Impact of the change of the Atalah standard cut-off point to classify underweight nutritional status during pregnancy

ABSTRACT Chile, and several Latin American countries, use the Atalah standard to assess nutritional status during pregnancy. However, this standard (underweight: pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI)<20 kg/m2 and normal weight: pre-pregnancy BMI= 20-24.9 kg/m2) differ from those recommended by the US Institute of Medicine (IOM2009) (underweight: BMI<18.5 kg/m2 and normal weight: 18.5-24.9 kg/m2). Using a large population database from a Chilean public hospital, we compared the prevalence of underweight and normal weight at the beginning of pregnancy with Atalah and IOM2009 standards. Additionally, we evaluated the performance of both standards in detecting adverse neonatal outcomes and gestational weight gain. Methods: Data from clinical records of single birth pregnancies (n= 59,476) at the Sótero del Río Hospital, between 2003-2012 were collected. We compared 1. nutritional status, 2. proportion of excessive gestational weight gain, 3. association between nutritional status and neonatal outcomes (large/small for gestational age, low birth weight, preterm birth and macrosomia), using logistic regression models, and 4. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values to predict adverse neonatal outcomes per nutritional status. Results: Pre-pregnancy underweight decreased from 8.6% to 2.5% and women with BMI between 18.5-19.9kg/m2, who exceeded the recommended gestational weight gain increased from 32.7% to 49.2% when using IOM2009 instead of Atalah. Both standards showed low sensitivity, but the IOM2009 cut-off points showed better specificity for identifying healthy newborns. Conclusion: The cut-off points recommended by the IOM2009 better identify the prevalence of underweight and normal weight during pregnancy without increasing neonatal risk. This study supports the recent change of the Ministry of Health in adopting the WHO cut-off points during pregnancy.

RESUMEN Chile y diversos países Latinoaméricanos utilizan el estándar de Atalah para evaluar el estado nutricional (EN) durante el embarazo. Sin embargo, los puntos de corte de este estándar (bajo peso, BP: índice de masa corporal pre-gestacional (IMC)<20 kg/m2 y normal, NP: IMC pregestacional= 20-24,9 kg/m2) difieren de los recomendados por el Instituto de Medicina de EE.UU. (IOM2009) (BP: BMI<18.5kg/m2 and NP: 18,5-24,9 kg/m2). Con datos obtenidos desde el Hospital Sótero del Río, nosotros evaluamos la prevalencia de BP y NP al comienzo del embarazo con los estándares de Atalah e IOM2009. Adicionalmente, nosotros comparamos el comportamiento de ambos estándares en detectar resultados neonatales (RN) adversos y en la clasificación de la ganancia de peso gestacional (GPG). Métodos: Se obtuvieron datos de embarazos simples entre 2003-2012, (n= 59.476). Nosotros comparamos: 1. Prevalencia de EN, 2. Proporción de excesiva GPG, 3. Asociación entre EN y RN, usando modelos de regresión logística, y 4. Sensibilidad, especificidad y valores predictivos para predecir RN según EN. Resultados: La prevalencia de BP pregestacional disminuyó de 8,6% a 2,5% y las mujeres con IMC entre 18,5-19,9 kg/m2 que excedieron la GPG recomendada, incrementaron desde 33% a 50% cuando se utilizó el estándar IOM2009 en vez de Atalah. Ambos estándares mostraron baja sensibilidad, pero IOM2009 mostró mejor especificidad para identificar recién nacidos saludables. Conclusión: Estandar IOM2009 identifica con mayor precisión la prevalencia de BP y NP durante la gestación sin incrementar el riesgo neonatal. Este estudio respalda el reciente cambio del MINSAL al adoptar los puntos de corte de la OMS durante el embarazo.

An Introduction To Mathematical Modelling

Current medical research literature is increasingly relying on computer controlled mathematical models of medical outcomes. However, consumers of medical research usually lack the background knowledge of mathematical modelling and an understanding of the methods that are used to construct these models. This often results in readers blindly accepting the interpretations presented with the help of mathematical models. Therefore, a basic knowledge of the concepts of mathematical models will provide the readers of scientific literature with the insight needed to critically evaluate such findings.

Prevalence of nutritional risk and malnutrition in hospitalized patients with different stages of lung cancer in a tertiary hospital in Chongqing: a cross-sectional survey / 中华临床营养杂志

Objective To investigate the prevalence of nutritional risk and malnutrition in hospitalized lung cancer patients in a tertiary A hospital in Chongqing.Methods From December 2013 to July 2017,2 735 consecutive lung cancer patients were admitted to the Department of Pneumology at Daping Hospital for planned anti-cancer treatment.Patients who did not complete a nutritional status assessment and who had repeated admission wcrc excluded from the study.The demographic and tumor characteristics were investigated in the 548 lung cancer inpatients who completed the study.The nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS 2002) was used to evaluate the nutritional risk.The individual nutritional status was also evaluated using the patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA) questionnaire,anthropometry measurements and hematological measurements.The physical status was assessed by the Karnofsky performance status (KPS).Results According to the NRS 2002 score,29.56％ (162/548) of the cancer patients had nutritional risk (score ≥3).The prevalence of nutritional risk was 17.39％,15.00％,22.00％ and 36.86％,respectively,for patients with stage Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ and Ⅳ lung cancer.Forty-four patients (9.67％) had a body mass index＜ 18.5 kg/m2 and poor general condition,and the prevalence was 6.52％,5.00％,8.67％ and 11.22％,respectively,for stages I,Ⅱ,Ⅲ and Ⅳ.A total of 107 cases (19.53％) had impaired nutritional status (indicated by a severity score of 3 in the NRS 2002).The prevalence by different stages was 10.87％ (stage Ⅰ),5.00％ (stage Ⅱ),14.67％ (stage Ⅲ) and 25.00％ (stage Ⅳ).One hundred and twenty-five patients (22.81％) had PG-SGA scores ≥ 9,with 2.19％,2.50％,12.67％,and 33.33％ of patients in stages Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ and Ⅳ having these high scores.The KPS scores were lower in the patients with nutritional risk and malnutrition than in the patients with a normal nutritional status.Conclusions The prevalence of nutritional risk and malnutrition in patients with lung cancer were mediom.Nutritional risk screening and nutritional status assessment should be considered at the time of admission for lung cancer patients in order to ensure better outcomes of treatment.

Nutritional assessment and intervention of hand-foot-mouth disease in children / 临床儿科杂志

Objectives To conduct nutritional risk assessment analysis of hand-foot-mouth disease in children and to explore rational and feasible nutritional intervention. Methods The information of children with hand-foot-mouth disease in three hospitals in Guilin area was collected by ifxed-spot continuous sampling. Inquiry investigations, physical mea-surements combined with clinical diagnosis were undertaken, and nutritional risk assessment and management were con-ducted by the malnutrition screening tool of children (STAMP scoring). Those with STAMP scores ≥4 were considered at high nutritional risk. Nutritional risk reassessment was conducted on children with high nutritional risk after nutritional intervention and management. Results A total of 192 children with hand-foot-mouth disease were selected. The occur-rence rate of high nutritional risk was 68.75%(132/192). The hospitalization time of patients with high nutritional risk was prolonged and the hospitalization expense was increased apparently. The nutritional support treatment and nutritional edu-cation were undertaken on the children with high nutritional risk. The incidence of high nutritional risk from admission to discharge decreased from 68.75%to 36.98%(P<0.05). The clinical outcomes of those children accepting nutritional inter-vention were signiifcantly improved (P<0.05). Conclusions The occurrence and prognosis of hand-foot-mouth disease is closely related to the nutritional status of children, so nutritional risk assessment, nutritional intervention and management should be performed as early as possible.

Anthropometric midarm measurements can detect systemic fat-free mass depletion in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Our objective was to determine whether anthropometric measurements of the midarm (MA) could identify subjects with whole body fat-free mass (FFM) depletion. Fifty-five patients (31 percent females; age: 64.6 ± 9.3 years) with mild/very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 18 smokers without COPD (39 percent females; age: 49.0 ± 7.3 years) and 23 never smoked controls (57 percent females; age: 48.2 ± 9.6 years) were evaluated. Spirometry, muscle strength and MA circumference were measured. MA muscle area was estimated by anthropometry and MA cross-sectional area by computerized tomography (CT) scan. Bioelectrical impedance was used as the reference method for FFM. MA circumference and MA muscle area correlated with FFM and biceps and triceps strength. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that MA circumference and MA muscle area cut-off points presented sensitivity and specificity >82 percent to discriminate FFM-depleted subjects. CT scan measurements did not provide improved sensitivity or specificity. For all groups, there was no significant statistical difference between MA muscle area [35.2 (29.3-45.0) cm²] and MA cross-sectional area values [36.4 (28.5-43.3) cm²] and the linear correlation coefficient between tests was r = 0.77 (P < 0.001). However, Bland-Altman plots revealed wide 95 percent limits of agreement (-14.7 to 15.0 cm²) between anthropometric and CT scan measurements. Anthropometric MA measurements may provide useful information for identifying subjects with whole body FFM depletion. This is a low-cost technique and can be used in a wider patient population to identify those likely to benefit from a complete body composition evaluation.