Journal of the American College of Nutrition
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Advances in surgical techniques and management of arthroplasty patients have contributed to a significant reduction in surgical complication rates. Preoperative nutritional status has a significant impact on surgical outcome. Studies have reported improved outcomes in burn and hip fracture patients receiving nutritional supplementation during their recoveries. Our objective was to assess the effects of preoperative nutritional status on the incidence of complications, resource consumption, and length of stay of patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery. ⋯ Our data demonstrate that preoperative nutritional status is an excellent predictor of short term outcome. Serum albumin and TLC correlate with resource consumption, length of stay and operative time in patients undergoing joint replacement surgery. These parameters may be improved with nutritional supplementation prior to surgery.
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Current methods for energy expenditure (EE) measurements in term infants do not include simultaneous measurements of basal and sleeping metabolic rates (BMR and SMR) or a measure of physical activity (PA). Furthermore, prediction equations for calculating EE are not appropriate for use in infants with metabolic disorders. ⋯ The infant respiratory chamber can measure all of the main components of EE. Some of the results obtained differed significantly from those obtained by the WHO equations; therefore, the new infant respiratory chamber is necessary for estimating EE in infants with metabolic and growth disorders.
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To determine mean intake of energy and protein, total fat, saturated fat, percent energy from total and saturated fat, cholesterol, carbohydrate, calcium, iron, zinc, folate, vitamins A, C, E, B-6 and B-12, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, magnesium, sodium and fiber of preschool Head Start children at school and away from school. ⋯ Further research is required to explore energy needs and determine nutritional status and nutrient needs of minority and low-income preschool children. Strategies are required to increase nutrient density, but not fat density, of meals and snacks served to children who attend day care for part of the day. Finally, school meals and nutrition education programs such as Team Nutrition should broaden their base to include healthful eating habits for all school children, including the very youngest children in preschool programs.
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This study was undertaken to determine if African-American strict vegetarians (vegans) exhibit lower blood pressure (BP) and a more favorable serum lipid profile than their lacto-ovo vegetarian (LOV) counterparts, and if plasma ascorbic acid (AA) concentrations could explain any group differences in these cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. ⋯ African-American vegans exhibit a more favorable serum lipid profile than lacto-ovo-vegatarians and plasma AA is inversely related to BP in African-American vegetarians but does not explain any of the differences in CVD risk factors between vegans and lacto-ovo vegetarians.
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To investigate the association of status of vitamins B6, B12 and folate with plasma fasting total homocysteine (tHcy) and with risk of coronary atherosclerosis; and to establish whether associations between vitamins and risk of coronary atherosclerosis are mediated by tHcy. ⋯ The presently accepted view that vitamin B6 mainly affects tHcy after methionine loading, and not fasting tHcy, is contradicted by our findings in referents. Low vitamin B12 concentrations were associated with an increased risk of coronary atherosclerosis, partly independently of tHcy. Although low folate status was a strong determinant of elevated tHcy concentrations, it was not associated with increased risk of coronary atherosclerosis.