Disordered Eating Among Brazilian Female College Students.

Disordered eating among Brazilian female college students.

Cad Saude Publica. 2013 May; 29(5): 879-888
Alvarenga MD, Lourenço BH, Philippi ST, Scagliusi FB

This study aimed to investigate the socioeconomic and nutritional factors associated with disordered eating among Brazilian female college students (n = 2,489). Prevalence ratios of risk factors were calculated using Poisson regression models with robust variance based on responses to selected questions from the Eating Attitude Test and Disordered Eating Attitude Scale. It was found that 40.7% of students were dieting, 35.6% were using diet or compensatory methods, 23.9% skipping meals, 12.6% not eating or just drinking liquids, and 3.3%, vomiting to lose weight. A positive association was found between not eating or just drinking liquids and skipping meals and nutritional status after adjustment for age and region. A positive association was found between compensatory methods and dieting and education level of the head of the family. Disordered eating behaviors were frequent, and not eating and skipping meals were more prevalent among overweight/obese students; compensatory methods and dieting were less prevalent among students from families whose head had up to only four years of education. Prevention strategies and food education are necessary in order to decrease the prevalence of these behaviors. HubMed – eating

Healthy eating index and breast cancer risk among Malaysian women.

Eur J Cancer Prev. 2013 Jul; 22(4): 342-347
Shahril MR, Sulaiman S, Shaharudin SH, Akmal SN

Healthy Eating Index-2005 (HEI-2005), an index-based dietary pattern, has been shown to predict the risk of chronic diseases among Americans. This study aims to examine the ability of HEI-2005 in predicting the probability for risk of premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer among Malaysian women. Data from a case-control nutritional epidemiology study among 764 participants including 382 breast cancer cases and 382 healthy women were extracted and scored. Multivariate odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to evaluate the relationship between the risk of breast cancer and quartiles (Q) of HEI-2005 total scores and its component, whereas the risk prediction ability of HEI-2005 was investigated using diagnostics analysis. The results of this study showed that there is a significant reduction in the risk of breast cancer, with a higher HEI-2005 total score among premenopausal women (OR Q1 vs. Q4=0.34, 95% CI; 0.15-0.76) and postmenopausal women (OR Q1 vs. Q4=0.20, 95% CI; 0.06-0.63). However, HEI-2005 has a sensitivity of 56-60%, a specificity of 55-60%, and a positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 57-58%, which indicates a moderate ability to predict the risk of breast cancer according to menopausal status. The breast cancer incidence observed poorly agrees with risk outcomes from HEI-2005 as shown by low ? statistics (?=0.15). In conclusion, although the total HEI-2005 scores were associated with a risk of breast cancer among Malaysian women, the ability of HEI-2005 to predict risk is poor as indicated by the diagnostic analysis. A local index-based dietary pattern, which is disease specific, is required to predict the risk of breast cancer among Malaysian women for early prevention. HubMed – eating

Case Series: Inhaled Coral Vapor-Toxicity in a Tank.

J Med Toxicol. 2013 May 24;
Sud P, Su MK, Greller HA, Majlesi N, Gupta A

INTRODUCTION: Palytoxin (PTX) is considered a severe marine toxin. Although rare, reports of human exposure from consumption of PTX have described significant morbidity and mortality. PTX is the suspected agent in Haff disease, in which rhabdomyolysis occurs within 24 h of eating contaminated fish such as buffalo fish. PTX is primarily present in soft corals or in dinoflagellates, and it can contaminate crustaceans and other fish as it bioaccumulates up the food chain. Only 23 cases have been reported in the USA, including two recent cases in New York City. Reports of inhalational exposure to PTX are uncommon. CASE REPORTS: We describe a case series of six patients, including four adults and two children, with inhalational exposure to PTX aerosolized from Palythoa corals. Their symptoms included some degree of respiratory involvement, myalgias, paresthesias, low-grade fevers, and gastrointestinal symptoms. Fortunately, there were no serious outcomes and all patients survived without sequelae. DISCUSSION: Although rare, exposure to palytoxin is not restricted to people visiting marine environments because of Palythoa coral in some home aquariums. Routes of exposure go beyond consumption of fish that feed on the coral and include dermal as well as inhalational exposure. Palytoxin exposure should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients who own or work with fish tanks and present with symptoms that include respiratory complaints, myalgias, neuromuscular dysfunction, hemolysis, and cardiac toxicity. There is no known antidotal therapy and treatment should focus on meticulous supportive care. HubMed – eating