Major Dietary Patterns Relationship with Severity of Coronary Artery Disease in Gaza-Strip, Palestine: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND፡ The association of dietary patterns (DPs) linked to the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) is little known. Therefore, this study aims to explore the relationship between major DPs and the severity of CAD.METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among423 newly discovered CAD patients (both genders, aged 35-65 years), who underwent coronary angiography. The severity of CAD was assessed by the Gensini score. All patients were tested using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and other related data through face-to-face interviews. Factor analysis and logistic regression were applied by using SPSS version-24.RESULTS: By principal component analysis, two major DPs were identified: “Unhealthy” DP that characterized mainly by high intakes of sugar and sweets, soft drinks, salts, cooking oils, and processed meats, and “Healthy” DP that consisting high intakes of fruits, fish, poultry, vegetables, whole grains. After adjustment for confounding variables, the odds of severe CAD was significantly higher in the third (T3) and second (T2) tertile of the unhealthy pattern by 4.79 and 2.48 times more compared to the first tertile (T1) (OR 4.79; 95%CI 2.60, 8.83; P<0.001) and (OR 2.48; 95%CI 1.40, 4.39; P=0.002), respectively. However, the odds of CAD severity in the T3 and T2 of the healthy pattern was lowered by 0.24 and 0.38 times less compared to the T1 (OR 0.24; 95%CI 0.12, 0.47; P=0.002) and (OR 0.38; 95%CI 0.20, 0.73;P=0.006), respectively.CONCLUSION: The severity of CAD was significantly increased by the unhealthy dietary pattern, while decreased by adherence to the healthy pattern

Nutritional status of under five children in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Undernutrition is the outcome of insufficient food intake and recurrent infectious diseases. The baseline levels of undernutrition remain so high that Ethiopia still needs to continue substantial investment in nutrition.Therefore, the aim of this study was to obtain estimates of over-time trends in the prevalence of undernutrition in Ethiopia and to determine risk factors for undernutrition among children of under five years of age.Methods: Cross-sectional studies published in English from 1997 to 2015 focusing the prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight in children aged 0-5 years (n = 39,585) in Ethiopia were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched in PubMed and Scopus databases and other articles manually. Two review authors independently selected studies for inclusion, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias in the included studies. The protocol number of the study is PROSPERO 2015: CRD42015027940.Results: Eighteen studies were included and the overall pooled prevalence estimate of stunting, underweight and wasting was 42.0% (95% CI: 37.0, 46.0), 33.0 % (95% CI: 27.0, 39.0) and 15.0% (95% CI: 12.0, 19.0), respectively. The sensitivity analyses resulted in the prevalence of stunting, 40% (95% CI: 32.0, 48.0; I2=99.19%), prevalence of underweight, 33%(95% CI: 24.0, 42.0; I2=99.34%) and wasting rate equal to 19%(95% CI: 14.0, 24.0; I2=99.19%). Cumulative analysis revealed a stabilization trend of stunting and underweight (1996-2010) followed by an upward trend (2010-2014). Child age, child sex, complementary food, poor dietary diversity, diarrheal diseases, maternal education, maternal height, residential area and socio- economic status were significant risk factors for undernutrition.Conclusion: The result of the meta-analysis of thes observational studies revealed that the trend of undernutrition in Ethiopia indicates that there is an increment of chronic malnutrition cases in recent years, and the prevalence of undernutrition remains extremely high. Thus, the implementation of policies to reverse child undernutrition should get maximum emphasis.Keywords: Undernutrition, children, prevalence and Ethiopi

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its related factors among adults in Palestine: a meta-analysis

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS)is increasingly becoming a challenging public health issue in Palestine. The current burden of MetS in the country is unknown. There has been limited research on the prevalence of MetS. This meta-analysis is the first to estimate the population prevalence of MetS and its related factors among adults in Palestine.Methods: A PRISMA systematic search appraisal and meta-analysis were conducted. A systematic literature search of PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar was conducted in December 2014 up to February 2015. Generic, methodological and statistical data was extracted from the eligible studies which reported MetS prevalence. A random effect meta-analysis was conducted on crude MetS prevalence rates. Heterogeneity was assessed by Cochran’s Q and I2 tests. Subgroup analyses were also performed according to the predefined criteria.Results: The literature search yielded a total of 49 studies. Eight papers were included in the final analysis with sample size ranging 163 to 992. In addition, 2937 cases with MetS among people aged 15 years or more were estimated in Palestine between 2001 and 2014. There was high heterogeneity among studies (I2 = 95.8% p<0.001). The prevalence of MetS was 37.0% among adult Palestinians population ranging from 17 to 59.5%. Subgroup analysis did not show source of heterogeneity based on subject's health status and MetS criteria.Conclusion: Our meta-analysis clearly demonstrates that MetS is highly prevalent (37.0%) among Palestinian adults. The high prevalence of MetS in Palestine should be seriously considered and planners should take steps to reduce it.Keywords: Prevalence, Metabolic syndrome, Meta-analysis, Palestin

Association between physical activity and risk of COVID-19 infection or clinical outcomes of the patients with COVID-19; A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective:  Nowadays, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused serious consequences for global health and economy. The important question is whether the level of physical activity might influence the risk of COVID-19 incidence or clinical outcomes, including the severity or mortality of infected patients. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the association between sufficient physical activity and incidence, hospitalization, severity, recovery, and mortality of COVID-19. Methods: A systematic search of Web of Sciences, PubMed, and Scopus between December 2019 and November 2021 in English language was conducted. Studies were screened based on the inclusion criteria, i.e. observational studies (case-control, prospective or retrospective longitudinal designs, and cross-sectional studies) which have determined the association of physical activity, exercise, sports participation, or sedentary behavior with COVID-19 incidence or outcomes, including mortality, severity, recovery and hospitalization in healthy population or population with any specific comorbidity. Results: Based on eligibility criteria, 27 articles were finally included in the qualitative synthesis. The meta-analysis of five studies evaluating association of physical activity and COVID-19 mortality showed weighted OR of OR of 0.61 (CI 95%: 0.50- 0.75) with heterogeneity (I2= 45.8%, P<0.001) and in seven studies regarding physical activity and COVID-19 hospitalization, weighted OR was 0.541 (CI 95% :0.491 -0.595) with heterogeneity (I2=81.7%, P<0.001). Conclusion: Participating in sufficient physical activity might decrease COVID-19 related hospitalization and mortality. Developing programs to increase physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic might be an appropriate health strategy

Effects of L-citrulline supplementation on blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: We aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials that examined the effects of L-citrulline supplementation on blood pressure (BP).  Materials and Methods: We searched MEDLINE, SCOPUS, PUBMED and Google scholar databases from inception to November 16, 2017 and 811 papers were identified, of which 8 trials with 10 data sets met the inclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria were: (1) application of randomized clinical trial with either crossover or parallel designs; (2) studies conducted in adults (≥18 y); (3) oral supplementation with L-citrulline compared to control group; (4) expression of sufficient data about systolic and diastolic BP at baseline and at the end of the study in each group. BP effects were pooled by random-effects models, with trials weighted by inverse variance. Results: The included studies’ sample size ranged between 12 and 34 subjects. The mean age of the participants in these trials ranged between 22 and 71 years. Dosage of L-citrulline supplementation varied from 3 to 9 g/day. Duration of the intervention ranged between 1 and 17 weeks. The pooled changes in systolic and diastolic BP were (MD, −4.10 mm Hg; 95% CI [−7.94, -0.26]; p=0.037) and (MD −2.08 mm Hg; 95% CI [−4.32, 0.16]; P=0.069), respectively. The subgroup analysis showed a significant diastolic BP reduction in studies that used doses of ≥6 g/day (MD −2.75 mm Hg; 95% CI [−5.37, -0.12]; p=0.04). Conclusion: Our results suggest that L-citrulline supplementation may reduce systolic BP. A significant reduction in diastolic BP was observed only in the studies that used doses ≥ 6 g/day

Correlation between food habits and time spent watching television with sleep quality at children and teenagers, MINOODAR Qazvin

Introduction: Children from the age of each person's life so that people's eating habits are formed during this period. Some studies of the relationship between TV viewing time and also how sleep quality and eating habits in children and adolescents are supported, but others do not approve of the presence of such a relationship. This study aimed to investigate the association between dietary habits and TV viewing time sleep quality in children and adolescents 10-18 years Minoodar Qazvin. Materials and methods: The study population of 10-18 year old population research center was MINOODAR. Sampling using multi-stage cluster random sampling was performed. All demographic, anthropometric and nutrition, as well as questions related to sleep quality standard questionnaire and was collected by trained personnel. Data were analyzed using spss softwareversion16. Findings: Most of the adolescents studied food groups: grains, meat and oil more than the recommended but milk and dairy product and vegetable group were receiving less than the recommended amount. The results showed that boys compared with girls, bread and cereals (p=0/005) and milk and milk products (p=0/048) received more. Also, people who had low sleep quality was higher consumption of bread and cereals (p= 0/01). People with normal sleep omega-3 fatty acids consumed more (p<0/05). The regression analysis of sleep quality with age, gender, time of watching TV, playing video games and get the time of caffeine was no observed. Conclusions: The nutritional status of adolescents in need of reform. This study showed that eating less bread and refined grains and omega-3 fatty acid intake may increase sleep quality in children and adolescents are more boys than girls drank milk and dairy products, so the problem of delay sleep and irregular sleep was less. Also watching TV for 2 hours a day will have no effect on quality of sleep, however, to verify the results of this study, further research is needed in this area

Association of dietary energy density with cardiometabolic risk factors and metabolic syndrome in Tehranian older adults

Introduction: The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between the consumption of an energy-dense diet and cardiometabolic risk factors in Iranian older adults. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 226 older adults who were living in Tehran, Iran. Dietary energy density (DED) was calculated as energy per weight of food, kcal/g. The usual intake of participants was measured using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements, fasting blood sugar, serum lipid profile and blood pressure and were assessed. The metabolic syndrome was defined according to National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel-III (NCEP ATP III). Results: Those who were in the third tertile of DED compared to the first tertile had 19% lower odds of having the cardiometabolic risk factors and metabolic syndrome (MetS) 0.81 (0.39,1.68) but the association was no significant (P=0.58). There was a significant inverse association between DED and systolic blood pressure (SBP) (β=-0.14, P=0.03) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (β=-0.17, P=0.01). We did not find any significant association between intake of energy-dense foods and serum levels of triglyceride (TG) (P=0.62), fasting blood sugar (FBS) (P=0.06), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (P=0.72) and waist circumference (WC) (P=0.28). Conclusion: DED is negatively associated with SBP and DBP in Iranian older adults. Prospective studies are needed to establish a causal link between DED and MetS and risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD)

Vitamin D, Muscle Strength and Cardiorespiratory Fitness - An Evidence-based Review

Recent evidence reported that a higher concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25[OH] D] has been associated with greater cardiorespiratory fitness [CRF] and muscle strength in both sexes. Low levels of 25[OH]D may be related to hypertrophy of myocardial, high blood pressure, and endothelial dysfunction, which is related to decreased amino acid uptake, prolonged time to peak muscle contraction and relaxation, dysregulation of intracellular Ca2+, muscle weakness, myalgia, impaired neuromuscular function, and hypotonia. Because CRF is defined as a function of maximal cardiac output and maximal arteriovenous oxygen difference, low levels of 25[OH]D may lead to deleterious effects on CRF. Recent findings also indicated vitamin D3 supplementation that leads to an increase in muscle fiber especially type 2, the cross-sectional area of muscle fibers, and improved muscle strength. In this chapter, we will systematically review the observational studies and randomized controlled trials that evaluated the association of vitamin D with CRF and muscle strength