RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Costa Rica is experiencing a fast demographic aging. Healthy diets may help to ameliorate the burden of aging-related conditions. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the association of a traditional dietary pattern and 2 of its major components (beans and rice) with all-cause mortality among elderly Costa Ricans. METHODS: The Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study (CRELES), a prospective cohort study of 2827 elderly Costa Ricans (60+ y at baseline), started in 2004. We used a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess usual diet. We calculated dietary patterns using principal component analysis. Multivariate energy-adjusted proportional-hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Over a 15-y follow-up, encompassing 24,304 person-years, 1667 deaths occurred. The traditional Costa Rican dietary pattern was more frequent in rural parts of the country, and it was inversely associated with all-cause mortality. Subjects in the fifth quintile of intake had 18% lower all-cause mortality than those in the first quintile (HR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.69, 0.98; P-trend = 0.01), particularly among males (HR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.56, 0.95). Bean intake was associated with lower all-cause mortality among all subjects (HR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.68, 0.91, highest compared with lowest tertile) and in sex-stratified analysis. Rice consumption was inversely associated with all-cause mortality solely among males (HR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.60, 0.94, highest compared with lowest tertile). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that a traditional Costa Rican rural dietary pattern is associated with lower all-cause mortality in elderly Costa Ricans. Beans, a major component of this traditional dietary pattern, was also associated with lower all-cause mortality. These findings could have important implications for public health, given the nutritional transition and the reduction of intake of traditional diets in Latin American countries.
Asunto(s)
Dieta , Longevidad , Población Rural , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Pueblos de Centroamérica , Estudios de Cohortes , Costa Rica/epidemiología , Envejecimiento Saludable , Mortalidad , Oryza , Estudios Prospectivos , Población Rural/estadística & datos numéricosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has not only caused tremendous loss of life and health but has also greatly disrupted the world economy. The impact of this disruption has been especially harsh in urban settings of developing countries. We estimated the impact of the pandemic on the occurrence of food insecurity in a cohort of women living in Mexico City, and the socioeconomic characteristics associated with food insecurity severity. METHODS: We analyzed data longitudinally from 685 women in the Mexico City-based ELEMENT cohort. Food insecurity at the household level was gathered using the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale and measured in-person during 2015 to 2019 before the pandemic and by telephone during 2020-2021, in the midst of the pandemic. Fluctuations in the average of food insecurity as a function of calendar time were modeled using kernel-weighted local polynomial regression. Fixed and random-effects ordinal logistic regression models of food insecurity were fitted, with timing of data collection (pre-pandemic vs. during pandemic) as the main predictor. RESULTS: Food insecurity (at any level) increased from 41.6% during the pre-pandemic period to 53.8% in the pandemic stage. This increase was higher in the combined severe-moderate food insecurity levels: from 1.6% pre-pandemic to 16.8% during the pandemic. The odds of severe food insecurity were 3.4 times higher during the pandemic relative to pre-pandemic levels (p<0.01). Socioeconomic status quintile (Q) was significantly related to food insecurity (Q2 OR = 0.35 p<0.1, Q3 OR = 0.48 p = 0.014, Q4 OR = 0.24 p<0.01, and Q5 OR = 0.17 p<0.01), as well as lack of access to social security (OR = 1.69, p = 0.01), and schooling (OR = 0.37, p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Food insecurity increased in Mexico City households in the ELEMENT cohort as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These results contribute to the body of evidence suggesting that governments should implement well-designed, focalized programs in the context of economic crisis such as the one caused by COVID-19 to prevent families from the expected adverse health and well-being consequences associated to food insecurity, especially for the most vulnerable.
Asunto(s)
COVID-19 , Inseguridad Alimentaria , Pandemias , Humanos , COVID-19/epidemiología , México/epidemiología , Femenino , Adulto , Factores Socioeconómicos , Persona de Mediana Edad , SARS-CoV-2/aislamiento & purificación , Estudios de Cohortes , Abastecimiento de Alimentos/estadística & datos numéricos , Estudios LongitudinalesRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in vitamin D metabolic pathway genes, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations, and leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in Brazilian adults. METHODS: The study population comprised 461 participants (33-79 y of age; 51% women) from the Pró-Saúde Study, a cohort of civil servants at a university campus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. LTL, genotypes of vitamin D-related SNPs (rs12785878, rs10741657, rs6013897, and rs2282679), and serum 25(OH)D concentrations were determined cross-sectionally. Differences in age- and sex-adjusted LTL means by categories of genotypes and 25(OH)D serum concentrations were evaluated. LTL associations with genotypes and 25(OH)D were investigated using multiple linear regression models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and markers of health behavior. RESULTS: Participants with CC genotype (rs2282679) had shorter age- and sex-adjusted mean LTL than those with AC and AA genotypes (mean ± SE: 0.51 ± 0.03, 0.58 ± 0.01 and 0.5 ± 0.01, respectively, P < 0.05). In adjusted analyses, the CC genotype (rs2282679) was inversely associated with LTL (ßâ¯=â¯-0.061; 95% confidence interval, -0.120 to -0.001). Other vitamin D-related SNPs and serum 25(OH)D concentrations were not associated with LTL. CONCLUSIONS: Genetic variations in the gene encoding vitamin D binding protein (GC - rs2282679) were associated with LTL, suggesting an influence of vitamin D status on telomere length that may start early in life.