Hábitos alimentarios asociados a la emergencia sanitaria Covid-19 en adultos chilenos / Eating habits associated with the Covid-19 health emergency in Chilean adults

Introducción. El brote de COVID-19 generó cambios significativos en los hábitos alimentarios asociados a las medidas de confinamiento y distanciamiento social. Objetivo. Evaluar los hábitos alimentarios asociados a la emergencia sanitaria COVID-19 en adultos chilenos durante el año 2020. Materiales y Métodos. Se realizó un estudio observacional, descriptivo y transversal en adultos chilenos seleccionados mediante muestreo no probabilístico por conveniencia. Se utilizó una encuesta validada por juicio de expertos, que incluyó preguntas sobre características sociodemográficas, ingesta habitual de alimentos y percepción de cambios de hábitos alimentarios durante el confinamiento. Resultados. Participaron 4.346 adultos chilenos con una edad promedio de 35,8 ± 13,9 años, predominantemente residentes urbanos (94,3%) y mujeres (75,1%). Se observó un aumento en el abastecimiento de alimentos en los hogares durante el confinamiento. La mayoría de los participantes manifestó que mantuvo o aumentó el consumo de verduras, frutas, lácteos, pescado y legumbres. Sin embargo, la ingesta de alimentos saludables no alcanzó las recomendaciones nutricionales establecidas. Adicionalmente, se encontró un aumento en el consumo de dulces. Conclusiones. Este estudio revela los efectos del confinamiento por la pandemia de COVID-19 en los hábitos alimentarios de los adultos chilenos, donde un porcentaje considerable de la población no cumplió con las recomendaciones de una dieta equilibrada según las guías alimentarias chilenas. El aumento en el consumo de algunos alimentos poco saludables puede tener implicaciones en la salud y el estado nutricional. Es necesario fomentar una alimentación equilibrada durante situaciones de crisis como esta pandemia(AU)

Introduction. The COVID-19 outbreak has led to significant changes in dietary habits due to confinement and social distancing measures. Objective. To assess the dietary habits associated with the COVID-19 health emergency among Chilean adults during the year 2020. Materials and methods. An observational, descriptive, and cross- sectional study was conducted on Chilean adults selected through non-probabilistic convenience sampling. A survey validated by expert judgment was used, including questions on sociodemographic characteristics, usual food intake, and perceived changes in dietary habits during confinement. Results. A total of 4,346 Chilean adults participated in the study, with an average age of 35.8 ± 13.9 years, predominantly urban residents (94.3%), and female (75.1%). An increase in household food supplies during confinement was observed. Most participants reported maintaining or increasing their consumption of vegetables, fruits, dairy, fish, and legumes. However, the intake of healthy foods did not meet the established nutritional recommendations. Additionally, there was an increase in the consumption of sweets. Conclusions. This study reveals the effects of COVID-19 confinement on the dietary habits of Chilean adults, where a considerable percentage of the population did not comply with the recommended balanced diet according to Chilean dietary guidelines. The increased consumption of some unhealthy foods may have implications for health and nutritional status. It is essential to promote balanced eating during crisis situations like this pandemic(AU)

Cyclovirus detection in Chilean adults with and without community-acquired pneumonia.

Cycloviruses (CyV) (genus Cyclovirus, family Circoviridae) are nonenveloped DNA viruses. The first report in humans was in 2010 and research has focused only on disease-associated human sample detection. The only HuACyV (CyCV-ChileNPA1, HuACyV10) reported in the Chilean population was in children (3.3%) with an acute respiratory infection. Its detection in respiratory samples from adults, with/without respiratory disease remains unknown. The aim of this study was to detect HuACyV10 in adults with and without respiratory disease. HuACyV10 was studied in nasopharyngeal swabs from 105 hospitalized adults with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and 104 adults without respiratory symptoms. Total nucleic acids were extracted, and viral rep and cp gene fragments were amplified by real-time polymerase chain reaction. HuACyV10 was detected in 19.05% adults with CAP and in 0.96% asymptomatic adults, being significantly higher in adult CAP than asymptomatic (n = 1) ones (p = 0.0001). C t values were between 26.7 and 39.6, and the median was 34.1 for rep and 33.8 for the CAP in adults CAP (p = 0.68), and 35.7 and 36.0, respectively, in the asymptomatic case. HuACyV10 detection in CAP adults concentrated in the Autumn-Winter season of the Southern hemisphere. The only asymptomatic adult with HuACyV10 was detected in the Spring-Summer period. In this first report of HuACyV10 in respiratory samples from adults, detection was significantly higher in CAP than in asymptomatic adults. As the sensitivity of both rep and cp genes was similar, both can be applied for detecting HuACyV10. It would be advisable to investigate the pathogenic role of HuACyV10 in adult respiratory infections. ​.

Family and community support among older Chilean adults: the importance of heterogeneous social support sources for quality of life.

Family and community social networks act as social resources that promote well-being at advanced ages. In this study, we analyze the association between social support received from personal social networks (social support from various family members and friends) and community social networks (social support from neighbors and the neighborhood, age, ethnic, or religious group peers and formal social support networks) and quality of life (QoL) for a sample of older Chilean persons (n = 777). The results confirm that social support from family (partner, children, and extended family) and friends, integration in the community (neighbors) and social support from informal systems (social groups) are associated with QoL. Moreover, the model including both types of support explains 25.8% of variance in QoL. The results and their possible implications are discussed.

Eating behaviors are risk factors for the development of overweight.

This research aimed to characterize eating behavior in a sample of Chilean adults according to their gender and body mass index and to analyze the possible links between these variables and abnormal eating behaviors. We hypothesized that there would be significant differences in the eating behavior of normal-weight and overweight people, and also between men and women. Further, we hypothesized that overweight participants would show more abnormal eating behaviors than their normal-weight counterparts. Two hundred ninety-two participants (205 women and 87 men, age range 18-64 years) were evaluated with a battery of self-administered questionnaires. Mean body mass index was 26.58 kg/m² (women 26.22 kg/m², men 27.41 kg/m²), that is, within the overweight range. Participants with overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m²) tended to eat faster and in greater quantities, selected more hyper-calorie foods, and engaged in a greater number of abnormal eating behaviors of various kinds. The results suggest that, in addition to what people eat, the question of how people eat may also contribute to the rapid increase in the levels of overweight and obesity in the Chilean population.

Parámetros del habla en adultos normales chilenos / Parameters of speech in normal chilean adult

El propósito de este estudio fue comparar el rendimiento en tareas de habla de adultos chilenos según edad y género, para obtener datos normativos destinados a la evaluación del habla en nuestra población. Se evaluó 90 sujetos entre 40-69 años, con un protocolo que incluye: Tiempo Máximo Fonatorio (TMF), movimientos orales mandibulares, labiales y linguales, diadococinesias orales, velocidad de lectura oral y velocidad del habla automática. Al comparar por género, los hombres rinden significativamente mejor que las mujeres en TMF, movimientos linguales, repetición de sílabas y palabras. La comparación por edad arroja diferencias en movimientos labiales, repetición de sílabas, palabras y velocidad de habla automática, con un rendimiento superior entre 50-59 años. Basado en estos hallazgos, este estudio revela que el rendimiento en tareas de habla presenta diferencias según la edad y género de los sujetos. Los valores obtenidos difieren a los reportados en estudios de habla inglesa.

The aim of this study was to compare the performance in speech tasks of Chilean adults according to age and gender in order to obtain normative data for the assessment of speech's evaluation of our population. A total of 90 subjects between 40 and 69 years old were evaluated. The test battery was comprised of measures of Maximum Phonation Duration (MPD), oral, jaw, lips and lingual movements, oral diadochokinesis, oral reading speed and automatic speech speed. Male subjects performed significantly better than female subjects in MPD, tongue movements, and repetition of syllables and words. Adults aged 50-59 years performed significantly better than the other age groups in lips movements, syllables and words repetitions, and automatic speech speed. Based on these findings this study reveals that the performance in speech tasks differs according to the age and gender of this subjects. The values obtained differ from those reported in studies of English-speaking subjects.