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Dec 2024 DOI 10.14302/issn.2379-7835.ijn-24-5352
C. Katusi GodfreyCorresponding author
Introduction Adolescent pregnancy has become a global health concern in recent years, with maintaining dietary diversity being essential to ensure the health of both the mother and fetus. This study aimed to understand the dietary diversity and nutritional status among pregnant adolescents attending antenatal clinic and identify the factors influencing these outcomes. Methodology A hospital based cross-sectional study was done at St Francis Regional Referral Hospital at Ifakara, Tanzania. A total of 131 adolescent pregnant women consented to participate. Data was obtained using questionnaire and 24-hour dietary recall. Results The study revealed that 93.1% (n=122) of adolescent pregnant women met the minimum dietary diversity score based on 24-hour recall period. Similar proportions were observed for age group but vary significantly with the number of children born (p< 0.001), marital status (p = 0.032) and education level (p< 0.001). Additionally, 93.9% (n=123) of adolescent pregnant women had a normal Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) and 6.1% (n=8) were undernourished. Similar proportions were observed across age, number of children born, marital status, education status, and occupation. Conclusion Most adolescent pregnant women in this study achieved adequate dietary diversity. However, socio-demographic factors such as age, marital status, and education, as well as challenges like illness and loss of appetite, influenced their dietary diversity and overall nutritional status. Future research should adopt a community-based longitudinal approach to better understand these factors and provide a more comprehensive understanding on the dietary patterns of adolescent pregnant women.
May 2015 DOI 10.14302/issn.2379-7835.ijn-14-588
Baroni LucianaCorresponding author
Primary Care Unit, Northern District, AULSS 9, via Manin 46, I-31046, Oderzo, Treviso, Italy
Plant foods are staples of many cultures in the world. Conversely, the appearance of vegetarianism in Western countries is a relatively recent phenomenon, showing an upward trend: people following vegetarian diets (both lacto-ovo-vegetarian-LOV and vegan-VEG), account today for about 10% of the Western population. According to the principle of non-discrimination, the most recent national dietary guidelines for the general population (DGLs) of some Western countries have adapted their contents to comprise vegetarian eating patterns. Moreover, since 1997, specific vegetarian food guidelines (VFGs) were developed. The aim of this review was to summarize and compare the information and recommendations of the food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) contained in the DGLs usable by vegetarians, and in the main VFGs; to extract a list of basic criteria for the planning of a well-balanced vegetarian diet, and to identify the most valid FBDG for vegetarians. An Internet search was conducted in the English language, in order to identify national DGLs applicable to vegetarian dietary patterns, and international VFGs. Four Western DGLs and six VFGs were selected. Compared to the majority of DGLs, VFGs are not an "adaptation" of omnivorous (OMN) eating patterns to vegetarian ones, but rather devoted guides: they include only foods consumed by vegetarians, and take into account their specific nutritional needs. VFGs offer qualified advice to meet the most updated standards of adequacy and safety of the diet: the varied consumption of all plant foods, mainly unprocessed; the respect of individual’s calorie requirements; the optional addition of small amounts of foods of animal origin (dairy/eggs); the attention towards some potentially critical nutrients. According to this criteria, the VFG for North American Vegetarians can represent the most accurate and practical model: not only is it consistent with research on the adequacy of vegetarian diets, but it is applicable both to LOV and VEG eating patterns and to all lifecycle stages beyond 4 years of age.
Nov 2013 DOI 10.14302/issn.2329-9487.jhc-13-253
Singla RohitCorresponding author
M.B.B.S. M.D. medicine. D.M. cardiology resident doctor at SMS hospital, Jaipur
Background: Western studies have shown that hypertension increases carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) as early as in childhood and adolescence. However, similar data from India is lacking. Indians have different genetic, racial, geographic, cultural and dietary patterns. Hence a similar trend may not be experienced among young Indian subjects. Methods: 46 young cases (age 16 – 35 years) of hypertension were recruited along with age, sex and BMI matched controls. Patients with body mass index (BMI) >25 kg/m2, diabetes mellitus and secondary causes of hypertension were ruled out. All patients underwent carotid ultrasonography for assessment of cIMT. Results: Mean age and BMI of cases was 25.4 years and 20.89 kg/m2 respectively. 67.4% were male. For all of the subjects combined (n=92), cIMT correlated with BMI (r = 0.244; P=0.019), office systolic blood pressure (SBP) (r = 0.556; p<0.001) and office diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (r =0.426; p<0.001). Among hypertensive subjects (n=46), there was a significant positive correlation between cIMT and SBP (r=0.611, p<0.001). In contrast to SBP, DBP correlated insignificantly with cIMT (r= 0.217; p = 0.14) in the hypertensive subjects. Conclusion: Elevated blood pressure, especially systolic, correlates with increased cIMT among young Indian hypertensives. This provides strong evidence that primary hypertension in early life also is associated with vascular pathology, independent of the effects of obesity and diabetes