All-age relationship between arm span and height in different ethnic groups.

The objective of the present study was to establish multiethnic, all-age prediction equations for estimating stature from arm span in males and females. The arm span/height ratio (ASHR) from 13 947 subjects (40.9% females), aged 5-99 years, from nine centres (in China, Europe, Ghana, India and Iran) was used to predict ASHR as a function of age using the lambda, mu and sigma method. Z-scores for forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV1/FVC in 1503 patients were calculated using measured height and height calculated from arm span and age. ASHR varied nonlinearly with age, was higher in males than in females and differed significantly between the nine sites. The data clustered into four groups: Asia, Europe, Ghana and Iran. Average predicted FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC using measured or predicted height did not differ, with standard deviations of 4.6% for FEV1, 5.0% for FVC and 0.3% for FEV1/FVC. The percentages of disparate findings for a low FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC in patients, calculated using measured or predicted height, were 4.2%, 3.2% and 0.4%, respectively; for a restrictive pattern, there were 1.0% disparate findings. Group- and sex-specific equations for estimating height from arm span and age to derive predicted values for spirometry are clinically useful.

Hypertension, dietary salt restriction, and iodine deficiency among adults.

BACKGROUND: A common recommendation for the treatment of hypertension is dietary salt intake restriction. However, dietary salt is one of the major sources of iodine. This study evaluated the association between dietary salt restriction and iodine deficiency among adults in the United States. METHODS: Multiple regression models, which controlled for confounders, were used to evaluate the association between hypertension conditions, salt restriction and iodine deficiency among 996 men and 960 women in the blood pressure and iodine subsamples of the 2001-2004 waves of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). RESULTS: High proportions of men (24.96%) and women (40.42%) were iodine deficient. Current hypertension or having a history of hypertension among men and women did not associate significantly with iodine deficiency or high iodine status, compared with those without current or history of hypertension. Compared with men not restricting dietary salt, salt restriction did not associate significantly with iodine deficiency among men. Compared with women not restricting dietary salt, women who were restricting dietary salt associated with significantly lower urinary iodine concentration (UIC), P = 0.01, and were more likely to be iodine deficient, adjusted odds ratios, 1.79, P = 0.03. CONCLUSIONS: Salt restriction associated with iodine deficiency among women but not men. Alternative sources of iodine should be suggested to persons who are consuming low levels of iodine such as women if they need to restrict dietary salt intake. Among those iodine deficient, health professionals should enquire about salt restriction.

Retention of provitamin A carotenoids in high beta-carotene maize (Zea mays) during traditional African household processing.

High beta-carotene maize, biofortified with beta-carotene through plant breeding, is being developed as a cost-effective, sustainable agronomic approach to alleviating the problem of vitamin A deficiency in Africa. We used high beta-carotene maize (10.49+/-0.16 microg beta-carotene/g) to prepare traditional maize porridges and compared the carotenoid contents in the following: (1) whole kernels; (2) wet milled flour; (3) wet milled flour, fermented; (4) wet milled flour, cooked; (5) wet milled flour, fermented and cooked. The cumulative losses of beta-carotene in the final, cooked products were 24.5% (95% CI 22.8-26.2%) and 24.8% (95% CI 23.1-26.5%), for the fermented and unfermented porridges, respectively. Thus, fermentation, a traditional technology with documented nutritional and other health benefits, does not adversely affect the retention of beta-carotene in porridges prepared with high beta-carotene maize. The relatively good retention of beta-carotene during traditional maize processing provides additional experimental support for the feasibility of maize biofortification as a means to alleviate vitamin A deficiency.