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Purpose: To examine the association of a traditional Mexican diet score with risk of total, breast, and colorectal cancer among women of Mexican ethnic descent in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI)., Methods: Participants were WHI enrollees who self-identified as being of Mexican descent. Data from food frequency questionnaires self-administered at study baseline were used to calculate the MexD score, with higher scores indicating greater adherence to an a priori-defined traditional Mexican diet (high in dietary fiber, vegetables, and legumes). Incident cancers were self-reported by participants from 1993 to 2020 and adjudicated by trained physicians. We used multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs)., Results: Among 2,343 Mexican descent women (median baseline age: 59 years), a total of 270 cancers (88 breast, 37 colorectal) occurred during a mean follow-up of 14.4 years. The highest tertile of MexD score was associated with a lower risk of all-cancer incidence (HR: 0.67; 95% CI 0.49-0.91; p-trend: 0.01) and colorectal cancer (HR: 0.38; 95% CI 0.14-0.998; p-trend < 0.05), with each unit increase in the MexD score associated with a 6% lower risk of all-cancer incidence (HR: 0.94; 95% CI 0.88-0.99). There was no statistically significant association with risk of breast cancer., Conclusion: Consumption of a traditional Mexican diet was associated with a significantly lower risk of all-cancer incidence and colorectal cancer. Confirmation of these findings in future studies is important, given the prevalence of colorectal cancer and a growing U.S. population of women of Mexican descent., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Birth seasonality is a phenomenon whereby populations can be characterized by a single month or season in which births peak. While non-human animal research suggests that seasonal birth-pulses are related to variation in climate and local energy availability, social scientists debate the mechanisms responsible for it in humans. Here we investigate the role of precipitation, temperature, and energy availability on seasonal conception and birth pulses using a historical dataset from the Baja California peninsula - a hot, arid desert that experiences seasonal climatic fluctuations associated with the North American Monsoon. Analyses suggest that 1) local energy availability had a negative relationship with conception pulses; and 2) birth pulses had a positive relationship with local energy availability and a negative relationship with temperature. Taken together, our analyses suggest that women timed conceptions when local energy availability was lowest (challenging expectations of conception rates as simply reflecting ecological influences on female fecundity), so that children were born during the seasonal "green-up" associated with the North American Monsoon. Given our results, we speculate that birth seasonality represents a form of traditional ecological knowledge to improve neonate health and wellbeing.

Introduction: COVID-19, caused by the betacoronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has overwhelmed the world's health systems., Objective: To describe the epidemiological characteristics of patients treated in a tertiary care hospital., Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19 from March 23 to July 31, 2020 was conducted., Results: 4,401 patients were hospitalized at Central Military Hospital, out of which 35 % were beneficiaries, 26 % civilians, 28 % active military personnel, and only 11 %, retired military personnel. Male gender predominated, both in hospitalized patients and in those who died, as well as the O+ group and absence of comorbidities; among the observed comorbidities, the main ones were overweight and diabetes. Hospitalized patients' median age was 49 years, while median age of those who died was 62 years; women older than 51 years had a higher risk of dying. Adjusted case fatality rate was 18.5 %; 50 % died within the first six days., Conclusions: In this study, the epidemiological characteristics and main comorbidities in Mexican patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were identified., (Copyright: © 2021 Permanyer.)

Introduction and Aim: Intragastric balloon therapy is a temporary, minimally invasive method for inducing weight loss. Any balloon with a volume of 400mL induces satiety and delayed gastric emptying. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate its safety and efficacy., Materials and Methods: We analyzed the safety and effectiveness of balloon placement in relation to weight loss in 128patients. Subgroups were compared through the Student's t test, ANOVA test, and the chi-square test, depending on the type of variable and the number of groups evaluated. Statistical significance was set at a P≤.05 to evaluate weight loss., Results: Mean weight loss after balloon therapy was 10.7kg, with only 2 cases of complications due to oral feeding intolerance. Mean length of time with the balloon was 8months. There were no complications after 6months, but no further weight loss either (P=.540). Final weight loss versus initial weight loss was significant (P=.000). There was greater weight loss in the group that attended the bimonthly control appointments than in the group that did not: 12.7kg vs. 7.26kg (P=.000)., Conclusions: The rates of the adverse events of intolerance and complications were very low in our study, compared with results in the literature: 1.6% vs. 4.7% and 0% vs. 3%, respectively. Intragastric balloon placement had better results when the patients attended the control appointments. Intragastric balloon therapy is a safe and efficacious method for reducing weight in patients with overweight and obesity., (Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A.)

Background/objectives: Certain populations with a large proportion of indigenous American (IA) genetic ancestry may be evolutionarily adapted to traditional diets high in legumes and complex carbohydrates, and may have a detrimental metabolic response to US diets high in refined carbohydrates and added sugars. We tested whether IA ancestry modified the metabolic response to a US versus traditional Mexican diet in a controlled dietary intervention., Subjects/methods: First and second generation Mexican immigrant women (n=53) completed a randomized crossover feeding trial testing the effects of a US versus traditional Mexican diet. The metabolic response to the diets was measured by fasting serum concentrations of glucose, insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), adiponectin, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and computed homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA IR ). Blood collected at baseline was used for genotyping, and estimation of African, European and IA ancestries with the use of 214 ancestry informative markers., Results: The genetic ancestral background was 56% IA, 38% European and 6% African. Women in the highest IA ancestry tertile (>62%) were shorter in height, less educated and less acculturated to the US lifestyle, and tended to have higher waist-to-hip ratio compared with women in the middle and lowest IA ancestry tertiles, respectively. Compared with the US diet, the traditional Mexican diet tended to reduce glucose, insulin, IGF-1, IGFBP-3 and HOMA IR among women in the middle IA ancestry group (IA ancestry ⩽45-62%), whereas having no effect on biomarkers related to inflammation., Conclusions: We observed modest interactions between IA ancestry and the metabolic response to a US versus traditional Mexican diet among Mexican immigrant women.

Background: The frequency of functional bowel disorders (FBD) in Mexico using the Rome II criteria is unknown., Methods: The Rome II Modular Questionnaire (RII-MQ) was translated into Spanish in coordination with the Rome Committee and their Latin American program. Volunteers were recruited by advertisement in Mexico City, and administered the RII-MQ., Results: The study population consisted of 324 healthy volunteers, with a mean age of 35.7; 66% were female. The most prevalent disorders were heartburn 35%, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) 35%, functional bloating 21%, proctalgia fugax 21%, and functional constipation 19%. Based on gender, IBS-C was 4 times more frequent in females than males (19 vs. 4.6%) and functional bloating 3 times more frequent (10 vs. 3.7%). Differences according to occupation included a higher prevalence of ulcer-like dyspepsia (p = 0.04), IBS-C (p = 0.018) and proctalgia fugax (p = 0.034) among students., Conclusions: This is the first study to use RII-MQ to determine the prevalence of FBD in urban Mexico. The prevalence of IBS was significant and is related to a number of factors, including the stress of living in an overpopulated city. Selection bias is likely operative. A community-based study is warranted., (Copyright 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel)