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Biomedical subjects

S Ulijaszek

Publications and source records attributed to S Ulijaszek.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Body size, fat distribution, menarcheal age and blood pressure in 14-year-old girls.

BACKGROUND: The relationships between body size and fatness and blood pressure are generally acknowledged. The majority of the few studies that have examined the effect of fat distribution and maturation rate on blood pressure have used secondary sex characteristics as the measure of maturity. The aim of the present study is to examine the associations between blood pressure and relative weight, fat distribution, recalled menarcheal age and occurrence of menstruation (yes/no) in a sample comprising of 1149 14-year-old girls. METHODS: Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), height, weight and body circumferences were measured using standard protocols. Fatness was expressed as body mass index (BMI, kg/m2), whereas fat distribution was estimated by using waist-to-hip ratio. The girls' maturity status was assessed from exact recalled date of menarche. One-way analysis of covariance and multiple linear regression analyses were used to determine the strength of association among systolic blood pressure (SBP), DBP and BMI, menarcheal age and indices of fat distribution. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Height and BMI are significantly associated with SBP. Relative weight is the most important factor related to SBP independently of chronological age and maturity status. Height and age at menarche are significantly associated with DBP. Height of 14-year-old girls shows the same strength of association with SBP and DBP, whereas maturity status negatively correlates with DBP. Fat distribution shows no effect on the level of DBP in girls.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1997

Transdisciplinarity in the study of undernutrition-infection interactions.

Interactions between undernutrition, infection, and growth and development are complex, and are reviewed in this article, giving particular emphasis on the importance of diarrheal infection in this process. The effects of diet, nutrition and infection on the nutritional status of a child can vary according to the disease ecology, the age of the child, patterns of feeding and types of food consumed. There are two possible ways in which this relationship can begin; one in which poor nutritional status leads to impaired immunocompetence and reduced resistance to infection, and the other in which exposure to infectious disease can lead to appetite loss and anorexia, malabsorption, and elevated metabolism of energy and other nutrients. Once started, the interactions between these two major environmental stressors becomes increasingly complex, with the nature of the disease ecology influencing the balance of immunoparesis and adaptive immunity and its effect on subsequent disease experience. Furthermore, the disease ecology influences the type and extent of associated physiological phenomena including anorexia, fever, and malabsorption, all of which have an impact on nutritional status. Of disease categories, diarrhea has particularly potent effects in this relationship. The predicted impact of HIV infection among newborn infants is the earlier onset of the undernutrition-infection cycle, as low CD4+ T lymphocyte counts soon after birth are likely to predispose such infants to earlier opportunistic infection.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Anthropometry of two contrasting populations of Thai elderly living in a rural setting.

This study presents anthropometric data on 192 elderly males and 342 elderly females from two contrasting population settings in rural Thailand. Sixty per cent of the subjects lived in with relatives and 40% in a residential home. The elderly population in the present study had BMI values of 21 kg/m(2) for men and 22-23 kg/m(2) for women. Due to different age distributions in the two groups studied, the anthropometric values were adjusted for age. There was a negative correlation between age and weight for men and women at both sites. Both males and females were shorter with smaller armspan in the residential home. There were significant differences in the distribution of adipose tissue, after adjustment for age, between the two communities. Men in the residential home had larger waist circumference, triceps and biceps skinfold thicknesses but smaller subscapular skinfold thicknesses than the men in the rural community. Women in the residential home were heavier with larger biceps and triceps skinfold thicknesses and smaller arm circumferences than the women in the rural community. The elderly in the residential home had a general reduction in body fat with age, unlike the elderly in the rural community who showed a decrease in mainly peripheral fat. The likely impact of lifestyle and feeding practices in the two sites on body composition is also discussed.

Journal Article↗