Ultra-Processed Food Consumption Is Related to Higher Trans Fatty Acids, Sugar Intake and Micronutrient-Impaired Status in Schoolchildren of Bahia, Brazil

Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption impacts nutrient intake and plays an important role in non-communicable diseases (NCD), even among schoolchildren. This cross-sectional study aimed to characterize the food consumption of this population and its relationship with laboratory and anthropometric aspects. A sample of 190 subjects aged 5 to 19 y was randomly selected for dietary, laboratory, and anthropometric assessment. Statistical inference was calculated using Spearman’s correlation. Excess weight was observed in 34%, a high Waist-to-Height Ratio in 9%, and hypertriglyceridemia in 17% of the subjects, higher among those from urban schools (45%, p = 0.011; 15%, p = 0.015; 24%, p = 0.026, respectively). UPF consumption represented 21% of caloric intake and showed a positive correlation with trans fatty acids (r = 0.70) and sugar (r = 0.59) intake. Unprocessed food consumption showed a weak, but significant, correlation with Body Mass Index (r = 0.22) and Waist Circumference (r = 0.23), while processed meat showed a negative correlation with serum ferritin (r = −0.16) and vitamins D (r = −0.20) and B12 (r = −0.15). These findings highlight the need for public policies to promote Food and Nutritional Security for schoolchildren to prevent NCD and nutritional deficiencies

Accuracy of the urine point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen assay for diagnosing Schistosomiasis mansoni infection in Brazil: a multicenter study

Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde / Fundo Nacional de Saúde / Ministério da Saúde - [TED/FNS: 118/2017; SIAFI: 691919 / 25000.479741/2017-05Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Educação em Ambiente e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Universidade Federal do Ceará. Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas. Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto René Rachou. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovação e Insumos Estratégicos. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Parasitoses Intestinais, Esquistossomose e Malacologia. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Educação em Ambiente e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo. Centro de Ciências da Saúde. Unidade de Doenças Infecciosas. Vitória, ES, Brasil / Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul. Laboratório de Parasitologia Biomédica. Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Universidade Federal da Bahia. Faculdade de Medicina. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Yale University. School of Public Health. Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases. New Haven, CT, USA.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Educação em Ambiente e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul. Laboratório de Parasitologia Biomédica. Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovação e Insumos Estratégicos. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Parasitoses Intestinais, Esquistossomose e Malacologia. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil.Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul. Laboratório de Parasitologia Biomédica. Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.Universidade Federal do Ceará. Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas. Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil.Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul. Laboratório de Parasitologia Biomédica. Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto René Rachou. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.Background: The World Health Organization recommends a market-ready, urine-based point-of-care diagnostic test for circulating cathodic antigens (CCA) to determine the prevalence of S. mansoni. This study evaluated the performance of the URINE CCA (SCHISTO) ECO TESTE® (POC-ECO), which is currently available in Brazil. Methods: Residents from eight sites with different prevalence estimates provided one urine sample for POC-ECO and one stool sample for Kato-Katz (KK) and Helmintex® (HTX) testing as an egg-detecting reference for infection status. Results: None of the study sites had significantly higher POC-ECO accuracy than KK. Conclusions: POC-ECO is not currently recommended in Brazilian schistosomiasis elimination programs

Functional Polymorphisms in IL13 Are Protective against High Schistosoma mansoni Infection Intensity in a Brazilian Population

IL-13 is a signature cytokine of the helper T cell type 2 (TH2) pathway which underlies host defense to helminthic infection and activates production of IgE in both parasitized populations and in urban settings after allergen exposure.Two functional polymorphisms in IL13, rs1800925 (or c.1-1111C>T) and rs20541 (or R130Q) were previously found to be associated with Schistosoma hematobium infection intensity. They have not been thoroughly explored in S. mansoni-endemic populations, however, and were selected along with 5 tagging SNPs for genotyping in 812 individuals in 318 nuclear families from a schistosomiasis-endemic area of Conde, Bahia, in Brazil. Regression models using GEE to account for family membership and family-based quantitative transmission disequilibrium tests (QTDT) were used to evaluate associations with total serum IgE (tIgE) levels and S. mansoni fecal egg counts adjusted for non-genetic covariates. We identified a protective effect for the T allele at rs20541 (P = 0.005) against high S. mansoni egg counts, corroborated by QTDT (P = 0.014). Our findings also suggested evidence for protective effects for the T allele at rs1800925 and A allele at rs2066960 after GEE analysis only (P = 0.050, 0.0002).The two functional variants in IL13 are protective against high S. mansoni egg counts. These markers showed no evidence of association with tIgE levels, unlike tIgE levels previously studied in non-parasitized or atopic study populations

Evaluation of Cardiometabolic Parameters among Obese Women Using Oral Contraceptives

BackgroundCombined oral contraceptive (COC) use has been associated with an unfavorable impact on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in diverse populations of normal weight and obese women. The present study aimed to evaluate the cardiometabolic and inflammatory profiles of women in northeastern Brazil with respect to COC use and obesity.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional study to verify cardiovascular parameters, including blood pressure (BP), fasting serum glucose, lipid, and inflammatory profile, in a population of women aged 15–45 years, considering obesity and COC use. Our sample consisted of 591 women, 481 women who were COC users, and 110 age-matched women who were COC non-users, classified as obese and non-obese according to BMI.ResultsCOC use and obesity were associated with increased systolic (p ≤ 0.001) and diastolic BP (p = 0.001), blood glucose (p ≤ 0.001), total cholesterol (p = 0.008), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p ≤ 0.001), very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p ≤ 0.001), triglycerides (p ≤ 0.001), ferritin (p = 0.006), C-reactive protein (CRP) (p ≤ 0.001), and nitric oxide metabolites (p ≤ 0.001), as well as decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) (p ≤ 0.001) in comparison to controls. CRP and HDL-c levels in obese COC users were determined to be outside reference range values. The odds of having lower levels of HDL-c and elevated CRP increased among obese COC users. COC use was independently associated with low levels of HDL-c, especially second-generation progestins (p < 0.001; OR = 8.976; 95% CI 2.786–28.914).ConclusionObesity and COC use were associated with alterations in lipid and inflammatory cardiometabolic parameters, particularly increased CRP levels and decreased HDL-c, which are considered markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Given the need to prevent unintended pregnancy among obese women, together with weight loss counseling, it is important to evaluate the most effective and safest contraceptive methods to avoid the potential risk of developing CVD

Interaction between MPN bactericidal proteins and E.coli 0111:B4 coated with complement components.

High levels of proinflammatory cytokines such as IFN-γ and TNF are associated with tissue lesions in cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). We previously demonstrated that Schistosoma mansoni antigens downmodulate the in vitro cytokine response in CL. In the current study we evaluated whether S. mansoni antigens alter monocyte and T-lymphocyte phenotypes in leishmaniasis. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells of CL patients were cultured with L. braziliensis antigen in the presence or absence of the S. mansoni antigens rSm29, rSmTSP-2- and PIII. Cells were stained with fluorochrome conjugated antibodies and analyzed by flow cytometry. The addition of rSm29 to the cultures decreased the expression of HLA-DR in nonclassical (CD14(+)CD16(++)) monocytes, while the addition of PIII diminished the expression of this molecule in classical (CD14(++)CD16(−)) and intermediate (CD14(++)CD16(+)) monocytes. The addition of PIII and rSmTSP-2 resulted in downmodulation of CD80 expression in nonclassical and CD86 expression in intermediate monocytes, respectively. These two antigens increased the expression of CTLA-4 in CD4(+) T cells and they also expanded the frequency of CD4(+)CD25(high)Foxp3(+) T cells. Taken together, we show that S. mansoni antigens, mainly rSmTSP-2 and PIII, are able to decrease the activation status of monocytes and also to upregulate the expression of modulatory molecules in T lymphocytes