Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a chronic disease caused by the accumulation of fat in the liver related to overweight and obesity, insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, and high levels ...of triglycerides and leads to an increased cardiovascular risk. It is considered a global pandemic, coinciding with the pandemic in 2020 caused by the “coronavirus disease 2019” (COVID-19). Due to COVID-19, the population was placed under lockdown. The aim of our study was to evaluate how these unhealthy lifestyle modifications influenced the appearance of metabolic alterations and the increase in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Methods: A prospective study was carried out on 6236 workers in a Spanish population between March 2019 and March 2021. Results: Differences in the mean values of anthropometric and clinical parameters before and after lockdown were revealed. There was a statistically significant worsening in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and in the insulin resistance scales, with increased body weight, BMI, cholesterol levels with higher LDL levels, and glucose and a reduction in HDL levels. Conclusions: Lockdown caused a worsening of cardiovascular risk factors due to an increase in liver fat estimation scales and an increased risk of presenting with NAFLD and changes in insulin resistance.
Background and objective
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with a greater incidence in the most disadvantaged social classes. In this study, we aimed ...to evaluate the level of cardiovascular risk in cleaning workers.
Methods
This was a descriptive, cross‐sectional study in 46.632 cleaning workers (40.169 women and 6.463 men). Thirty‐one different scales related to cardiovascular risk were studied (14 assessing overweight and obesity, 5 determining the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, 5 scales of cardiovascular risk, 4 atherogenic indices, and 3 scales of metabolic syndrome, among others). The results obtained were divided between personnel who perform their cleaning tasks in the hotel and catering industry and those in other sectors.
Results
The prevalence of obesity and arterial hypertension in cleaning workers was over 20% in both sexes. A similar amount was observed in moderate or high values on the REGICOR (Registre GIroní del COR) scale. More than 15% presented metabolic syndrome according to the NCEP ATPIII (National Cholesterol Education Program‐Adult Treatment Program III) criteria, while over 10% of women and 20% of men had a high risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease assessed with the fatty liver index.
Conclusion
Cardiovascular risk is higher, in both sexes, in the group of cleaning workers who work in companies other than hotels.
Background: Diabesity is a growing problem internationally. Taking into account the importance of physical activity and diet in its prevention and treatment, the objective of this study was to delve ...into the impact of healthy habits on diabesity. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out in 386,924 Spanish adult workers. Obesity was determined according to eleven different formulas. Life habits were also valued; sociodemographic variables; and educational level; as well as analytical and clinical variables such as blood pressure and blood glucose levels. The association between the different variables was performed using the chi-square and the Student’s t-tests when the samples were independent. A multivariate analysis was performed using the multinomial logistic regression test by calculating the odds ratio and a 95% confidence interval. The Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test was also performed. Results: The overall prevalence of diabesity ranged between 0.3% (95% CI 0.3–0.4) when obesity was assessed according to the abdominal volume index and 8.3% (95% CI 8.2–8.4) when evaluated according to the CUN-BAE (Clínica Universitaria de Navarra Body Adiposity Estimator) formula. The prevalence of diabesity was also higher in workers with a non-heart-healthy diet and in those who did not exercise regularly. Conclusions: The most disadvantaged socioeconomic classes are those with the highest prevalence of diabesity. It is important to prioritise prevention in populations and communities with the most unfavourable social and environmental conditions to reduce the burden of diabesity.
To evaluate different cardiovascular risk scales in construction workers.
A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out in 56,262 Spanish construction workers. Scales of obesity and fatty ...liver, metabolic syndrome, atherogenic indices, and cardiovascular risk scales, among others, were assessed.
In women, 19.6% were obese, 18.2% hypertensive, 12.6% had metabolic syndrome, 12% were at high risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and 4.3% were at moderate or high risk on the SCORE scale. In men, 20.1% were obese, 30.1% hypertensive, 17.5% had metabolic syndrome, and 27.6% had high or moderate risk on the SCORE scale.
Knowing the cardiovascular risk of a large number of construction workers by means of a large number of scales may be of great interest to occupational health professionals, as it may enable them to establish prevention strategies.
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) and the level of cardiovascular risk (CVR), determined with different scales (REGICOR, SCORE, ERICE, ...vascular age...) in people with low and normal weight.
A total of 192,711 underweight and normal weight Spanish workers participated. CVR parameters included were weight, abdominal circumference, blood pressure, glycemia (high >125 mg/dL or under hypoglycemic treatment) and lipids (cutoff points: total cholesterol 200 mg/dL, LDL 130 mg/dL, triglycerides 150 mg/dL) were obtained by automated enzymatic methods. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated, considering underweight 18.5 and normal weight 18.5-24.9. A descriptive analysis of the categorical variables was carried out.
The values of analytical, anthropometric and clinical parameters were more unfavorable in the normal weight group. Also, the prevalence of alterated values of CVR seen with different scales show higher risk in this group and in all cases the values in men are worse. It was seen that the variable with the greatest influence on the appearance of altered values of the cardiovascular risk scales (CVRS), influencing all of them was the age.
All the CVRS analyzed showed higher values in the group of people with normal weight compared to those with underweight. Age, followed by sex, were the variables that most influence the appearance of high CVR values.
Insulin resistance (IR) has been identified as a key factor in the appearance of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) as it is related through a complex molecular biochemical and immunological ...mechanism. Our aim was to evaluate the relationship between different scales that estimate the risk of IR and scales that determine the risk of NAFLD. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was performed in 219,477 Spanish workers from different sectors and Spanish regions. The prevalence of high values of all the IR scales increases as the values of the NAFLD and liver fibrosis scales increase. In the multivariate analysis, the risk of presenting high values in the IR scales increases greatly as the values of the NAFLD and hepatic fibrosis scales increase, with particularly high OR values when using the Metabolic Score for Insulin Resistance (METS-IR) scale (LAP high OR 42.20 (95% CI (39.10–45.56) and FLI high OR 32.35 (95% CI 31.10–33.61)). We can conclude that there is a direct relationship between the values of the IR scales and the NAFLD and liver fibrosis scales in our population.
A novel combination of high performance low pressure chromatography with multisyringe flow injection analysis is presented. This system comprises a multisyringe module, three low pressure solenoid ...valves, a monolithic Chromolith Flash RP-18e column and a diode array spectrophotometer. UV detection is carried out at 250
nm. AutoAnalysis software is used for instrumental control and automated data collection. The results obtained with multisyringe liquid chromatography (MSC) were compared with those obtained with a HPLC system using similar conditions. The chromatographic parameters were calculated from a mixture of anthracene and thiourea using a mobile phase containing acetonitrile–water (60:40) at a flow rate of 2
ml
min
−1. The proposed MSC system has been successfully applied to the determination of amoxicillin, ampicillin and cephalexin using a mobile phase of sodium acetate buffer (pH 6.2, 0.1
mol
l
−1)–methanol (90:10) at a flow rate of 2
ml
min
−1. The low-cost, flexibility and simplicity of MSC should be highlighted.
A technique based on multisyringe chromatography (MSC) was developed to determine three beta-lactamic antibiotics. Amoxicillin (AMOXI), ampicillin (AMPI) and cephalexin (CEPHA) were analyzed using a ...system with a very simple design and very low-cost equipment consisting of a multisyringe module, three low-pressure solenoid valves, a monolithic Chromolith Flash RP-18e column and a diode array spectrophotometric detector monitoring at 250 nm. Mobile phases containing methanol:acetic acid (0.1 M)-sodium acetate (0.1 M), pH 6.2, were tested for various ratios of methanol:acetic acid-sodium acetate, but a ratio of 10:90 gave optimum results with a flow rate of 2 ml min(-1). Validation parameters were evaluated for amoxicillin. The response to amoxicillin was linear over the range 0.04-0.4 mg/mL, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9996; precisions, evaluated as the repeatability for 0.04, 0.16 and 0.4 mg/mL amoxicillin, were 0.6%, 0.1% and 0.6%, respectively. Recovery from a generic formulation of amoxicillin was evaluated. The method showed selectivity in the presence of excipients commonly used in capsules, and satisfactory specificity was observed for amoxicillin and hydrolytic degradation products. The linearity was also evaluated for cephalexin and ampicillin. The conditions selected for MSC separation were compared with those for a HPLC system, and similar results were obtained in terms of chromatographic parameters but a difference in retention times was observed.
An HPLC-UV method was developed and validated for the determination of parthenin in
Parthenium hysterophorus L.
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► Isolation of parthenin from
Parthenium hysterophorus L. ► Method ...development for the determination of parthenin in the plant material. ► Validation of the analytical method.
Parthenium hysterophorus L. or Santa Maria feverfew is a plant used in Cuba since antiquity for the treatment of several diseases. Nowadays it is still used as an antipyretic and antiparasitic agent. Parthenin, a sesquiterpene lactone, is the active secondary metabolite and the major component of the plant. In this study the development and validation of a HPLC method for the determination of parthenin in the powdered plant material are presented, making it possible to perform quality control on preparations containing
P. hysterophorus.
Firstly, parthenin was isolated from the plant material in order to use this as reference material. During the method development, the extraction procedure, sample preparation, and HPLC conditions were evaluated and optimized. The final method was fully validated in terms of calibration model, precision, accuracy, and specificity. Based on these results, it was concluded that the developed HPLC method is suitable for the determination of parthenin using a single-point calibration. The calibration model was linear in the concentration range from 0.05 to 0.25
mg/ml. Analysis on different days showed that the method was precise with an average concentration of 4.73% and RSD of 1.39%. A recovery experiment was performed resulting in a 95% confidence interval between 97.5% and 100.4%, meaning that the method is also accurate. Specificity was confirmed by the investigation of the peak purity.
Using this newly validated method the quality of the plant material of
P. hysterophorus, used as an active principle in pharmaceutical preparations, can be guaranteed.
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