ABSTRACT
Background: Anthropometric indicators have been used to predict health problems. The objective was to determine which indicators present better correlation with dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia and peripheral insulin resistance, as well as the cutoff points capable of predicting lipid and glycemic alterations in Brazilian children and adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted with 568 overweight individuals, aged between 5 and 18 years, living in Southeast and South Brazilian regions, submitted to anthropometric and body composition evaluation by bioimpedance, in addition to fasting laboratory tests [total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), fasting glycemia, and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)]. Pearson's correlation was used to evaluate the association between anthropometric indicators and serum biomarkers. The ROC curve with Youden's J index was used to suggest anthropometric cutoff points with better ability to predict or rule out lipid and glycemic changes. Results: Cutoff points obtained for the z-score of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist circumference for height (WC/H) showed high specificity (52 to 87%) and low sensitivity (23 to 59%), indicating greater ability to exclude changes in HDL-c, TG, and HOMA-IR levels. Cutoff points suggested for BMI ranged from +1.86 to +2.20 z-score. WC cutoff points ranged from +1.29 to +1.72, and, for the WC/H index, from +1.21 to +1.25. It was suggested the use of the following cutoff points to rule out changes in HDL-c, TG, and HOMA-IR values in clinical practice: BMI < z-score +2 and WC/H < z-score +1.29. In body fat percentage (BFP) analyses, the cutoff point < of 34% may be able to rule out changes in HDL-c (specificity of 70%), while the cutoff point > 36.6% may be able to predict changes in the HOMA-IR index (sensitivity of 76%). Conclusion: It is not yet possible to state which anthropometric parameter has the best correlation with lipid and glycemic alterations in overweight children and adolescents. We suggest considering BMI, WC, and WC/H cutoff points together to rule out changes in HDL-c, TG, and HOMA-IR, and use the BFP cutoff point to predict changes in HOMA-IR.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of anaemia in Brazilian children up to 83·9 months old. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis, using databases PubMed, Scopus, SciELO, Lilacs, Google Scholar, Periódicos Capes, Arca, Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde, Microsoft Academic Search and Cochrane Library using search terms: anaemia, prevalence, child and Brazil. PROSPERO Registration number: CRD42020208818. SETTING: Cross-sectional, cohort, case-control and intervention studies published between 2007 and 2020 were searched, excluding those who assessed children with an illness or chronic condition. The main outcome was anaemia prevalence. Random effects models based on the inverse variance method were used to estimate pooled prevalence measures. Sensitivity analyses removed studies with high contribution to overall heterogeneity. PARTICIPANTS: From 6790 first screened, 134 eligible studies were included, totalling 46 978 children aged zero to 83·9 months analysed, with adequate regions representativeness. RESULTS: Pooled prevalence of anaemia was 33 % (95 % CI 30, 35). Sensitivity analyses showed that withdrawal of studies that contributed to high heterogeneity did not influence national average prevalence. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood anaemia is still a serious public health problem in Brazil, exposing 33 % of Brazilian children to the anaemia repercussions. The main limitation of the study is the estimation of national prevalence based on local surveys, but a large number of studies were included, with representation in all regions of the country, giving strength to the results. In Brazil, more public policies are needed to promote supplementation, fortification and access to healthy eating to reduce the high level of anaemia among children.
