RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To compare cardiovascular risk factors between vegetarians and non-vegetarians in black individuals living in the USA. DESIGN: A cross-sectional analysis of a sub-set of 592 black women and men enrolled in the Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2) cohort of Seventh-day Adventists. SETTING: Members of the AHS-2 cohort, who lived in all states of the USA and provinces of Canada. SUBJECTS: Black/African-American members of two sub-studies of AHS-2 where blood and physiological measurements were obtained. RESULTS: Of these women and men, 25% were either vegan or lacto-ovo-vegetarians (labelled 'vegetarian/vegans'), 13% were pesco-vegetarian and 62% were non-vegetarian. Compared with non-vegetarians, the vegetarian/vegans had odds ratios for hypertension, diabetes, high blood total cholesterol and high blood LDL-cholesterol of 0·56 (95% CI 0·36, 0·87), 0·48 (95% CI 0·24, 0·98), 0·42 (95% CI 0·27, 0·65) and 0·54 (95% CI 0·33, 0·89), respectively, when adjusted for age, gender, education, physical activity and sub-study. Corresponding odds ratios for obesity in vegetarian/vegans and pesco-vegetarians, compared with non-vegetarians, were 0·43 (95% CI 0·28, 0·67) and 0·47 (95% CI 0·27, 0·81), respectively; and for abdominal obesity 0·54 (95% CI 0·36, 0·82) and 0·50 (95% CI 0·29, 0·84), respectively. Results for pesco-vegetarians did not differ significantly from those of non-vegetarians for other variables. Further adjustment for BMI suggested that BMI acts as an intermediary variable between diet and both hypertension and diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: As with non-blacks, these results suggest that there are sizeable advantages to a vegetarian diet in black individuals also, although a cross-sectional analysis cannot conclusively establish cause.
Asunto(s)
Enfermedades Cardiovasculares/prevención & control , Dieta Vegetariana/etnología , Síndrome Metabólico/prevención & control , Obesidad/prevención & control , Adulto , Negro o Afroamericano , Anciano , Población Negra , Índice de Masa Corporal , Canadá/epidemiología , Enfermedades Cardiovasculares/sangre , Enfermedades Cardiovasculares/epidemiología , Enfermedades Cardiovasculares/etnología , Estudios de Cohortes , Estudios Transversales , Femenino , Humanos , Hipertensión/sangre , Hipertensión/epidemiología , Hipertensión/etnología , Hipertensión/prevención & control , Masculino , Síndrome Metabólico/sangre , Síndrome Metabólico/epidemiología , Síndrome Metabólico/etnología , Persona de Mediana Edad , Obesidad/sangre , Obesidad/epidemiología , Obesidad/etnología , Protestantismo , Estados Unidos/epidemiología , Indias Occidentales/etnologíaRESUMEN
UNLABELLED: We assessed the nutritional status of children in Ecuador using anthropometric measurements and body composition. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether living in the highlands in Quito was a predisposing factor to poor nutrition in children. METHOD: We compared the children in highlands at 2772 m above sea level with their costal (605 m above sea level) counterparts at Santo Domingo de Los Colorados. By using the WHO standard reference 2007, we distinguished malnourished children from healthy children using Z-score of -2 as a cut-off point. RESULTS: Mean Z-score indices for both height-for-age (HFA) and weight-for-age (WFA) were found to be significantly lower among urban children than for rural children (p < 0.001). Urban children were also four times more likely of becoming mildly stunted (OR = 3.95%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.818-8.448) and three times more likely of being mildly underweight (OR = 3.95%, 95% CI: 1.241-7.551). CONCLUSION: Living in highland urban areas of Ecuador is a predisposing factor for poor nutrition among children.