Self-reported consumption frequency of meat and fish products among young adults in Kazakhstan.

Background: Meat and dairy products are important ingredients in Kazakhstan, although there are indications that high consumption of red and processed meat is associated with a risk of several non-communicable diseases and has an adverse impact on the environment. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the dietary habits of young adults in Kazakhstan, particularly meat and fish consumption frequency among university students in five regions of Kazakhstan. Methods: The assessment of meat and fish consumption was based on the food frequency questionnaire. Region of residence, age, sex, weight, height and parental education were also self-reported. Results: Meat consumption among the participants was lower than recommended consumption of 1500 g per week in Kazakhstan but almost two-fold higher than the World Cancer Research Fund recommendations of 500 g per week. Approximately 24% of the participants reported to consume meat every day. Only 8.6% of the participants reported fish consumption in line with the recommendation of approximately 270 g per week in Kazakhstan. Meat and fish consumption was fairly homogeneous across regions and sex. Conclusion: The results from this study contribute to the relatively limited information on meat and fish consumption in Kazakhstan. Further knowledge on dietary habits and probably improved nutrition recommendations on meat consumption in Kazakhstan are needed to protect public health and the environment.

Epitopes specificity of antibodies to thyroid peroxidase in patients with Graves' disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis and overlap-syndrome.

Background: Antibodies against thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) serve as clinical markers of thyroid autoimmune diseases (TAIDs). By trying to elucidate the causes of heterogeneity in autoantibody levels among patients with different TAIDs it becomes possible to clarify the pathophysiology of GD and HT. Objective: To investigate the heterogeneity of epitopes recognized by anti-TPO in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), Graves' disease (GD) and overlap-syndrome. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study on 398 patients with GD, HT and overlap syndrome and analyzed the specificity of epitopes and binding constants of TPO with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). Ten MAbs to TPO were used, of which five were reactive with native TPO and the rest were reactive with denaturated TPO. Results: The autoantibodies in blood serum of HT patients inhibited the binding of MAb63 more significantly than those in serum of GD patients: 59.62 % versus 54.02 %, respectively (p = 0.001). The anti-TPOs in serum of GD patients inhibited the binding of MAb77 more significantly than those in serum of HT patients: 54.36 % versus 51.13 %, respectively (p = 0.047). The binding of MAb45 was more inhibited in serum of patients with anti-TPO concentration over 1000 IU/ml (58.36 %). The blood serum of patients with overlap-syndrome showed less significant inhibition of MAb63 binding than that of patients with no overlap-syndrome: 52.47 % versus 58.81 %, respectively (p = 0.043). Conclusion: Mapping the epitopes to TPO with the help of MAbs may improve the differential diagnosis between different thyroid autoimmunities.