BACKGROUND

Maternal malnutrition is a major cause of low birth weight (LBW) newborn outcome especially among adolescent mothers. It is one of the key drivers of child stunting and initiates the vicious cycle of intergenerational malnutrition. The body mass index prior to pregnancy or at the initial trimester is currently being used to establish the desired weight gain throughout pregnancy. However, Filipino adolescents often delay their first antenatal visit at a later stage of pregnancy. Without a baseline weight, the establishment of appropriate weight gain and nutritional status is often challenging. Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) was proven to be a good proxy measure of acute malnutrition, however, there was no global consensus on what MUAC cut-off point to use to identify pregnant adolescents at risk for delivering LBW babies. Finding the optimal cut-off could facilitate early identification and intervention of pregnant adolescents who are nutritionally at risk and could eventually break the cycle of intergenerational malnutrition.

The study aims to determine the association of maternal MUAC and the birth weight outcomes among newborn deliveries of adolescents in a tertiary hospital for a period of six months and to identify the optimal maternal MUAC cut-off point that can be used to predict low birth weight outcome among newborn deliveries of adolescents in a tertiary hospital.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescents ages 10 to 19 years who delivered babies in a tertiary hospital in the Philippines for a period of six months. Maternal MUAC and LBW outcome were documented, and their association was determined using a logistic regression analysis. To measure diagnostic accuracy, the sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the curve were taken for each MUAC point. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to aid the MUAC cut-off determination.

Out of 237 newborn deliveries, 35% were noted with low birth weight while 65% had normal birth weight. Most of the mothers were in their late adolescence at 78%. The crude association for the MUAC cut-offs ≤23.00 cm, ≤23.50 cm, and ≤24.00 cm and LBW showed a significant value of 2.19, 2.25, and 2.39 at 95% CI, respectively. However, it is only the cut-off ≤24.00 cm that showed significant results for adjusted association by the logistic regression analysis. The MUAC cut-off ≤24.00 cm also showed a better trade-off value between the sensitivity and specificity. Furthermore, the optimal maternal MUAC measurement that predicts LBW newborn outcome points to ≤24.00 cm cut-off based on the ROC curve.

This study shows that the maternal MUAC is predictive of LBW outcome among adolescent deliveries.A MUAC cut-off of ≤24.00 cm was superior to lower cut-offs studied. The pregnant adolescents might need a higher MUAC cut-off than adults to allow timely intervention and prevention of poor neonatal outcomes. By doing this simple screening test, suspected pregnant adolescents can be easily identified and referred for further confirmatory testing.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to determine the association between Asia-Pacific classification of body mass index, waist circumference and waist hip ratio and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 moderate & severe patients at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A This study involved adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19. 182 patients were analyzed and divided into 167 moderate and 15 severe COVID-19 patients. Primary outcomes (respiratory decompensation, septic shock, and mortality) of patients were compared among Asia Pacific BMI groups.

Among patients with moderate and severe COVID-19, 7 out of 10 patients were obese. Respiratory decompensation and sepsis were more frequently seen in obese patients. Obesity and waist circumference were significantly associated with the odds of respiratory decompensation (95% CI p=0.010 and p=0.002), however this association was not sustained upon adjustment for confounders. On univariate analysis, waist and hip circumferences were significantly associated with the odds of ICU admission (95% CI, p=.013 and p=.034), however after controlling for confounders, only hip ratio retained significant association. Among patients with severe COVID-19, there was insufficient evidence to support significant variations in distributions of outcomes of interest across Asia-Pacific BMI groups.

Our study emphasized that although respiratory decompensation and sepsis were more frequently seen in obese patients. progression of respiratory decompensation and mortality is not significantly associated with obesity as defined by the Asia Pacific BMI classification, warranting the need for larger prospective studies.

BACKGROUND: Chronic illnesses such as Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity have been implicated as risk factors in the development of cognitive impairment (CI), but despite this, definite association between the two conditions in increasing cognitive impairment risk is not well defined. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and cognitive impairment (CI) in elderly patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in the outpatient clinics of a private hospital in Manila which included elderly patients with Type 2 diabetes. BMI categories of the subjects were determined using the Asia-Pacific criteria and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment – Philippines (MOCA-P) was administered to subjects who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the prevalence of impaired cognition among subjects while risk ratio analysis was used to determine the correlation between BMI and CI. Correlation analysis and linear regression analysis were used to determine the presence of association between cognition (measured by MOCA-P scores) and BMI. For all analysis, a 95% level of significance was used. RESULTS: A total of 109 subjects from the outpatient clinics were included in the study. A high percentage of the study population (90.83%) had CI based on MOCA-P scores. Subjects that belonged to the extremes of BMI- underweight and obese class 2 had higher incidence of CI compared to the other groups. Underweight subjects had 1.103 (95% CI: 1.038 to 1.172) times likelihood of having impaired cognition (p-value 0.0016), while obese 2 subjects had 1.110 (95% CI: 1.040 to 1.184) times likelihood of having impaired cognition (p-value 0.0016). Regression analysis revealed that in subjects with diabetes of less than 10 years, cognition scores were negatively correlated to BMI (p-value 0.0454). Correlation analysis revealed that at the general population level, regardless of the external factors, increasing or decreasing BMI did not have significant effect on cognition scores. CONCLUSION Subjects who belonged to the extremes of BMI-underweight and obese class 2 – had higher incidence of CI compared to the other BMI groups. Among subjects with T2DM duration of less than 10 years, cognition scores tend to be negatively correlated to BMI.
diabetes mellitus, Type 2 ; cognitive impairment ; cognitive dysfunction ; Body Mass Index

Background: Hyperinsulinemia due to insulin resistance is hypothesized to act as a promotor of cancer growth. In addition to the direct effects of hyperinsulinemia on cancer cells, the stimulation of tumor cell growth can also be indirectly mediated through growth factors and receptors such as insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). Increased cancer risk is also associated with increased adipose tissue, such as in abdominal obesity, due to the higher risk of insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia. Waist circumference is a parameter that indicates an individual's level of adiposity. In addition, the risk of cancer also increases in the elderly as they age. This study aims to assess the correlation between waist circumference and IGF-1 levels in the elderly population in Bali, Indonesia. Methodology: This study used a cross-sectional analytical design conducted in the Melinggih Village, Gianyar Regency. The study was conducted in September 2023. This study has been approved by the Research Ethics Commission number 2020/UN14.2.2.VII.14/LT/2023. The study population included elderly individuals residing in the Melinggih Village who were willing to participate. Data analysis encompassed descriptive analysis and the Spearman correlation test. Result: A total of 88 subjects participated in the study, consisting of 57 females (64.8%) and 31 males (35.2%). A statistically significant but weak correlation coexists between waist circumference and IGF-1 levels. Conclusion A weak but statistically significant positive correlation was found between waist circumference and IGF-1 levels in the elderly. However, because of the small sample size, another study with a bigger sample size with enough power to investigate this association needs to be done to validate the results of the current study.
Elderly ; Aged ; IGF-1 ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; Waist Circumference

Background: The association of obesity with adverse COVID-19 outcomes is known, but unexplored in younger adults. Objective: To determine the association of obesity [body mass index (BMI) of ≥30] with severe COVID-19 outcomes in younger and older adults. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Participants: 391 patients with COVID-19 (226 younger adults aged 18-60 years, and 165 older adults aged >60 years). Setting: Southern Philippines Medical Center, Davao City, January 2021 to September 2021. Main outcome measures: Severe COVID-19 outcomes (high-flow oxygen administration, ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, death); odds ratio of severe outcomes in patients with BMI of ≥30. Main results: Of 391 patients (median age of 57 years), 286 had a BMI of <30, while 105 had a BMI of ≥30. Univariate regression analysis showed that a BMI of ≥30 was significantly associated with any severe COVID-19 outcomes (OR=2.68; 95% CI 1.68 to 4.27; p<0.001). This remained after adjusting for age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (adjusted OR=3.19; 95% CI 1.93 to 5.27; p<0.001). A BMI of ≥30 was also significantly associated with any severe outcomes among younger adults (adjusted OR=4.04; 95% CI 2.23 to 7.32; p<0.001), but not among older adults (adjusted OR=1.80; 95% CI 0.70 to 4.64; p=0.227). Conclusion In our study, among all adults, a BMI of ≥30 significantly increased the odds of experiencing any severe COVID-19 outcomes. This association was also observed in the younger adult subgroup, but not in the older adult subgroup.
SARS-CoV-2 ; Body Mass Index ; Immunity ; Critical Care

Obesity ; Body Mass Index ; Leptin ; Inflammation ; Adipose Tissue

BACKGROUND: Tri-ponderal mass index (TMI) has been reported to be a more accurate estimate of body fat than body mass index (BMI). This study aims to compare the effectiveness of TMI and BMI in identifying hypertension, dyslipidemia, impaired fasting glucose (IFG), abdominal obesity, and clustered cardio-metabolic risk factors (CMRFs) in 3- to 17-year-old children. METHODS: A total of 1587 children aged 3 to 17 years were included. Logistic regression was used to evaluate correlations between BMI and TMI. Area under the curves (AUCs) were used to compare discriminative capability among indicators. BMI was converted to BMI- z scores, and accuracy was compared by false-positive rate, false-negative rate, and total misclassification rate. RESULTS: Among children aged 3 to 17 years, the mean TMI was 13.57 ± 2.50 kg/m 3 for boys and 13.3 ± 2.33 kg/m 3 for girls. Odds ratios (ORs) of TMI for hypertension, dyslipidemia, abdominal obesity, and clustered CMRFs ranged from 1.13 to 3.15, higher than BMI, whose ORs ranged from 1.08 to 2.98. AUCs showed similar ability of TMI (AUC: 0.83) and BMI (AUC: 0.85) in identifying clustered CMRFs. For abdominal obesity and hypertension, the AUC of TMI was 0.92 and 0.64, respectively, which was significantly better than that of BMI, 0.85 and 0.61. AUCs of TMI for dyslipidemia and IFG were 0.58 and 0.49. When 85th and 95th of TMI were set as thresholds, total misclassification rates of TMI for clustered CMRFs ranged from 6.5% to 16.4%, which was not significantly different from that of BMI- z scores standardized according to World Health Organization criteria. CONCLUSIONS TMI was found to have equal or even better effectiveness in comparison with BMI in identifying hypertension, abdominal obesity, and clustered CMRFs TMI was more stable than BMI in 3- to 17-year-old children, while it failed to identify dyslipidemia and IFG. It is worth considering the use of TMI for screening CMRFs in children and adolescents.
Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Body Mass Index ; Dyslipidemias ; East Asian People ; Hypertension ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Pediatric Obesity/diagnosis* ; Cardiometabolic Risk Factors

Humans ; Cohort Studies ; Body Mass Index ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Inflammation ; Treatment Outcome ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the relationship between the body composition of children aged 3-5 years and breastfeeding status and duration. METHODS: The study was conducted using data from the National Nutrition and Health Systematic Survey for children 0-17 years of age in China (CNHSC), a nationwide cross-sectional study. Breastfeeding information and potential confounders were collected using standardized questionnaires administered through face-to-face interviews. The body composition of preschool children was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis. A multivariate linear regression model was used to assess the relationship between breastfeeding duration and body composition after adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS: In total, 2,008 participants were included in the study. Of these, 89.2% were ever breastfed and the median duration of breastfeeding was 12 months (IQR 7-15 months). Among children aged 3 years, the height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) for the ever breastfed group was lower than that for never breastfed group (0.12 vs. 0.42, P = 0.043). In addition, the weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ) of the ever breastfed group was lower than that of the never breastfed group (0.31 vs. 0.65, P = 0.026), and the WAZ was lower in children aged 4 years who breastfed between 12 and 23 months than in those who never breastfed. Compared to the formula-fed children, the fat-free mass of breastfed infants was higher for children aged 3 years (12.84 kg vs. 12.52 kg, P = 0.015) and lower for those aged 4 years (14.31 kg vs. 14.64 kg, P = 0.048), but no difference was detected for children aged 5 years (16.40 kg vs. 16.42 kg, P = 0.910) after adjusting for potential confounders. No significant difference was detected in the weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ), body mass index (BMI)-for-age Z-score (BAZ), fat-free mass index, and body fat indicators in the ever breastfed and never breastfed groups and among various breastfeeding duration groups for children aged 3-5 years. CONCLUSION No obvious associations were detected between breastfeeding duration, BMI, and fat mass indicators. Future prospective studies should explore the relationship between breastfeeding status and fat-free mass.
Infant ; Female ; Child, Preschool ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Child ; Adolescent ; Breast Feeding ; Prospective Studies ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Body Mass Index ; Body Composition

OBJECTIVE: To determine the thermic effect of food (TEF) in a Chinese mixed diet in young people. METHODS: During the study, the participants were weighed and examined for body composition every morning. The total energy expenditure (TEE) of the participants was measured by the doubly labeled water method for 7 days, and during this period, basal energy expenditure was measured by indirect calorimetry and physical activity energy expenditure was measured by an accelerometer. The value obtained by subtracting basal energy expenditure and physical activity energy expenditure from TEE was used to calculate TEF. RESULTS: Twenty healthy young students (18-30 years; 10 male) participated in the study. The energy intake of the participants was not significantly different from the Chinese Dietary Reference Intake of energy ( P > 0.05). The percentage of energy from protein, fat and carbohydrate were all in the normal range. The intakes of fruits, milk and dietary fiber of the participants were significantly lower than those in the Chinese Dietary Guidelines ( P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the body weight of the participants during the experiment ( P > 0.05). When adjusted for body weight, there was no significant difference in either TEE or basal energy expenditure between the male and female participants ( P > 0.05). In addition, there was no significant difference in physical activity energy expenditure and TEF between the male and female participants ( P > 0.05). The percentage of TEF in TEE was 8.73%. CONCLUSION The percentage of TEF in TEE in a Chinese mixed diet in young people was significantly lower than 10% ( P < 0.001). A value of 10% is usually considered to be the TEF in mixed diets as a percentage of TEE.
Adolescent ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Body Composition ; Body Weight ; Diet ; East Asian People ; Energy Intake ; Energy Metabolism ; Exercise ; Young Adult ; Adult