Obesity has become a major epidemic in the 21st century. It increases the risk of dyslipidemia, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes, which are known cardiometabolic risk factors and components of the ...metabolic syndrome. Although overt cardiovascular (CV) diseases such as stroke or myocardial infarction are the domain of adulthood, it is evident that the CV continuum begins very early in life. Recognition of risk factors and early stages of CV damage, at a time when these processes are still reversible, and the development of prevention strategies are major pillars in reducing CV morbidity and mortality in the general population. In this review, we will discuss the role of well-known but also novel risk factors linking obesity and increased CV risk from prenatal age to adulthood, including the role of perinatal factors, diet, nutrigenomics, and nutri-epigenetics, hyperuricemia, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and cardiorespiratory fitness. The importance of ‘tracking’ of these risk factors on adult CV health is highlighted and the economic impact of childhood obesity as well as preventive strategies are discussed.
Kidney stone disease has a multifactorial etiology, and evolving dietary habits necessitate continuous updates on the impact of dietary components on lithogenesis. The relationship between diseases ...influenced by lifestyle, such as obesity and diabetes, and kidney stone risk underscores the need for comprehensive lifestyle analysis. Effective management of kidney stones requires a multidisciplinary approach, involving collaboration among nutritionists, urologists, nephrologists, and other healthcare professionals to address the complex interactions between diet, lifestyle, and individual susceptibility. Personalized dietary therapy, based on each patient’s unique biochemical and dietary profile, is essential and necessitates comprehensive nutritional assessments. Accurate dietary intake evaluation is best achieved through seven-day, real-time dietary records. Key factors influencing urinary risk include fluid intake, dietary protein, carbohydrates, oxalate, calcium, and sodium chloride. Personalized interventions, such as customized dietary changes based on gut microbiota, may improve stone prevention and recurrence. Current research suggests individualized guidance on alcohol intake and indicates that tea and coffee consumption might protect against urolithiasis. There is potential evidence linking tobacco use and secondhand smoke to increased kidney stone risk. The effects of vitamins and physical activity on kidney stone risk remain unresolved due to mixed evidence. For diseases influenced by lifestyle, conclusive evidence on targeted interventions for nephrolithiasis prevention is lacking, though preliminary research suggests potential benefits. Management strategies emphasize lifestyle modifications to reduce recurrence risks, support rapid recovery, and identify predisposing conditions, highlighting the importance of these changes despite inconclusive data.
Lower levels of physical activity are associated with an increased overall cardiometabolic risk, as well as the risk or being overweight. It is difficult to determine the optimal level of physical ...activity that protects the needs of children and young people. Studies on the required number of steps, as well as approximating the daily volume of physical activity, are gaining increasing credibility in research and practice. Researchers propose a "rule" of ≥ 11,500 steps per day, for children and teenagers of both sexes. The aim of the study was to assess whether 11,500 steps a day is sufficient to maintain normal blood pressure among children and adolescents. 1002 children and adolescents aged 4-15 were included in the study. To assess physical activity, measured in the number of steps per day, the Actigraph accelerometer wGT3X-BT was used. The normal number of steps was defined as greater than or equal to 11,500 steps per day for children and teenagers, for both girls and boys. In the entire study group, a significantly lower risk of hypertension was observed when the number of steps was normal (OR is 0.45 and the upper confidence limit for OR is 0.71). The study confirmed the beneficial protective role of physical activity against hypertension in older children and adolescents. However, it should be emphasized that no such relationship has been demonstrated in the case of preschool children. The presented norms of the number of steps should be promoted to the wider community to make prevention of cardiovascular diseases even more effective.
Epigenetics is a series of alterations regulating gene expression without disrupting the DNA sequence of bases. These regulatory mechanisms can result in embryogenesis, cellular differentiation, ...X-chromosome inactivation, and DNA-protein interactions. The main epigenetic mechanisms considered to play a major role in both health and disease are DNA methylation, histone modifications, and profiling of non-coding RNA. When the fragile balance between these simultaneously occurring phenomena is disrupted, the risk of pathology increases. Thus, the factors that determine proper epigenetic modeling are defined and those with disruptive influence are sought. Several such factors with proven negative effects have already been described. Diet and nutritional substances have recently been one of the most interesting targets of exploration for epigenetic modeling in disease states, including autoimmunity. The preventive role of proper nutrition and maintaining sufficient vitamin D concentration in maternal blood during pregnancy, as well as in the early years of life, is emphasized. Opportunities are also being investigated for affecting the course of the disease by exploring nutriepigenetics. The authors aim to review the literature presenting vitamin D as one of the important nutrients potentially modeling the course of disease in selected autoimmune disorders.
The determination of hormonal biomarkers is of increasing interest in many diseases, including cystic fibrosis (CF). Hormones that have not been estimated and described so far in CF include ...kisspeptin (KISS) and proopiomelanocortin (POMC), which are involved in the regulation of many processes, including appetite and fertility. Therefore, the aim of our study was to estimate the level of KISS and POMC in sera from CF patients and to determine the correlation between these hormones and clinical parameters. For this purpose, we estimated the levels of KISS and POMC in 38 CF patients and 16 healthy participants with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We found significantly reduced levels of KISS and POMC in people with CF compared to healthy subjects (1.76 ± 0.46 vs. 2.27 ± 0.56 ng/mL, p < 0.05 and 6.25 ± 4.36 vs. 14.74 ± 6.24 ng/mL, p < 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, the level of both hormones was negatively correlated with age. The hormones studied did not correlate with the results of spirometry and each other. Thus, decreased KISS and POMC levels may be associated with lower body weight and delayed puberty in patients with CF.
The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine has been in use for over 100 years. It protects against severe, blood-borne forms of tuberculosis. Observations indicate that it also increases immunity ...against other diseases. The mechanism responsible for this is trained immunity, an increased response of non-specific immune cells in repeated contact with a pathogen, not necessarily of the same species. In the following review, we present the current state of knowledge on the molecular mechanisms responsible for this process. We also seek to identify the challenges facing science in this area and consider the application of this phenomenon in managing the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic.
The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of hypertension and to investigate risk factors linked to hypertension in older adults. An observational study was conducted in a group of adults ...between 60 and 85 years of age, living in south-eastern Poland. In line with the specific inclusion criteria, 80 women and 29 men were enrolled for the study (109 adults). Participants' body weight, height, and body fat percentage (BFP) were assessed using a bioelectrical impedance analysis, blood pressure was measured using automated oscillometric sphygmomanometer, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time were assessed using a tri-axial accelerometer, whereas data related to socio-economic and lifestyle factors were collected using a self-report technique. Arterial hypertension was found at a rate of 16% in participants with normal body weight, 22% in those with overweight and 85% in those with obesity. Body mass index (BMI) and BFP correlated significantly with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The highest median SBP and DBP values were found in the group of participants with obesity, and the lowest values were identified in those with normal body weight. Out of all the investigated socio-economic risk factors linked to hypertension, education level was the only one that showed significant associations. A logistic regression analysis was performed to check which factors were most strongly associated with hypertension in the study group. The stepwise method showed that hypertension was more common in participants with a higher BMI, and BFP and in those who did not meet MVPA recommendation.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a leading preventable cause of developmental and psychosocial disorders. Prenatal alcohol exposure can be a cause of growth impairment and metabolic ...problems. In this study, we analyzed data on the growth, weight, and nutritional status of children with FASD.
Patients were recruited from the Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology, and the Outpatient Endocrinology Clinic in Rzeszów, Poland. Each person referred for evaluation had a diagnosis of FASD based on the recommendations of Polish experts. The population consisted of 59 subjects with measurements of weight and height, and the IGF-1 level test was performed.
Children with FAS had consistently lower height and weight measurements than children with ND-PAE. In the FAS group, children (<3 percentile) accounted for 42.31%, and in the ND-PAE group - 18.18%. The analysis of the whole group showed the highest prevalence of low body weight (below the third percentile) among subjects with FAS - 53.85%. The prevalence of low body weight and short stature (both parameters <3rd centile) was found to be 27.11% in the whole group. Lower mean BMI values were related to the FAS group (21.71 kg/m
) compared to the ND-PAE group (39.62 kg/m
). In the study group, BMI below the fifth percentile was found in 28.81% of the children, normal weight (5th-85th percentile) in 67.80%.
During the care of children with FASD, a continuous evaluation of nutritional status, height, and weight is necessary. This group of patients is often affected by low birth weight, short stature and weight deficiency, which require differential diagnosis and appropriate dietary and therapeutic management.
Prenatal alcohol exposure causes growth impairment and a wide range of developmental, physical, and cognitive disorders in children, collectively referred to as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders ...(FASDs). In the course of FASDs, abnormalities can also affect eating behavior and nutritional status, but these problems have received little attention. Therefore, the aim of our study was to determine the levels of hormones involved in the action of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: proopiomelanocortin (POMC), cortisol, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), in the serum of patients with FASDs. To our knowledge, none of these hormones studied have yet been evaluated in FASDs to date. We investigated 62 FASD patients and 23 healthy controls by applying an enzyme-linked immunosorbent method (ELISA). Fasting POMC levels were significantly lower in patients with FASDs (10.97 vs. 18,57 ng/mL,
= 0.039) compared to controls. However, there were no differences in cortisol concentrations. Additionally, the sex and subgroup status (fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), neurobehavioral disorder associated with prenatal alcohol exposure (ND-PAE), and FASD risk) did not affect hormone levels. POMC was positively correlated with some clinical parameters such as age, BMI percentile, carbohydrate biomarkers, and ACTH. A positive correlation was observed between ACTH and cortisol levels, as well as ACTH and cholesterol levels. Data analysis showed no HPA axis abnormalities in the form of elevated serum cortisol and ACTH levels. Differences in POMC concentration may indicate the involvement and/or impairment of central nervous system structures in hormonal alterations in FASD individuals, caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. Hormonal dysregulation in FASDs can contribute to reduced growth and development, as well as many other disturbed processes, including neurological/neurodevelopmental dysfunctions. Further insightful studies involving a larger group of patients are needed to determine the potential impact of the measured hormones.
Insufficient sleep duration and physical activity (PA) are known risk factors for overweight and obesity in children; however, there are no studies on comprehensive associations of ...objectively-measured sleep parameters and PA with excess weight and excess adiposity in kindergarteners. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the associations between objectively measured sleep parameters and PA with excess weight and excess adiposity, defined as BMI ≥ 85th percentile and body fat percentage (BFP) ≥ 85th percentile, respectively. Sleep parameters and PA were measured in 676 subjects aged 5-6 years using accelerometers for 7 days, worn at the participant's hip. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to estimate BFP. In the total sample, lower sleep duration, sleep efficiency, vigorous PA and the number of steps per day were associated with excess weight. However, excess adiposity was associated with lower sleep duration, total PA, vigorous PA, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and the number of steps per day. Logistic regression by the stepwise progressive method showed that the strongest predictor of excess adiposity in boys and girls was vigorous PA, while the strongest predictor of excess weight in boys was sleep efficiency. A holistic approach to health targeting all of these factors synergistically is needed to optimize the effectiveness of obesity prevention and treatment interventions.
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