Search

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of anaemia and the haemopoietic nutrient status of older mixed ancestry (coloured) South Africans.Design: A cross-sectional analytic study.Subjects: A random sample of 200 non-institutionalized subjects aged > or = 65 y of age, resident in urban Cape Town, was drawn using a two-stage cluster design.Methods: Trained fieldworkers interviewed subjects to obtain demographic and lifestyle data. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Fasting blood samples were drawn for the determination of haematological parameters, serum vitamin B12, serum folate, RBC folate and a full blood count.Results: The prevalence of anaemia was 13.9. Eight of the 26 cases of anaemia (31) were associated with suboptimal haemopoietic nutrient status; 2(25) and 3(38) cases of these 8 anaemic subjects had suboptimal vitamin B12 and folate status, respectively. Iron deficiency anaemia accounted for 5(63) of the subjects with nutrition-related anaemia. Ten men and two women (6.5 of subjects) had raised serum ferritin concentrations, half of whom had abnormal biochemical parameters indicative of alcohol abuse.Conclusions: Older coloured South Africans, particularly women, should be encouraged to eat diets with a high nutrient density and to consume adequate amounts of foods high in iron, folate and vitamin B12. Further investigation regarding the high prevalence of hyperferritinaemia found in the men in this population is indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cardio-metabolic risk factors, including hypertension, are increasingly appearing in childhood. The aims of this study were to examine the associations between dietary trajectories across childhood and subsequent blood pressure (BP) at age 10/11, and to further determine whether these associations were explained by BMI or fat mass., Methods: Data from 4360 participants from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children were analysed. Dietary scores were computed based on similarity of intake to the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Group-based trajectory modelling was used to identify distinct dietary trajectories based on participant's individual dietary scores at up to four timepoints between age 4 and 11. Linear regression models examined the associations between dietary trajectories and BP measured at age 10/11. Models were adjusted for relevant covariates, and BMI or fat mass., Results: Four dietary trajectories were identified: "never healthy" (4.3%); "moderately healthy" (23.1%); "becoming less healthy" (14.2%); and "always healthy" (58.4%). Children in the "always healthy" trajectory had a lower systolic (-2.19 mmHg; 95% CI -3.78, -0.59) and diastolic BP (-1.71; -2.95, -0.47), compared with children in the "never healthy" trajectory after covariate adjustment. These associations were attenuated after additional adjustment for BMI or fat mass, but remained significant for diastolic BP., Conclusions: A dietary trajectory mostly aligned with the Australian Dietary Guidelines across childhood was associated with slightly lower BP at age 10/11, which was not fully explained by BMI or fat mass. These findings support the need to encourage and enable healthy dietary habits early in childhood to attenuate the increasing burden of cardio-metabolic disease., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background/objectives: Vitamin D deficiency remains a global public health issue, particularly in minority ethnic groups. This review investigates the vitamin D status (as measured by 25(OH)D and dietary intake) of the African-Caribbean population globally., Subjects/methods: A systematic review was conducted by searching key databases (PUBMED, Web of Science, Scopus) from inception until October 2019. Search terms included 'Vitamin D status' and 'African-Caribbean'. A random effects and fixed effects meta-analysis was performed by combining means and standard error of the mean., Result: The search yielded 19 papers that included n = 5670 African-Caribbean participants from six countries. A meta-analysis found this population to have sufficient (>50 nmol/L) 25(OH)D levels at 67.8 nmol/L, 95% CI (57.9, 7.6) but poor dietary intake of vitamin D at only 3.0 µg/day, 95% CI (1.67,4.31). For those living at low latitudes 'insufficient' (as defined by study authors) 25(OH)D levels were found only in participants with type 2 diabetes and in those undergoing haemodialysis. Suboptimal dietary vitamin D intake (according to the UK recommended nutrient intake of 10 µg/day) was reported in all studies at high latitudes. Studies at lower latitudes, with lower recommended dietary intakes (Caribbean recommended dietary intake: 2.5 µg/day) found 'sufficient' intake in two out of three studies., Conclusions: 25(OH)D sufficiency was found in African-Caribbean populations at lower latitudes. However, at higher latitudes, 25(OH)D deficiency and low dietary vitamin D intake was prevalent., (© 2021. The Author(s).)