescents were classified as normal weight, overweight, and obese. For the collection of data on beverage intake, the 24-h recall technique was used. Data on beverages were examined in milliliters. Results: Of the total 600 participants in our sample, 79.3% were considered to be of normal weight, 13.3% were overweight and 7.4% were obese. All of the adolescents consumed water. Tea was the second most commonly consumed beverage (80.8%), followed by sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs, 49.3%), and whole fat milk (24.3%). Elevated consumption of water was associated with elevated weight, BMI and waist circumference. There was no evidence of an association among milk, fruit juice, SSBs, tea, coffee consumption and weight status. Conclusion: In this study, water intake was associated with obesity. Further studies investigating the relationship among beverage consumption, total energy intake, and development of obesity are needed

Pulse deficit in atrial fibrillation — a different perspective on rhythm or rate control strategy

Background: Pulse deficit (PD) is a frequently unused but crucial clinical finding in atrial fibrillation (AF) diagnosis.Aims: The authors aimed to investigate the relationship between PD and exercise intolerance in AF patients for remodeling the treatment in case of a favorable outcome.Methods: This prospective study was conducted with 273 persistent AF patients between September 2019 and October 2020. An exercise stress test stratified by age and sex-matched was performed to determine exercise intolerance, and the patients were divided into 2 groups based on physical capacity: low (<75 percentile as Group-1) (n = 160; 58.6%), adequate (≥75 percentile as Group-2) (n = 113; 41.4%).Results: The mean (standard deviation [SD]) PD of exercise intolerance patients was significantly higher than patients with adequate exercise capacity (17 [4] vs 12 [2]; P <0.001). Moreover, PD was independently associated with exercise intolerance after adjusting for potential covariates (odds radtio [OR], 0.59; 95% CI, 0.51–0.69; P <0.001). In both univariate and multivariable analyses, higher heart rates had a stronger relationship with exercise intolerance (Mean [SD], 107 [11] vs 99 [10]; P <0.001; OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.89–0.96; P <0.001). Also, there was a positive correlation between heart rate and PD (r = 0.431; P <0.001).Conclusions: Increased PD was associated with decreased exercise capacity in persistent AF patients. Rhythm control strategy should be considered to increase left ventricular filling pressures in AF patients with high PD and exercise intolerance

Relationship Between the Progression of Coronary Artery Disease and Pulse Pressure Index: A Cross-Sectional Work

This study sought to analyze the relationship between pulse pressure (PP) index (PPI) (PP/systolic blood pressure; a less variable and objective form of PP) and coronary artery disease (CAD) progression. A registry of 193 patients was evaluated to show CAD progression by comparing current vs previous (6 months to 3 years prior) angiograms. One day after the second angiogram, we conducted ambulatory blood pressure measurements on the patients. Of the 193 patients, 65 (34%) had CAD progression. The PP and PPI were significantly higher in the progression than in the non-progression group (55 +/- 12 vs. 51 +/- 10 mmHg, P = .02 and .47 +/- .06 vs. .42 +/- .05, P = .004, respectively). Also, the PP and PPI were independently predictive of CAD progression (OR = 1.03, P = .03 and OR = 6.47, P = .01, respectively). Moreover, the correlation of PPI with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and glycosylated hemoglobin was greater than their correlation with PP. In addition, PPI predicted CAD progression better than PP (area under the curve [AUC] = .649 vs. .574, P = .03). Elevated PP and PPI may be associated with the progression of CAD. PPI seems more successful in predicting CAD progression than PP

Bilirubin Levels and the Burden of Coronary Atherosclerosis in Patients With STEMI

orscelik, ozcan/0000-0003-4349-9852; Orscelik, Ozcan/0000-0003-4349-9852WOS: 000317006400006PubMed: 22492252We investigated whether serum bilirubin level (a marker of heme oxygenase activity) is a predictor of high levels of SYNTAX score (SXscore) in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Patients (n = 281; male 77%; mean age 60 +/- 12) who were admitted with ST-elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMIs) were enrolled. Patients were divided into 2 groups. Group 1 was defined as SXscore = 22. Total bilirubin levels were significantly higher in the high-SXscore group than in the low-SXscore group (0.86 +/- 0.42 vs 1.02 +/- 0.51, P = .005). A significant correlation was detected between total bilirubin and SXscore (r = .42; P = .001). At multivariate analysis, total bilirubin (odds ratio: 1.86, 95% confidence interval 1.04-3.35; P = .038) was an independent risk factor for high SXscore in patients with STEMI. In conclusion, serum bilirubin level is independently associated with SXscore in patients with STEMI