Nutrition
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Reliable assessments of dietary intake is crucial when examining associations between dietary factors and different outcomes. Today, web-based instead of paper-based food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) are common. A web-based FFQ implies a different experience (including design differences, the possibility only to show relevant questions, and automatic checks for completeness) and may capture dietary intake differently. The aim of this study was to validate a well-used paper-based FFQ transferred to a web-based version against a 4-d dietary record. ⋯ Overall, the web-based FFQ performed well and is similar to the paper-based version. It can be a useful tool for dietary assessments.
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The aim of this study was to investigate the stronger correlate of appetite-family or friend networks-in community-dwelling older adults, given that undernutrition can impair physical function, increase mortality, and be influenced by social networks. ⋯ Appetite was associated with family networks. Among social networks, focusing on family networks may help prevent the loss of appetite in older adults in Japan.
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Although there is some evidence that flood exposure in Bangladesh and other developing countries increases the risk of chronic undernutrition in children, the underlying mechanisms are, to our knowledge, unknown. The objectives of this research are to examine the association between recurrent flood exposure and the likelihood of chronic undernutrition in children and to investigate the mediators of this association. ⋯ Flood exposure was found associated with the likelihood of child chronic undernutrition, and this relationship was mediated through lack of having a separate kitchen, history of diarrhea, insufficient vaccination, use of unclean cooking fuel, and poor minimum dietary diversity. Interventions to reduce the prevalence of these risk factors could contribute to reducing the disparities in child undernourishment brought on by exposure to flooding.
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Polypharmacy is the simultaneous use of multiple medicines, usually more than five. Polypharmacy is highly prevalent among older individuals and is associated with several adverse health outcomes, including frailty. The role of polypharmacy in nutritional status seems to be crucial: although a clear association between polypharmacy and malnutrition has been widely reported in older people, the magnitude of the effect of increased number of drugs in combination with their type on the risk for malnutrition remains to be largely explored. ⋯ Deprescribing (i.e., a systematic process of identification and discontinuation of drugs or a reduction of drug regimens) could be an essential step for minimizing the effects of polypharmacy on malnutrition. In this regard, the literature suggests that in older patients taking several medications, the best method to solve this problem is the comprehensive geriatric assessment, based on a holistic approach, including drug review, to find potential unnecessary and inappropriate medications. Nutritional and deprescribing interventions must be tailored to patient needs and to the local context to overcome barriers when applied in different settings.
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Although muscle mass and its distribution have been shown to affect prognosis, the association between regional muscle mass and cardiovascular mortality risk in diabetic patients remains unclear. ⋯ Higher upper limb lean mass is associated with lower cardiovascular mortality compared with other regional lean mass in patients with diabetes, especially for men. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms involved in muscle metabolic differentiation.