Publications by authors named "Ana Carolina Junqueira Vasques"

Background & Aims: Considering the importance of accurate methods for assessing body fat in older adults, this study aimed to develop and validate equations for estimating body fat percentage (%BF) using portable A-mode ultrasound (US) and anthropometric data in older adults.

Methods: A total of 149 healthy older adults (≥60 years old) were included in the cross-sectional study. Three-fourths (n = 111) were randomly assigned to the development sample and one-fourth to the validation sample (n = 38).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

As individuals age, physiological changes in body composition occur, potentially contributing to adverse health outcomes in the elderly population. Various methods are used to assess body composition, but gold-standard techniques often involve technical complexity, high costs, and lack of portability. Alternative methods that are portable, relatively low-cost, and technically simpler are necessary for clinical use.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: With the advancement of studies on the importance of sarcopenia in the aging process, new technologies have been developed to assess muscle mass and function. However, most research on portable devices has not considered a wide range of ages and clinical conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of the Gripwise digital dynamometer in measuring handgrip strength in older Brazilian adults, comparing its performance with the widely used Saehan device.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The poor diet quality in line with the rising prevalence of noncommunicable chronic diseases, coupled with the substantial deficit in nutritional education within medical training programs, has precipitated the emergence of Culinary Medicine as an evolving discipline. Culinary Medicine fuses the art of home cooking with the sciences of human nutrition, psychology, gastronomy, and medicine to promote health and well-being. This comprehensive narrative review explores the diverse facets of Culinary Medicine, elucidating its historical evolution, theoretical foundations, educational initiatives in Brazil and worldwide, and its practical implementation in clinical contexts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background/objectives: Strength and muscle mass are key factors for the diagnosis of sarcopenia. The EWGSOP2 recommended using ultrasound (US) as a reliable device to measure muscle mass (MM), but A-mode US still needs to be validated for older adults. This study aimed to evaluate the association between measurements of muscle thickness (MT) by portable A-mode US and, muscle quantity by Dual-Energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in older adults.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background & Aims: Ultrasonography (US) is a promising tool for assessing body composition, offering accuracy and accessibility. However, technician skills and equipment characteristics can impact measurement reliability. We aimed to evaluate the intra- and inter-rater reliability of two evaluators using A-mode Portable Ultrasound to measure muscle and fat thickness in Brazilian older adults.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: The gut microbiome is associated with obesity, mainly mediated by bacteria-produced short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). It is unknown how SCFA concentrations are associated with the phenotypes metabolically healthy normal weight (MHNW), metabolically unhealthy normal weight (MUNW), metabolically healthy obese/overweight (MHO), and metabolically unhealthy obese/overweight (MUO). We compared plasma and fecal SCFA concentrations among adult women categorized according to the metabolic phenotypes mentioned above and examined associations between SCFA and adiposity and components of energy and glucose homeostasis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To validate the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) of insulin resistance (IR) as a surrogate to the hyperglycemic clamp to measure IR in both pubertal and postpubertal adolescents, and determine the HOMA-IR cutoff values for detecting IR in both pubertal stages.

Subjects And Methods: The study sample comprised 80 adolescents of both sexes (aged 10-18 years; 37 pubertal), in which IR was assessed with the HOMA-IR and the hyperglycemic clamp.

Results: In the multivariable linear regression analysis, adjusted for sex, age, and waist circumference, the HOMA-IR was independently and negatively associated with the clamp-derived insulin sensitivity index in both pubertal (unstandardized coefficient - B = -0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Intrauterine environment can induce fetal metabolic programming that predisposes to adiposity-related chronic diseases in its lifespan. We examined the associations of parental nutritional status and gestational weight gain with offspring body composition in early adulthood.

Methods: This is cross-sectional analysis of female participants of the NutriHS who were submitted to questionnaires, clinical examinations and body composition assessed by DXA.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • CAH patients generally have normal lifespans but face a higher risk of cardiovascular issues, linked to insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia, without a higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes.
  • A study involving 51 young adults, including CAH patients and controls, aimed to evaluate insulin sensitivity, beta cell function, and insulin clearance using a hyperglycemic clamp approach.
  • Findings revealed that CAH patients with 21-hydroxylase deficiency showed increased insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia, primarily due to decreased hepatic insulin clearance, suggesting that their beta cell function couldn't effectively compensate for the resistance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine whether paternal and maternal body mass indexes (BMIs) were independently associated with obestatin and visfatin levels in adult offspring.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis included 124 women who participated in the Nutritionists' Health Study (NutriHS) at baseline. Early life events, anthropometry, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry-determined body composition and blood sample were obtained.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background & Aims: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder that is characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms and that has a major impact on quality of life, resulting in direct and indirect health care costs. The majority of patients with IBS suffer from food intolerances, most commonly related to the consumption of fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAPs). This study aimed to develop and verify the validity and reproducibility of a short food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess typical FODMAP consumption in adults with IBS.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome is a functional and chronic gastrointestinal disorder that may cause abdominal pain and altered bowel habits, affecting the nutritional status and quality of life of its carriers. Its prevalence is high, affecting about 10% to 15% of the general population in developed countries, being more prevalent in women than in men in the proportion 2:1.

Objective: The aim of our study was to compare the profile of body adiposity, life habits, and the quality of life of women with irritable bowel syndrome with a healthy control group.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background & Aims: Cancer is one the principal causes of death, and is considered a health issue worldwide. Cancer patients are at high risk of malnutrition due to the disease and the treatment itself. Nutritional therapy is part of a multi-modal treatment and it is important to be aware of the patient's energy expenditure to aid in decision-making for dietotherapeutic prescription.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

To characterize resting energy expenditure (REE) in patients with classic 21-hydroxylase congenital adrenal hyperplasia (21-OH CAH) using indirect calorimetry and compare it to the most commonly used REE predictive equations. This case-control study comprised 29 post-pubertal 21-OH CAH patients regularly followed at the University of Campinas. Elevated serum 17-hydroxyprogesterone and gene molecular analysis confirmed the diagnosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To determine the prevalence of hepatic steatosis (HS) in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF) and associate it with nutritional status.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with children and adolescents with CF diagnosis. Weight and height were used to calculate the body mass index (BMI) and subsequent classification of the nutritional status.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Studies on adults have reported inverse association between the homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) of adiponectin (HOMA-Adiponectin) and the insulin resistance assessed by the glucose clamp technique. To our knowledge, in the pediatric population this association has not been previously investigated.

Objectives: To evaluate the association between the HOMA-Adiponectin and the insulin resistance assessed by the glucose clamp technique in adolescents, and to compare the accuracy of HOMA-Adiponectin and HOMA-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) for identifying insulin resistance.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The aim of this study was to verify if the selenium status of patients residing in locations with selenium-poor soil who receive parenteral nutrition (PN) without selenium supplementation is associated with the inflammatory process.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study with hospitalized patients who started PN. The analyzed biochemical tests were plasma selenium, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), C-reactive protein, prealbumin, albumin, creatinine, lymphocytes, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) patients are more susceptible to viruses transmitted through blood, like hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV), which this study investigates in Brazil.
  • A total of 537 DM2 patients were analyzed, showing a low prevalence of HBV (only 2 acute and 1 chronic cases) and a higher prevalence of HCV (2.42% had anti-HCV, with 7 confirmed HCV RNA+).
  • The study also examined risk factors and found some associations with age and diabetes duration, although these weren't statistically significant when evaluated further.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study investigated the association between fermentable oligo-di-mono-saccharides and polyols (FODMAPs) intake, problematic foods, body adiposity, and gastrointestinal symptoms in 44 women with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Around 84% reported to have excluded some food from their diet. Adiposity was not associated with the frequency of gastrointestinal symptoms and IBS severity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unlabelled: Nutritional support is an effective strategy to restore or maintain nutritional status, to reduce clinical complications, hospitalization period and the morbidity/mortality risk of hospitalized patients. So, a good marker is important to evaluate the nutritional support.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the evolution of transthyretin levels in patients receiving parenteral nutrition (PN) during 14 days.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: This study aims to compare the post-prandial curves of glucose, insulin, GLP-1, and GLP-2 among individuals with Crohn's disease (CD), obese individuals before and after bariatric surgery, and healthy controls.

Methods: This an exploratory cross-sectional study that involved five groups of patients (two groups of individuals with CD-active and inactive), bariatric patients (pre- and post-surgery, who were their own controls), and a distinct separated control group of healthy volunteers. C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and the post-prandial curves of glucose, insulin, GLP-1, and GLP-2 curves were assessed and compared.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of selenium supplementation on patients with inflammation receiving PN.

Methods: This double-blind randomized study included 20 hospitalized patients experiencing an inflammatory process while being fed by PN, who were monitored in three stages: first 72 h (0), day 7 (1), and day 14 (2) of PN. The supplemented patients group (G+S) received 60 μg/d (0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background/aims: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a molecule formed by lipids and polysaccharides and is the major cell wall component of gram-negative bacteria. High LPS levels are known to block CD26 expression by activating Toll-like receptor 4. The aim of this study was to correlate the serum levels of LPS and CD26 in Crohn's disease (CD) patients with serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukins, CD activity index, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Synopsis of recent research by authors named "Ana Carolina Junqueira Vasques"

  • Recent research by Ana Carolina Junqueira Vasques focuses on the intersection of nutrition and health, specifically exploring the roles of Culinary Medicine and nutritional education in addressing chronic diseases in Brazil and globally.
  • The studies highlight innovative methodologies, such as the use of portable A-mode ultrasound for assessing muscle mass in older adults, as well as the importance of short-chain fatty acids in various metabolic phenotypes, demonstrating a commitment to advancing dietary and health-related sciences.
  • Additionally, her findings emphasize the significance of parental influences on offspring's health outcomes, particularly in relation to body composition and insulin resistance, highlighting the long-term implications of early nutritional environments.