RESUMO
To assess the nutritional status of an elderly nursing home population of South Florida, forty-seven persons with ages ranging from 65 to 96 years were studied. Complete clinical examination and anthropometric measures were performed, along with blood cell count, biochemical blood parameters and assessment of water-soluble vitamins levels. The most common clinical finding were edentulous (67%), general pallor (44%), hyperpigmentation (33%), dry skin (26%) and arcus corneitis (26%). Thirty-five percent of the studied population had cholesterol levels greater than 220 mg/dl. Triglyceride levels were also significantly elevated in a considerable subset of our subjects, with 30% having levels above threshold value of 150 mg/dl. Small proportions of subjects showed low levels of albumin (6%), total protein (28%), ascorbic acid (2%), and thiamin (9%). Forty-five percent of males were pyridoxine deficient, while 63% of the females presented such deficiency. This study underscores the need to define, with greater precision, the nutritional status of aged populations as well as improve our inadequate standards associated with the normal aging process. Nutritional intervention--only possible when appropriate standards are defined--can potentially serve not only to prevent the occurrence of significant morbidity and mortality, but can also be employed to enhance quality of life in the elderly individuals
Assuntos
Humanos , Masculino , Feminino , Idoso , Hipercolesterolemia/epidemiologia , Distúrbios Nutricionais/epidemiologia , Deficiência de Vitamina B 6/epidemiologia , Antropometria , Proteínas Sanguíneas/análise , Florida/epidemiologia , Hipertrigliceridemia/epidemiologia , Institucionalização , Casas de Saúde , Estado Nutricional , Vitaminas/sangueRESUMO
Preliminary studies suggest that in the indigenous Bahamian population hypertensive cardiovascular disease is a prominent cause of morbidity and mortality; however, coronary heart disease is rarely diagnosed. On the basis of the high linoleic acid content in the adipose tissue of the Bahamian children and adults compared to Americans, the hypothesis is proposed that in Bahamians, dietary sources of linolic acid modify the effect of hypertension as a risk factor predisposing to coronary heart disease (AU)
Assuntos
Humanos , Masculino , Feminino , Criança , Adolescente , Adulto , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Idoso , Hipertensão , Doença das Coronárias , Ácidos Graxos , Ácidos Linoleicos/metabolismo , Comportamento Alimentar , Fatores Etários , Fatores de Risco , Bahamas/epidemiologia , Fatores Sexuais , MortalidadeRESUMO
The aims of the study were to confirm the prevalence of hypertension in Bahamians, to determine at autopsy the degree of coronary atherosclerosis in documented cases of hypertensive disease in Bahamians and to analyse depot fat for fatty acids in Bahamians. Blood pressure was measured by a standard technique in 1488, subjects of ages 10-69 years. The records of 1450 consecutive autopsies were examined and the degree of coronary atherosclerosis graded. There were 130 autopsies of Bahamians with clinical evidence of hypertension. Fatty acids were determined on fat biopsies by gas chromatography. A high mortality rate from and prevalence of hypertensive disease exist in the Bahamas, by contrast to a low mortality rate for myocardial infarction and an apparent low prevalence of coronary heart disease. Depot fat composition of Bahamians shows a high level of linoleic acid (C18:2) (13.3 percent) and a poly-unsaturated/saturated fat ratio of 0.51. The p/s ratio is greater than 0.5 in all countries where the incidence of coronary heart disease is low. It is postulated that the traditional Bahamian diet which is relatively rich in poly-unsaturated fats, modifies the effect of hypertension as a risk factor in the evolution of coronary heart disease in this population (AU)