Curcumin supplementation in the treatment of patients with cancer: a systematic review

Feeding with high levels of phytochemicals, including curcumin, may be a therapeutic option for diseases such as cancer which is a public health problem. The aim of this study was to systematically review the results of clinical trials investigating the effect of oral curcumin supplementation on anti-inflammatory and antioxidant profiles, reduction of PSA levels and degree of dermatitis in radiotherapy treatment in cancer patients. The review was carried out based on the items of the PRISMA Statement. A bias risk assessment was performed according to Cochrane Collaboration criteria. Six studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in the systematic review. The results of this study are based on those obtained in the literature on the effect of curcumin on the anti-inflammatory profile, on reducing dermatitis, on PSA alteration and on anti-oxidant profile for a total of 450 individuals, comprising 259 in the intervention group and 191 in the control group. Some studies have reported improvement in biochemical and clinical indicators, with limited adverse effects and good tolerance. It was not possible to determine, with the desired degree of evidence, the effect of curcumin supplementation in the treatment of cancer patients. It is important to consider the great heterogeneity and methodological weaknesses of the studies, and that it was not possible to perform a meta-analysis of the data available in the literature

Associations between Maternal Dietary Patterns and Infant Birth Weight in the NISAMI Cohort: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

The mother's diet during pregnancy is associated with maternal and child health. However, there are few studies with moderation analysis on maternal dietary patterns and infant birth weight. We aim to analyse the association between dietary patterns during pregnancy and birth weight. A prospective cohort study was performed with pregnant women registered with the prenatal service (Bahia, Brazil). A food frequency questionnaire was used to evaluate dietary intake. Birth weight was measured by a prenatal service team. Statistical analyses were performed using factor analysis with a principal component extraction technique and structural equation modelling. The mean age of the pregnant women was 27 years old (SD: 5.5) and the mean birth weight was 3341.18 g. It was observed that alcohol consumption (p = 0.05) and weight-gain during pregnancy (p = 0.05) were associated with birth weight. Four patterns of dietary consumption were identified for each trimester of the pregnancy evaluated. Adherence to the "Meat, Eggs, Fried Snacks and Processed foods" dietary pattern (pattern 1) and the "Sugars and Sweets" dietary pattern (pattern 4) in the third trimester directly reduced birth weight, by 98.42 g (Confidence interval (CI) 95%: 24.26, 172.59) and 92.03 g (CI 95%: 39.88, 165.30), respectively. It was also observed that insufficient dietary consumption in the third trimester increases maternal complications during pregnancy, indirectly reducing birth weight by 145 g (CI 95%: -21.39, -211.45). Inadequate dietary intake in the third trimester appears to have negative results on birth weight, directly and indirectly, but more studies are needed to clarify these causal paths, especially investigations of the influence of the maternal dietary pattern on the infant gut microbiota and the impacts on perinatal outcomes

Aspectos metodológicos e desafios da Coorte On-line Comportamento Alimentar e Saúde Mental (COCASa) de docentes e discentes universitários durante a pandemia da COVID-19

O distanciamento social adotado para controle da COVID-19 obrigou Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES) a aderirem a novas estratégias para realização das atividades acadêmicas e muitas pesquisas passaram a ser realizadas em ambientes virtuais. O objetivo deste artigo é descrever os aspectos metodológicos e principais desafios enfrentados para a execução do projeto COCASa, um estudo de coorte on-line sobre comportamento alimentar e saúde mental de docentes e discentes de IES do Brasil. O estudo foi iniciado em julho de 2020 e acompanhará os participantes por dois anos. Adotou-se amostragem não probabilística estratificada proporcional com a utilização de escalas, de inquérito alimentar e de questões estruturadas elaboradas pela equipe do projeto. Entre os participantes do baseline, 4.074 discentes e 2.210 docentes iniciaram o questionário e, respectivamente, 76,8% e 85,1% finalizaram o preenchimento. Em ambos os grupos, a maior participação foi de mulheres (docentes: 66,7% e discentes: 76,2%) e residentes nas regiões Nordeste (docentes: 37% e discentes: 50,9%) e Sul (docentes: 27,1% e discentes: 22,5%) do Brasil. A pesquisa on-line amplia a possibilidade de recrutamento de participantes e alcança limites territoriais com menor demanda por financiamento. Durante a pandemia da COVID-19, o uso do ambiente virtual tornou-se uma estratégia viável e acessível para a manutenção das atividades de pesquisa, configurando-se como uma provável tendência a ser adotada pela comunidade científica

Jornal de Pediatria

Objectives: To investigate covariates that could affect the variation in mean length/age z scores in the first year of life of children born full term with normal birth weight. Methods: This was a prospective study of a cohort of mother-infant pairs recruited at public maternity units in two municipalities in the Brazilian state of Bahia, from March 2005 to October 2006. This paper reports the results for linear growth of 489 children who were followed-up for the first 12 months of their lives. A mixed-effect regression model was used to investigate the influence of covariates of mean length/age z score during the first year of life. Results: The multivariate mixed effect analysis indicated that mothers not cohabiting with a partner (β = 0.2347; p = 0.004) and increased duration of exclusive breastfeeding (β = 0.0031; p < 0.001) had a positive impact, whereas mother’s height less than 150 cm (β = -0.4393; p < 0.001), birth weight of 2,500-2,999 g (β = -0.8084; p < 0.001) and anemia in the child (β = -0.0875; p < 0.001) all had a negative impact on the variation in estimated length/age z score. Conclusions: Therefore, the results of this study indicate that short maternal stature, birth weight < 3,000 g and anemia in the infant had a negative effect on linear growth during the first year of life, whereas longer duration exclusive breastfeeding and mothers who did not cohabit with a partner had a positive effect

Prevalence and associated factors for early interruption of exclusive breastfeeding: meta-analysis on Brazilian epidemiological studies

Abstract Objectives: to summarize Brazilian studies that analyzed the risk factors for Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) interruption before the child's six months of life. Methods: systematic review and meta-analysis indexed articles from Bireme, Scielo and Pubmed databases published in the period of January 2000 to December 2015. Results: 22 articles were included in the meta-analysis. The factors related to newborns were observed, such as birth weight (OR= 1.17; CI 95%: 1.05-1.29), female gender (OR= 1,09; CI 95%: 1.04-1.13) and the use of pacifier (OR= 2.29; CI 95%: 1.68-2.91) were the main factors responsible for the increase in the occurrence of EBF interruption. The factors were related to the mother, maternal age below twenty years old (OR= 1.22; CI 95%: 1.12-1.33) low schooling level (OR=1.28; CI 95%: 1.11-1.45), primiparity (OR= 1.17; CI 95%: 1.02-1.32) maternal employment during the postpartum period (OR= 1.26; CI 95%: 1.11-1.41), and low family income (OR= 1.22; CI 95%: 1.08-1.37) contributed significantly to the EBF interruption . Conclusions: the meta-analysis of Brazilian epidemiological studies demonstrated evidences to conclude that below the age of twenty, low schooling, primiparity, maternal employment in the postpartum period and low family income are associated to the interruption of exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age. Children with low birth weight, female gender and used a pacifier had greater vulnerability to not be exclusively breastfed. In conclusion, most of these factors can be modified through appropriate public policies throughout the adequate prenatal period to promote exclusive breastfeeding