Clustering of risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases in low-income, female adolescents

ABSTRACT Objective To assess the prevalence and clustering patterns of cardiometabolic risk factors among low-income, female adolescents. Materials and methods Cross-sectional study involving 196 students of public schools (11-19 years old). The following risk factors were considered in the analysis: excess weight, central obesity, dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, and high fasting glucose. The ratio between observed and expected prevalence and its confidence interval were used to identify clustering of risk factors that exceeded expected prevalence in the population. Results The most prevalent risk factors were dyslipidemia (70.9%), and central obesity (39.8%), followed by excess weight (29.6%), and high blood pressure (12.8%). A total of 42.9% of adolescents had two or more risk factors, and 24% had three or more. Excess weight, central obesity, and dyslipidemia were common risk factors in the clustering patterns that showed higher-than-expected prevalence. Conclusions Clustering of risk factors (≥ two factors) among the adolescents showed considerable prevalence, and there was a non-casual coexistence of excess weight, central obesity, and dyslipidemia (mainly low HDL-cholesterol).

Evaluation of acute and subchronic toxicity of a non-anticoagulant, but antithrombotic algal heterofucan from the Spatoglossum schröederi in Wistar rats

Fucan is a term used to denominate a family of sulfated polysaccharides rich in L-fucose. The brown alga Spatoglossum schröederi, Dictyotaceae, synthesizes three heterofucans named A, B, and C. Fucan A is a non-anticoagulant heterofucan which possesses potent antithrombotic (in vivo) and antiproliferative (in vitro) activities. However, its toxicity in vivo has not been determined. The present study examined the acute and subchronic toxicity of the fucan A in Wistar rats after subcutaneous administration. After that, the animals were killed and examined. The results showed in the acute study that fucan A did not cause general adverse effects and mortality in the concentrations 0, 20, 100, 1000, and 2000 µg/g body weight per rat for seven days. Regarding the subchronic study, the data showed that the fucan A did not cause any change in hematological and biochemistry parameters, as well as in the morphology, and in the size of the rat's organs analyzed at a concentration of 20 µg/g body weight per rat during a 62-day period. In conclusion, this study indicates this heterofucan is a compound with potential pharmacological value that has no toxicity in vivo.