Clinical and Hormonal Variables Related to Bone Mass Loss in Anorexia Nervosa Patients.

Clinical and hormonal variables related to bone mass loss in anorexia nervosa patients.

Vitam Horm. 2013; 92: 259-69
Fernández-Soto ML, González-Jiménez A, Chamorro-Fernández M, Leyva-Martínez S

A better understanding of the prognostic factors of low bone mass in anorexia nervosa (AN) and development of effective therapeutic strategies is critical. In order to determine which clinical, biochemical, and/or hormonal parameters could be related to bone mineral density (BMD), 47 female AN patients were classified according to the WHO osteoporosis criteria at lumbar spine (LS). This was a cross-sectional study of 16 AN women with osteoporosis criteria and 31without. Control group was 25 healthy, normal-weight, age-matched women. We assessed BMD using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at the LS and body composition. We measured serum fasting cortisol, estradiol, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), leptin, sex hormone-binding globulin, albumin and retinol binding protein levels. The prevalence of osteoporosis was 34% and osteopenia 19% at the LS. The AN group with osteoporosis had lower IGF-1 and estradiol levels (both p<0.001), lower serum leptin (p<0.02), and higher cortisolemia (p<0.03) levels compared with AN group without osteoporosis. The BMD and T-score at LS was inversely related to the duration of amenorrhea (p<0.02) and directly related to body mass index (BMI, p<0.002), total fat mass (p<0.03), serum IGF-1 (p<0.01), and estradiol levels (p<0.001) in AN patients. We conclude that AN women with a significant BMD loss have a high risk of developing osteoporosis. A low BMD is a consequence of hormonal alterations which include hypoestrogenism, hypoleptinemia, hypercortisolism, and decreases in IGF-1 levels, as well as a low BMI and fat mass. HubMed – eating

Ghrelin gene variants and eating disorders.

Vitam Horm. 2013; 92: 107-23
Ando T

Genetic factors have been implicated in playing a significant role in susceptibility to eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Genetic variants of ghrelin, an endogenous acylated peptide that stimulates growth hormone secretion, enhances appetite, and increases body weight, have been investigated in association with eating disorders, as changes in the ghrelin/growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR)/ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT) system have been implicated in its pathology. Although most candidate-gene association studies have not been able to identify ghrelin gene variants as being significantly associated with either AN or BN, some ghrelin variants may be associated with BN in Japanese. Furthermore, a significant association of a GHSR gene variant with BN and that of a GOAT gene variant with AN have been found. However, there have been relatively few studies, tested variants are restricted, and sample sizes are often modest. Therefore, further studies are needed to elucidate the role of ghrelin-related gene variants in the predisposition and pathology of eating disorders. HubMed – eating

Pacific Tracker 2 – Expert System (PacTrac2-ES) behavioural assessment and intervention tool for the Pacific Kids DASH for Health (PacDASH) study.

Food Chem. 2013 Oct 1; 140(3): 471-7
Novotny R, Nigg C, McGlone K, Renda G, Jung N, Matsunaga M, Karanja N

The Pacific Tracker (PacTrac) is a computer program designed to analyse food intakes of individuals from the Pacific Region. PacTrac’s original output included servings of daily intake of food groups according to the United States Food Guide Pyramid, nutrient intake recommendations, and a comparison to other national nutrition recommendations. PacTrac was made available for public use through the Hawaii Foods website (hawaiifoods.hawaii.edu). PacTrac2 is an updated and expanded version of PacTrac that uses the United States MyPyramid/MyPlate food groups in household units of daily intake, rather than servings. In addition, the PacTrac2 includes a physical activity analysis tool which quantifies minutes of physical activities and their intensities based on energy estimates from the compendium of physical activity and research on children. An Expert System (ES) – a computerised decision tree to guide behaviour change – was developed using information on self-efficacy and stage of readiness to change, and the fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity information from PacTrac2. The ES produces reports for the child, the parent/guardian, and the child’s physician with child-specific strategies, targeted behavioural information, and feedback tailored to the child. PacTrac2-ES was designed for the Pacific Kids DASH for Health (PacDASH) intervention study, conducted in the Kaiser Permanente health care system in Hawaii. The intervention is based on the child’s self-efficacy and stage of readiness to change intake of fruits and vegetables and physical activity, with a goal of maintaining body weight to prevent obesity. The intervention is complemented with stage-based mailers addressing the environment for physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake and newsletters that address related behaviours (sedentary activity and a DASH eating approach). This project is the first to expand the PacTrac to contain children’s foods and physical activities from the Pacific Region and to use current US MyPyramid/MyPlate food and physical activity analysis and guidance systems, and to develop and implement an Expert System for fruits, vegetables and physical activity of 5-8-year-old children. The PacTrac2-ES was used in the PacDASH study and will be used for other programs to promote healthy eating and physical activity of children in the Pacific Region. HubMed – eating

Seroepidemiology of infection with Toxoplasma gondii in migrant agricultural workers living in poverty in Durango, Mexico.

Parasit Vectors. 2013 Apr 20; 6(1): 113
Alvarado-Esquivel C, Campillo-Ruiz F, Liesenfeld O

BACKGROUND: Migrant agricultural workers are a group of people living in poverty with poor housing, sanitary conditions and hygiene practices. Little is known about the epidemiology of infection with Toxoplasma gondii in migrant agricultural workers. METHODS: We investigated the presence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies in 173 migrant workers hired for seasonal agricultural work in Durango State in northern Mexico using enzyme-linked immunoassays. RESULTS: Of the 173 migrant workers (mean age 34.82 +/- 14.01 years), 50 (28.9%) had anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies and 36 (20.8%) had anti-Toxoplasma IgM antibodies. Seroprevalence was not influenced by gender, age, birth place, or educational level. In contrast, seroprevalence was significantly higher in workers residing in rural areas than those in urban or suburban areas. Migrant workers suffering from memory impairment, dizziness, or syncope had significantly higher seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies than those without such clinical features. Logistic regression analysis showed that T. gondii exposure was positively associated with consumption of unwashed raw vegetables (OR = 2.39; 95% CI: 1.06-5.35; P = 0.03) and low frequency of eating out of home (OR = 3.87; 95% CI: 1.43-10.42; P = 0.007), and negatively associated with national trips (OR = 0.30; 95% CI: 0.13-0.65; P = 0.003) and consumption of raw milk (OR = 0.40; 95% CI: 0.18-0.87; P = 0.02). Other behavioral characteristics including consumption of meat or untreated water were not associated with T. gondii infection. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of T. gondii infection in internal migrant agricultural workers living in poverty. Results deserve further investigation of causal relations between clinical symptoms and infection, and may be useful for optimal planning of preventive measures. HubMed – eating