Volume 16 Issue 2

▪ Keyword : anthocyanins, anthocyanin-rich extracts, disease prevention, diabetes

▪ Content : Anthocyanins are the largest group of water-soluble pigments in the plant kingdom, known collectively as flavonoids. More than 8000 flavonoids, and 500 anthocyanin structures had been reported by the year 2000 and more are continually being isolated.

▪ Keyword : red cell folate, NTD, fortification, Asia, women

▪ Content : Background: Periconceptional folic acid reduces neural tube defect (NTD) risk. Red blood cell folate concentration is inversely associated with NTD risk. In many countries there is a lack of information on NTD rates. Red cell folate status in women of childbearing age may be a surrogate for NTD rates and may be helpful in identifying countries or regions most likely to benefit from improved folate status.

▪ Keyword : malnutrition, Vietnam, stunting, poverty

▪ Content : Reduction in childhood malnutrition in Vietnam between 1990 and 2004 was assessed using data from 5 national surveys. The prevalence of malnutrition, including stunting, declined significantly for underweight from 45% in 1990 to 26.6% in 2004.

▪ Keyword : nutritional status, body composition, PEM (Protein Energy Malnutrition), micronutrient deficiencies, health

▪ Content : Introduction: In Thailand, according to the national nutrition survey of the Thai population who live in the cities by the Ministry of Public Health, about 12% of preschool children aged 1-6 years were malnourished. The rate of malnutrition is much higher among mountain minority (‘hill tribe’) children than city children. This paper reports a study of malnutrition, body composition and health conditions of Karen hill tribe children aged 1-6 years in Thailand.

▪ Keyword : medium-chain triglyceride oil (MCT oil), diarrhea, children, nutritional status

▪ Content : This study was undertaken to determine the effect of medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil supplementation on the duration and episodes of diarrhea attacks, and specifically its effect on the clinical manifestations of patients. Seventeen children aged 6 months to 47 months old with a mean age of 19.6 months, suffering from acute diarrhea at the Pediatric Ward of the Philippine General Hospital Medical Center and other neighboring health centers were studied.

▪ Keyword : Indonesia, Karo, Minangkabau, nutritional status, psychosocial care

▪ Content : A study on psychosocial care among Karo (patrilineal kinship) and Minangkabau (matrilineal kinship) households who lived in Jakarta, Indonesia was aimed at investigating psychosocial care practices of mothers and the relation of psychosocial care to the nutritional status of children aged 6-36 months as indicated by Weight-for-Age (WFA), Weight-for-Height (WFH), and Height-for-Age (HFA) Z-scores.

▪ Keyword : optimal growth, infant, iron, micronutrient, zinc

▪ Content : Zinc supplementation has been shown to benefit linear growth. However the effect may depend on whether zinc is the most limiting nutrient. This study aims to investigate the effect of supplementation with zinc-given alone or with iron and vitamin-A in improving infants’ micronutrient status and linear growth.

▪ Keyword : anaemia, women, pregnancy, postpartum, prevalence, factors associated

▪ Content : Objectives: To determine anaemia prevalence and related factors in pregnant women (PW), post partum women (PPW) and non pregnant women (NPW) in a remote mountainous district. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2001. All PW, all PPW within 6 months of delivery and a random number of NPW equivalents to the number of PW in each commune were selected.

▪ Keyword : ‘exclusive breastfeeding’, breastfeeding duration, factors, Xinjiang

▪ Content : Objective: To document ‘exclusive breastfeeding’ duration and factors associated with duration in Xinjiang, PR China. Methods: A cohort of 1219 mothers in Xinjiang, PR China was recruited to study their infant feeding practices. The mothers who delivered babies during 2003 and 2004were contacted in hospital and again at 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 and 6 months postpartum, or until they ceased to breastfeed. Interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire. Survival analysis was used to calculate the mean of ‘exclusive breastfeeding’ and explore factors affecting ‘exclusive breastfeeding’ duration.

▪ Keyword : fatty acid, Blue Mountains Eye Study, omega-3 fatty acids

▪ Content : Objective: To document dietary intakes and food sources of fatty acids among older Australians. Design: Population-based survivor cohort. Setting: Two postcode areas in the Blue Mountains, West of Sydney, Australia.

▪ Keyword : hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, obesity, Mediterranean diet, elderly

▪ Content : Background: There is increasing evidence that there are protective health effects from diets which are high in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, and which include fish, nuts, and low-fat dairy products. We sought to investigate the association of Mediterranean diet on clinical status of 150 elderly men and women.

▪ Keyword : Breath-H2 test, Fructose malabsorption, Fructose intolerance

▪ Content : Fructose malabsorption has not been well-defined in Thai populations but there has been increasing consumption of fructose-fortified drinks Objectives: To assess the incidence of fructose malabsorption and intolerance in Thai normal subjects as well as the facilitating effect of glucose on fructose absorption.

▪ Keyword : hypertension, interview surveys, self-reporting, medical records, body mass index

▪ Content : The aim of the study was to assess the association of socioeconomic, anthropometric and lifestyle factors with self-reported hypertension in older adults in Taiwan. The data were part of the “1999 Survey of Health and Living Status of the Elderly in Taiwan”. The survey was conducted in-home, face-to-face, by interviews of 4440 men and women, 53 years or older, in a population-based cross-sectional study.

▪ Keyword : nutritional status, functional status, food intake, older people, anthropometry

▪ Content : A multidimensional assessment of nutritional and health status comprised of subjective global assessment (SGA), anthropometry function, biochemistry, dietary intake, social and health aspects was carried out on 820 older people (52.8% men and 47.2% women) from four rural areas of Peninsular Malaysia.

▪ Keyword : adolescent, health, physical activity, Taiwan

▪ Content : Purpose: Most of the studies investigating prevalence and correlates of physical activity have been conducted in Western countries. To date, there are no internationally published data with nationally representative samples on physical activity prevalence among Taiwanese adolescents and little is known about the relevant factors associated with activity and inactivity. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence of physical activity in Taiwanese adolescents and to identify associated socio-demographic and behavioral variables.

▪ Keyword : metabolic syndrome, epidemiology, East and Southeast Asia, cardiovascular disease

▪ Content : Background: The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among a number of Asian populations as defined by several current criteria has been increasing rapidly and appears to resemble that among Western populations. Methods: We review 25 surveys of the metabolic syndrome in Asian populations (PR China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, Singapore) that report adequate information published during the last 5 years.

▪ Keyword : food security, Indonesia, coping strategies, urban and rural setting

▪ Content : The food security assessment used by the United State’s Food Security/Hunger Survey Module (US- FSSM) was used in five studies: these were in two urban and four rural areas in Indonesia between February 2004-August 2005. The number of households assessed was 3,704 and consisted of 45% urban and 55% rural.

▪ Keyword : attitude, genetically modified foods, intention, knowledge

▪ Content : Conflicting arguments and partial truths on genetically modified (GM) foods have left confusion. Although studies of consumer acceptance of GM foods are numerous, the study of scientists is limited. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess the attitudes of scientists towards GM foods. The study was a cross sectional study.

▪ Keyword : hypoalbuminemia, colectomy, postoperative complications, ileus, nutrition

▪ Content : Purpose: To determine the relationship between preoperative serum albumin and postoperative bowel function as well as surgical outcomes in right-sided colon cancer patients. Methods: This retrospective study in a university hospital included 84 patients who underwent elective right hemicolectomy for adenocarcinoma of the right-sided colon between January 2004 and December 2005. The patients had a preoperative serum albumin assessment.

▪ Keyword : nterleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist

▪ Content : Although several studies have dealt with the patterns of cytokine production in tuberculosis, little is known about the association between nutrient deficiencies and cytokines in tuberculosis. The objective of this study was to assess the concentration of cytokines related to nutritional status during tuberculosis.

▪ Keyword : micronutrient, error estimate, food tables, cooked foods’ composition

▪ Content : Individual cooked foods (104) and composite meals (92) were examined for agreement between nutritive value estimated by indirect analysis (E) (Indian National database of nutrient composition of raw foods, adjusted for observed moisture contents of cooked recipes), and by chemical analysis in our laboratory (M).

▪ Keyword : overweight, body mass index, waist circumference, cigarette smoking, prevention

▪ Content : Objectives: To examine the association between overweight, central obesity and cigarette smoking (total amount of cigarettes smoked [TACS] and status). Design: Population-based cross-sectional study. Setting: Administrative villages and neighborhoods (n=45) randomly selected from three urban districts and two rural counties in Nanjing City, China.

▪ Keyword : obesity, dyslipidemia, waist to height ratio, waist circumference

▪ Content : Overweight and obesity are increasing problems in many countries and are related to multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Although imaging techniques can determine total body fat and its distribution reliably,anthropometric measurements remain important in clinical practice.

▪ Keyword : : insulin resistance, diet, obesity, blood lipids, Taiwanese

▪ Content : This study investigated the relationships between measures of fatness and blood insulin and lipids in Taiwanese females living in Taiwan (n=97) or Australia (n=100), and examined the effect of length of residence in Australia on these relationships.

▪ Keyword : CRP, dyslipidaemia, dietary intake, atherosclerosis, inflammation

▪ Content : Serum CRP concentrations are elevated in subjects at risk of coronary events and in subjects with metabolic syndrome. Although dietary fat and antioxidants are known for their immune-modulating actions, their reported effects on CRP concentrations have been inconsistent.