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Objective: To assess the effect of a health promotion program on cardiometabolic risk profile in Japanese-Brazilians., Methods: A total of 466 subjects from a study on diabetes prevalence conducted in the city of Bauru, southeastern Brazil, in 2000 completed a 1-year intervention program (2005-2006) based on healthy diet counseling and physical activity. Changes in blood pressure and metabolic parameters in the 2005-2006 period were compared with annual changes in these same variables in the 2000-2005 period., Results: During the intervention, there were greater annual reductions in mean (SD) waist circumference [-0.5(3.8) vs. 1.2(1.2) cm per year, p<0.001], systolic blood pressure [-4.6(17.9) vs. 1.8(4.3) mmHg per year, p<0.001], 2-hour plasma glucose [-1.2(2.1) vs. -0.2(0.6) mmol/L per year, p<0.001], LDL-cholesterol [-0.3(0.9) vs. -0.1(0.2) mmol/L per year, p<0.001] and Framingham coronary heart disease risk score [-0.25(3.03) vs. 0.11(0.66) per year, p=0.02] but not in triglycerides [0.2(1.6) vs. 0.1(0.42) mmol/L per year, p<0.001], and fasting insulin level [1.2(5.8) vs. -0.7(2.2) IU/mL per year, p<0.001] compared with the pre-intervention period. Significant reductions in the prevalence of impaired fasting glucose/impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes were seen during the intervention (from 58.4% to 35.4%, p<0.001; and from 30.1% to 21.7%, p= 0.004, respectively)., Conclusions: A one-year community-based health promotion program brings cardiometabolic benefits in a high-risk population of Japanese-Brazilians.

This study aimed to identify and analyze correlates of dietary patterns in residents of Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, Brazil. This was a cross-sectional study including both men and women aged > 30 years (n = 930, weighted sample = 2,197). Factor analysis was applied to identify food consumption patterns, using a semi-quantitative questionnaire. Four patterns were identified: (a) obesogenic: associated with more physical activity, more schooling, and age < 40 years; (b) healthy: associated with female gender, individuals without overweight, older adults, central obesity, more physical activity, and higher socioeconomic status; (c) mixed: without overweight, female gender, and younger adults; and (d) popular: associated with absence of hypercholesterolemia and lower family income. The results highlight the need to encourage eating healthy foods in order to prevent chronic non-communicable diseases.

We investigated the impact of lifestyle goal achievement on cardiovascular risk factors after a 2-year behavioral intervention program applied to 394 adults (113 with diabetes, mean age 60.2 ± 11.4 years, 56% women) and targeting four goals: ≥5% weight loss; ≥150 min/week physical activities; <10% saturated fat intake/day; ≥400 g fruit and vegetable intake/day. Baseline characteristics and changes in variables after intervention among the four categories of number of goals achieved (none, 1, 2, and ≥3) were compared by independent ANOVA or the Kruskal-Wallis test. Individuals without diabetes achieving a higher number of goals were more likely to be older (3 or 4 goals: 61.8 ± 12.6 years vs none: 53.3 ± 10.3 years, P < 0.05) and to have a lower mean BMI (3 or 4 goals: 21.7 ± 2.6 kg/m² vs none: 29.0 ± 4.8 kg/m², P < 0.05), diastolic blood pressure (3 or 4 goals: 77.3 ± 2.1 mmHg vs none: 85.4 ± 9.6 mmHg, P < 0.05), triglyceride (3 or 4 goals: 116.1 ± 95.1 mg/dL vs none: 144.8 ± 65.5 mg/dL, P < 0.05) and insulin levels (3 or 4 goals: 3.6 ± 2.4 μU/L vs none: 5.7 ± 4.0 μU/L, P < 0.05) than those achieving fewer goals. The absolute changes in cardiovascular risk factors tended to be more pronounced with increasing number of goals achieved in individuals without diabetes. The intervention had a beneficial impact on the cardiometabolic profile of individuals with normal or altered glucose metabolism. The number of goals achieved in this lifestyle intervention was associated with the magnitude of improvement of cardiovascular risk factors in individuals without diabetes. Participants with a better cardiometabolic profile seemed to be more likely to have a healthy lifestyle.

To identify diabetes mellitus prevalence and associated factors, a cross-sectional epidemiological study was developed including participants aged 30 years and older living in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, Brazil. Using three-stage cluster sampling, probability weights were applied, resulting in a weighted sample of 2,197 participants. Diabetes mellitus diagnosis was based on previous medical history or World Health Organization (WHO) cut-offs after oral glucose tolerance test. To investigate associated factors, crude and adjusted prevalence ratios were estimated by points and confidence intervals, using Poisson regression. Diabetes mellitus prevalence was 15.02%. After adjusting for potential confounding, factors associated with diabetes mellitus in the final model were: age; family history of diabetes mellitus; waist hip ratio; waist height ratio; number of medicines taken; and use of outpatient services. The results showed high diabetes mellitus prevalence and identified associated factors amenable to intervention.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of different body mass index (BMI) ranges associated with the risk of diabetes and hypertension in Japanese-Brazilians. This cross-sectional study was based on data from 1,330 Japanese-Brazilians > 30 years of age who participated in a population-based survey on the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and associated diseases. Glucose tolerance status was classified according to WHO criteria and blood pressure levels according to the VI-JNC. Odds ratios for diabetes and hypertension were calculated for different BMI ranges; for different BMIs, sensitivity and specificity for percentiles 25, 50, 75, 90 and 95 were obtained. Increased odds ratios for diabetes mellitus and hypertension were observed with BMI values > 25 kg/m(2). The 50th percentile corresponded to the highest sensitivity and specificity for the identification of risk for both diseases. Our results suggest that BMI values proposed by WHO should also be useful for this group of Japanese descendants in the assessment of risk for DM and hypertension.

We evaluated dietary habits as risk factor for glucose intolerance in a high risk population of Japanese-Brazilians enrolled in a study on the prevalence of diabetes (DM). Based on oral glucose tolerance test and WHO criteria, 331 had normal tolerance (NGT), 88 impaired tolerance (IGT) and 83 had type 2 DM (51 self-reported, 32 newly diagnosed diabetics). Clinical, laboratory and dietary data, assessed by food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), were compared between the NGT group and another composed of IGT and newly diagnosed DM (disturbed glucose tolerance or DGT group). Associations of total energy intake and nutrient intakes with glucose intolerance were analyzed by logistic regression. Also, subjects with NGT and DGT entered into separate models of multiple linear regression including BMI as the dependent variable, and total energy intake or each nutrient as independent variables. DGT group showed higher waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure, plasma glucose and insulin levels and worse lipid profile. Total energy intake, macronutrients, fibers, alcohol and saturated fat intakes did not differ between groups; DGT was not associated with any nutrient intake in multivariate analyses. BMI of the subjects with DGT but not with NGT was associated with protein and cholesterol intakes in linear regression analysis. Our findings did not support an association between nutritional factors and glucose intolerance even in subjects who are unaware of their DGT, using FFQ to reflect current habits. However, we suggest that protein and cholesterol intakes may be markers of increased BMI. Despite assuming that obesity and insulin resistance precedes DM, FFQ may not be useful in the assessment of unfavorable dietary patterns among subjects at risk for glucose intolerance, such as Japanese-Brazilians with elevated BMI.

We examined the data from 530 subjects enrolled in a survey on the prevalence of diabetes in a Japanese-Brazilian population aged 40-79 years. Past self-reported and current weight values were analysed. Student t test was used to compare anthropometric measures between subjects with and without disturbance of glucose tolerance (DGT), hypertension and dyslipidemia. Point and interval estimates of the weight at 20 years-, age- and sex-adjusted odds ratios (OR) were obtained by logistic regression analysis to evaluate the relationship between these diseases and the percent weight gain. Subjects with DGT, hypertension or dyslipidemia tended to have higher BMI during adulthood and to gain more weight in a shorter interval of time. Also, they presented higher waist-to-hip ratio and plasma glucose and worse lipid profile. OR were consistent with associations between chronic diseases and percent weight gain. Trend test of OR indicated that the risk of developing DGT alone or combined with hypertension and abdominal obesity increased 2% and 15% by percent unit of gained weight, respectively, as compared with those subjects with stable weight. Weight gain and the rate by which this occurs during lifetime may confer increased risk of chronic diseases. We suggested that preventive measures against obesity, i.e. the maintenance of healthy body weight lifelong, are necessary to minimize the occurrence of these diseases, also among migrant populations such as the Japanese-Brazilians.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of different categories of glucose tolerance in a Japanese-Brazihan population using World Health Organization (WHO) and American Diabetes Association (ADA) diagnostic criteria. RESEARCH DIVISION AND METHODS: The analyses were based on the data obtained from a study conducted in a representative sample of the Japanese-Brazilian population composed of 647 subjects (40-79 years) who were submitted to a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test. Prevalence of glucose tolerance categories and the level of agreement (K statistics) were obtained using WHO and ADA criteria. Cardiovascular risk profile of the subjects with different diagnostic categories were compared., Results: Similar prevalences of diabetes were found considering both criteria (WHO, 20.3%; ADA, 19.2%). The prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) by WHO criteria was 14.7%, contrasting with 7.4% of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) by ADA criteria. Subjects with discordant diagnostic categories by the criteria, considered at risk for diabetes (IGT/IFG), showed a worse metabolic profile than the concordant normal subjects. However, subjects with discordant diagnoses who had IGT or diabetes by WHO criteria but who were normal by ADA criteria exhibited a higher number of cardiovascular risk factors (higher blood pressure and triglyceride and low HDL cholesterol) than those who were discordant (IFG/diabetes) by ADA criteria but normal by WHO criteria., Conclusions: Although the number of diabetic subjects was similar between the criteria, those identified as being at risk for diabetes were quite distinct. Fewer subjects were classified as having IFG by ADA criteria than as having IGT by WHO criteria. Abnormal glucose tolerance based on WHO criteria seems to identify a worse cardiovascular profile than abnormal tolerance based on ADA criteria. Follow-up studies are necessary to know the prognostic significance of IFG to predict subsequent diabetes.