Overweight and the use of psychiatric drugs in patients with mental disorders attended at psychosocial care center, Teresina, Piauí, Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: Psychopharmacology brought numerous benefits to people with mental disorders, although undesirable side effects have arisen, including weight gain. OBJECTIVE: Identify the overweight frequency in individuals with mental disorders and its relation with the use of psychiatric drugs.   MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study with patients with mental disorders of both sexes, older than 18 years. Body Mass Index (BMI) used to diagnose overweight (BMI > 25 kg/m2). Chi-square test of Pearson (c²) and Poisson regression were used for analytical statistics for association between variables. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: the study involved 109 individuals. Overweight was found in 70.7% of the study population, 29.4% presented pre-obesity, 26.6% were obese class I, 8.3%, obese class II, and 6.4% obese grade III (morbid). The overweight prevalence was significantly higher among patients who used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants (PR = 1,42, 95% CI 1,12 to 1,80, p = 0,004), typical antipsychotics (PR = 1,43, 95% CI 1,13 to 1,80, p = 0,003), atypical antipsychotics (PR = 1,24, 95% CI 1,01 to 1,54, p = 0,045) and benzodiazepines (PR = 1,37, 95% CI 1,10 to 1,71, p = 0,004) when compared to those who used tricycle antidepressants ((PR=1,20, 95% CI 0,93 to 1,54, p=0,153) and mood stabilizers (PR=1,09, 95% IC 0,88 to 1,35, p=0,416) . CONCLUSION: High prevalence of overweight significantly higher among patients who used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants, typical and atypical antipsychotics and benzodiazepines.

Erythrocytary zinc and the infant growth profile in northeast Brazil.

This study evaluated nutritional status linked to zinc levels in 239 randomly selected children at crèches in Teresina, Brazil, aged 3 to 6. Blood samples were collected after fasting of 10 h. Erythrocytary zinc levels were determined through flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Zinc deficiency was determined as below 40 microg Zn/g Hb. Infant linear growth was evaluated measuring weight and height, and nutritional status by height/age, weight/height, and weight/age indices, expressed as Z scores, in line with the National Center for Health Statistics. The mean zinc concentration was 35.50 +/- 10.95 microg Zn/g Hb. Zinc distribution in the 10, 50, 75, and 90 percentiles was 24.73 microg Zn/g Hb, 35.45 microg Zn/g Hb, 40.73 microg Zn/g Hb and 52.77 microg Zn/g Hb, respectively. Based on this distribution, normal values were found only from the 75th percentile and above. Since the cutoff point adopted was 40 microg Zn/g Hb, the prevalence of zinc deficiency was 74.3%. As for growth profile, 8.4% were chronically malnourished, although the statistical association between linear impairment and nutritional status regarding zinc was insignificant. The study revealed that an important segment of the infant population was mineral deficient; however, the degree of deficiency did not influence growth profiles.