Influence of health behaviours on the incidence of infection and allergy in adolescents: the AFINOS cross-sectional study

[Background] Some health behaviours are liable to affect the incidence of allergies and/or common infections in young people; however, the extent and ways in which these might occur are mostly unknown. This study examines the association of health behaviours related to physical activity, sedentariness, diet and sleep with allergy and infection symptoms in adolescents, and also with biological markers that might mediate disease incidence.[Methods] The study comprised a total of 2054 adolescents (50.7% girls) from the Madrid region of Spain. The incidence of infection and allergy symptoms three months prior to the study was obtained from a self-administered questionnaire. Physical and sedentary activities, height and weight, food habits and sleep duration were also self-reported and their influence on infection and allergy incidence was assessed by logistic regression analysis. Blood biomarkers (IgE, eosinophil percentage, leptin, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10) were evaluated in a subsample of 198 subjects.[Results] Adequate sleep duration (OR = 0.79, 95%CI: 0.64 to 0.97) and unhealthy weight status (overweight/obesity) (OR = 1.35, 95%CI: 1.04-1.74) were independently associated with decreased and increased allergy incidence, respectively. No significant association was observed with infection incidence. IgE and leptin differed between adolescents with and without allergy symptoms. In regression models IgE was significantly associated with inadequate sleep duration and leptin with weight status.[Conclusion] Excess weight and inadequate sleep duration are independently associated with the incidence of allergy symptoms in adolescents. Adequate sleep duration and weight during adolescence might be relevant for a decreased risk of suffering allergy symptoms.The study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (DEP2006-56184-C03-02/PREV) and EU funding (FEDER). DM-G received a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (AP2006-02464). The Unit of Information Resources for Research’s Library (CSIC) provided financial support for the editorial charges of this article.Peer Reviewe

Follow-up in healthy schoolchildren and in adolescents with DOWN syndrome: psycho-environmental and genetic determinants of physical activity and its impact on fitness, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory biomarkers and mental health; the UP&DOWN Study

[Background] An objective diagnosis of sedentary behaviour as well as of the physical activity and fitness levels in youth and to better understand how lifestyle is associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors and other phenotypes is of clinical and public health interest, and might be informative for developing intervention studies focused on the promotion of physical activity in these population. The aim of this methodological paper is to describe the design and assessment in the UP&DOWN study. [Methods/Design] The UP&DOWN study is a multi-center follow-up design where 2225 Spanish primary and secondary schoolchildren from Cadiz and Madrid, respectively, as well as 110 Spanish adolescents with Down syndrome from Madrid and Toledo were recruited to be assessed. Nine main measurement categories are assessed: i) socio-demographic and early determinants; ii) environmental determinants; iii) physical activity and sedentary behaviour; iv) health-related fitness; v) blood pressure and resting heart rate; vi) mental health; vii) dietary patterns; viii) blood samples; and ix) genetic analysis. During the 3-yr follow-up study, socio-demographic and early determinants, and genetic analysis are only assessed in the first year. Blood sampling is assessed in the first year and the third year (2nd follow-up), and all the other measurements are assessed every year. [Discussion] The findings of the UP&DOWN study may help the Health Information Systems and policy makers to identify the target population for primary prevention and health promotion policies, and to develop and test preventive strategies. Moreover, these data will allow following the trends at population level, as well as to modify/adapt/create new evidence-based physical activity guidelines at national level. The findings will also serve as a scientific platform for interventional studies.This study was supported by the DEP 2010-21662-C04-00 (DEP 2010-21662-C04-01, DEP 2010-21662-C04-02, DEP 2010-21662-C04-03, DEP 2010-21662-C04-04) RYC-2010-05957 grants from the National Plan for Research, Development and Innovation (R + D + i) MICINN

Clustering patterns of physical activity, sedentary and dietary behavior among European adolescents: The HELENA study.

Evidence suggests possible synergetic effects of multiple lifestyle behaviors on health risks like obesity and other health outcomes. A better insight in the clustering of those behaviors, could help to identify groups who are at risk in developing chronic diseases. This study examines the prevalence and clustering of physical activity, sedentary and dietary patterns among European adolescents and investigates if the identified clusters could be characterized by socio-demographic factors. METHODS: The study comprised a total of 2084 adolescents (45.6% male), from eight European cities participating in the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) study. Physical activity and sedentary behavior were measured using self-reported questionnaires and diet quality was assessed based on dietary recall. Based on the results of those three indices, cluster analyses were performed. To identify gender differences and associations with socio-demographic variables, chi-square tests were executed. RESULTS: Five stable and meaningful clusters were found. Only 18% of the adolescents showed healthy and 21% unhealthy scores on all three included indices. Males were highly presented in the cluster with high levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and low quality diets. The clusters with low levels of MVPA and high quality diets comprised more female adolescents. Adolescents with low educated parents had diets of lower quality and spent more time in sedentary activities. In addition, the clusters with high levels of MVPA comprised more adolescents of the younger age category. CONCLUSION: In order to develop effective primary prevention strategies, it would be important to consider multiple health indices when identifying high risk groups.Peer Reviewe

Influence of sex, age, pubertal maturation and body mass index on circulating white blood cell counts in healthy European adolescents—the HELENA study

Percentiles 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th are presented for circulating white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils and basophils in healthy European adolescents (12.5–17.5 years, n = 405, 48.9 % boys), considering age, sex, puberty and body mass index (BMI). CD3+ (mature T cells), CD4+ (T helper), CD8+ (T cytotoxic), CD16+56+ (natural killer), CD19+ (B cells), CD3+CD45RA+, CD4+CD45RA+, CD8+CD45RA+ (naïve), CD3+CD45RO+, CD4+CD45RO+ and CD8+CD45RO+ (memory) lymphocytes were also analysed by immunophenotyping. Girls presented higher WBC, neutrophil, CD3+CD45RO+ and CD4+CD45RO+ cell counts and CD3+/CD19+ ratio, and lower CD3+CD45RA+ and CD4+CD45RA+ counts than boys. Age was associated with higher neutrophil counts and CD3+/CD19+, and lower CD19+ counts; in boys, with lower CD3+CD45RA+, CD4+CD45RA+ and CD8+CD45RA+ counts as well; in girls, with higher WBC, CD3+CD45RO+ and CD4+CD45RO+ counts. Pubertal maturation in boys was associated with lower WBC and lymphocyte counts; in girls, with higher basophil, CD3+CD45RO+ and CD4+CD45RO+ values. BMI was associated with higher WBC counts; in boys, also with higher lymphocyte counts; in girls, with higher neutrophil, CD4+, CD3+CD45RO+ and CD4+CD45RO+ counts. Conclusion: Our study provides normative values for circulating immune cells in adolescents, highlighting the importance of considering sex, age, pubertal maturation and BMI when establishing reference ranges for WBC in paediatric populations

Asociación entre el consumo moderado de cerveza tradicional y sin alcohol y la composición corporal

23 páginas, 1 figura, 11 tablas.-- Investigación publicada en un libro de carácter divulgativo.La cerveza es una bebida fermentada, de baja graduación alcohólica, con unas características específicas en su composición que le proporcionan un especial interés nutritivo. El consumo moderado de la cerveza en general, con unas 45 kcal. por cada 100 ml., y 17 kcal. en el caso de la cerveza sin alcohol, así como el del resto de bebidas fermentadas de muy baja graduación, puede formar parte de una alimentación saludable, siempre que nos refiramos a adultos sanos, debido a las propiedades que les confieren tanto su baja graduación como las materias primas con las que está elaborada (agua, cebada y lúpulo). Pese al conocimiento de estos datos, existía el mito de que el consumo de este producto producía distensión abdominal. Sin embargo, siempre que nos estemos refiriendo a consumo moderado de cerveza, hay que decir que en los estudios científicos que se han realizado sobre la variación del peso corporal, no se encuentran variaciones a nivel ponderal ni de composición corporal, hecho que todavía no había sido analizado en profundidad. Por todo ello, el estudio llevado a cabo por Ana Mª Veses, a partir de la concesión de una Beca Manuel de Oya “Cerveza, Salud y Nutrición”, supone un nuevo paso en las investigaciones realizadas en torno a esta bebida, ya que analiza los efectos de un consumo moderado de cerveza, tanto tradicional como sin alcohol, sobre el peso y la composición corporal.Peer reviewe

Asociación entre el consumo moderado de cerveza tradicional y sin alcohol y la composición corpora

Peer Reviewe

Potential health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption: current perspectives in research

Abstract The benefits of moderate amounts of alcohol for a better health and longer life expectancy compared with abstinence have been suggested by the findings of numerous studies. However, controversies have emerged regarding the influence of confounding factors and the systematic errors that might have been inadvertently disregarded in the early studies. This review includes a description of the findings of those research studies published in the last 5 years on the effects of moderate alcohol consumption on all-cause mortality, CVD and inflammation, the immune system, insulin sensitivity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cancer. Promising evidences exist from both animal studies and human clinical trials regarding intermediate end-points of CHD and insulin sensitivity, such as HDL, adiponectin or fibrinogen. However, controversies and inconsistent findings exist regarding many of these diseases and related functions and biomarkers. Further research and human randomised-controlled trials with adequate standardisation of the study conditions are necessary in order to draw a comparison between studies, establish the causal effect of moderate alcohol intake on disease protection and reach consensus on the circumstances that allow the recommendation of moderate alcohol habitual intakes as a strategy for health maintenance.Peer Reviewe

Relación entre la edad de inicio en la ingesta de bebidas alcohólicas y el porcentaje de grasa corporal en adolescentes madrileños. Estudio AFINOS

Trabajo presentado al II Congreso de la Federación Española de Sociedades de Nutrición, Alimentación y Dietética FESNAD: "Hacia una alimentación responsable" celebrado del 3 al 5 de Marzo de 2010 en Barcelona (España).Peer reviewe

Nutrición y trastornos del comportamiento alimentario

El texto está disponible para cualquiera que se registre previamente en http://www.katedrakelloggs.com .- 18. Nutrición y trastornos del comportamiento alimentario 283-293, 11 páginas, 6 tablas.-Manual Práctico de Nutrición y Salud Kellogg’s, obra colectiva de visión multidisciplinar que surge a propuesta del colectivo médico ante la necesidad de recibir formación en materia de nutrición. Existen numerosos manuales de nutrición, pero en esta ocasión se ofrece una edición de consulta rápida, fácil acceso y manejo para utilizar durante la atención al paciente. Se trata de una herramienta práctica, dirigida a profesionales de la salud que en su día a día tienen contacto directo con la población, para transmitir una recomendación adaptada a cada individuo, a su edad, sexo, estado fisiológico y a las diferentes situaciones patológicas.Peer reviewe