Food insecurity is associated with an unhealthy lifestyle score in middle- and older-aged adults: findings from the EPIPorto cohort

The association of food insecurity with the combined effect of lifestyles is still limited. This study evaluated the association between food insecurity and a lifestyle score in middle- and older-aged adults. A cross-sectional study (2013-2016) was performed among 595 individuals (>= 50 years) from the EPIPorto cohort (Porto, Portugal). Food security status was assessed using the US Household Food Security Survey Module: Six-Item Short Form. Information on fruit and vegetable consumption (F&V), physical activity (PA) practice, tobacco smoking, and alcohol consumption were included in a lifestyle score. Those with F&V one drink of alcoholic beverages in women, and > two in men were assigned with one point; all the others had nil points. The score could range from 0 to 4, and was further categorised into three categories. Food insecurity was positively associated with an unhealthy lifestyle profile (OR = 2.272; 95%CI:1.079-4.782), independently of the adjustment variables. Analysing each lifestyle component, food insecurity was associated with low PA practice (OR = 2.365; 95%CI:1.020-5.485). Individuals from food insecure households were more likely to have an unhealthy lifestyle profile. Public health strategies should be developed among food insecure individuals to promote healthy lifestyles

The influence of item order of the Household Food Security Survey Module on the assessment of food insecurity in households with children

Abstract Objective: Changes in the item order of the US Household Food Security Survey Module (USHFSSM) were performed throughout time. This study aimed to compare the psychometric properties of the general and specific factors of the 2000 and 2012 versions of the USHFSSM to measure the construct of food insecurity in two Portuguese samples of households with children. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Portugal. Participants: An adaptation of the 2000 version was applied to 839 adults (from households with children aged 7-17 years) from the National Food, Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2015-2016, while the 2012 version was used among 2855 families from the Generation XXI birth cohort. Results: The 2000 version showed to have a stronger ωh than the 2012 version (0·89 v. 0·78 for the general factor), as well as eigenvalues higher than 1 for the general factor (eigenvalues equal to 9·54, 0·97 and 0·80, for the general factor, specific factor 1 and specific factor 2, respectively), while the 2012 version had also the contribution of specific factors to explain food insecurity (eigenvalues equal to 9·40, 2·40 and 1·20, for general factor and specific factors 1 and 2, respectively). Good internal consistency (ωt = 0·99, for both versions) was obtained. Conclusions: In conclusion, the 2000 and 2012 versions of the USHFSSM showed good psychometric properties; however, the 2000 version has stronger general factor, while the 2012 version also has the contribution of specific factors.

Food Insecurity in Portugal Among Middle- and Older-Aged Adults at a Time of Economic Crisis Recovery: Prevalence and Determinants

Background: To characterize the scenario of food insecurity in Portugal at a time of economic crisis recovery is of the utmost relevance. Objective: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and to identify the determinants of food insecurity during economic crisis recovery in a population-based urban sample of middle- and older-aged Portuguese adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study including 604 participants of the EPIPorto cohort was conducted. Data on sociodemographic characteristics and on food security status were collected. Food security status was assessed using the US Household Food Security Survey Module: Six-Item Short Form. Logistic regression models, crude and adjusted for sex, age, education, and household income perception, were performed. Results: The prevalence of food insecurity was 16.6%. Women (odds ratio [OR] = 1.96; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09-3.54), those less educated (OR = 5.46; 95% CI: 2.84-10.46), and those who had the perception of an insufficient household income (OR = 10.39; 95% CI: 5.00-21.56) were more likely to belong to a food insecure household. Unmarried individuals (OR = 1.79; 95% CI: 1.05-3.06) and lower white-collar workers (OR = 2.22; 95% CI: 1.03-4.77) were also more prone to live within a food insecure household, regardless of sex, age, education, and household income perception. Conclusions: The obtained information is valuable for the development of intervention strategies to reduce food insecurity in middle- and older-aged adults, suggesting that women, unmarried, less educated individuals, less skilled workers, and lower income families should be targeted.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by contributions from Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway through the European Economic Area Grants, under the Public Health Initiatives Programme (PT 06, grant number 118SI2). This study was also funded by the Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia - Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit) (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006862; Ref.UID/DTP/04750/2013), the PhD Grant SFRH/BD/117371/2016 (IM), PhD Grant SFRH/BD/92370/2013 (TM), and the Postdoc Grant SFRH/BPD/88729/2012 (RL)), co-funded by the FCT and the POCH/FSE Program; and the FCT Investigator contract IF/01060/2015 (ACS). This study is also a result of the project DOCnet (NORTE-01- 0145-FEDER- 000003) supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

Exome sequencing followed by large-scale genotyping suggests a limited role for moderately rare risk factors of strong effect in schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder with strong heritability and marked heterogeneity in symptoms, course, and treatment response. There is strong interest in identifying genetic risk factors that can help to elucidate the pathophysiology and that might result in the development of improved treatments. Linkage and genome-wide association studies (GWASs) suggest that the genetic basis of schizophrenia is heterogeneous. However, it remains unclear whether the underlying genetic variants are mostly moderately rare and can be identified by the genotyping of variants observed in sequenced cases in large follow-up cohorts or whether they will typically be much rarer and therefore more effectively identified by gene-based methods that seek to combine candidate variants. Here, we consider 166 persons who have schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and who have had either their genomes or their exomes sequenced to high coverage. From these data, we selected 5,155 variants that were further evaluated in an independent cohort of 2,617 cases and 1,800 controls. No single variant showed a study-wide significant association in the initial or follow-up cohorts. However, we identified a number of case-specific variants, some of which might be real risk factors for schizophrenia, and these can be readily interrogated in other data sets. Our results indicate that schizophrenia risk is unlikely to be predominantly influenced by variants just outside the range detectable by GWASs. Rather, multiple rarer genetic variants must contribute substantially to the predisposition to schizophrenia, suggesting that both very large sample sizes and gene-based association tests will be required for securely identifying genetic risk factors. © 2012 The American Society of Human Genetics

Oxidative Stress, DNA, Cell Cycle/Cell Cycle Associated Proteins and Multidrug Resistance Proteins: Targets of Human Amniotic Membrane in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The anticancer effects of human amniotic membrane (hAM) have been studied over the last decade. However, the action mechanisms responsible for these effects are not fully understood until now. Previously results reported by our team proved that hAM is able to induce cytotoxicity and cell death in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a worldwide high incident and mortal cancer. Therefore, this experimental study aimed to investigate the cellular targets of hAM protein extracts (hAMPE) in HCC through in vitro studies. Our results showed that hAMPE is able to modify oxidative stress environment in all HCC cell lines, as well as its cell cycle. hAMPE differently targets deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), P21, P53, β-catenin and multidrug resistance (MDR) proteins in HCC cell lines. In conclusion, hAMPE has several targets in HCC, being clear that the success of this treatment depends of a personalized therapy based on the biological and genetic characteristics of the tumor

Exposure of humans to the zoonotic nematode Dirofilaria immitis in Northern Portugal

Dirofilariosis caused by Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm) is a zoonosis, considered an endemic disease of dogs and cats in several countries of Western Europe, including Portugal. This study assesses the levels of D. immitis exposure in humans from Northern Portugal, to which end, 668 inhabitants of several districts belonging to two different climate areas (Csa: Bragança, Vila Real and Csb: Aveiro, Braga, Porto, Viseu) were tested for anti-D. immitis and anti-Wolbachia surface proteins (WSP) antibodies. The overall prevalence of seropositivity to both anti-D. immitis and WSP antibodies was 6.1%, which demonstrated the risk of infection with D. immitis in humans living in Northern Portugal. This study, carried out in a Western European country, contributes to the characterisation of the risk of infection with D. immitis among human population in this region of the continent. From a One Health point of view, the results of the current work also support the close relationship between dogs and people as a risk factor for human infectio