Browsing by Author "Couto, Daniela"
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- Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and continuous metabolic syndrome in adolescents with overweight/obesityPublication . Ferreira, Sofia; Mendes, Joana; Couto, Daniela; Ferreira, Dário; Rêgo, CarlaIntroduction: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is the leading cause of pediatric chronic liver disease. Although nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is closely associated with obesity, its relationship with metabolic syndrome in children is not fully understood. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and a combination of cardiometabolic risk factors in adolescents with overweight/obesity, using a pediatric metabolic syndrome score (PsiMS) to predict metabolic syndrome. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted. Subjects with overweight/obesity aged 10 to 17 followed at two clinical centers in Portugal (2018 - 2021) were enrolled. The independent association of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with PsiMS, and of other potential predictors, was tested through multiple regression analyses. Receiver operator characteristic curve analysis was performed to estimate the optimal cutoff of PsiMS to discriminate metabolic syndrome. Results: Eighty-four subjects were included (median age at baseline 11.5 years). The prevalence rate of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was 51% and the prevalence rate of metabolic syndrome was 7%. The mean PsiMS was 2.05 ± 0.48 at the first evaluation, and 2.11 ± 0.52 at the last evaluation (mean follow-up time was 15 months). The nonalcoholic fatty liver disease group had significantly (p < 0.05) higher weight and body mass index z-scores, higher rate of severe obesity and higher waist circumference percentile. PsiMS was highly accurate in predicting metabolic syndrome (area under the curve = 0.96), with an optimal cutoff of 2.46 (sensitivity 100%, specificity 89%). In the univariate analysis, no statistically significant association was observed between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and PsiMS. In the multiple regression analysis, female sex had a negative association with PsiMS (first and last evaluation). Independent predictors of a higher PsiMS at first evaluation were: ≥ 2 metabolic syndrome criteria, body mass index z-score, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. At the last evaluation, independent predictors of a higher PsiMS were: nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, baseline PsiMS and body mass index increase from baseline. Conclusion: The results suggest a good performance of the PsiMS to assess metabolic syndrome and that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with PsiMS at follow-up.
- Short-communication: study of fatty acid metabolites in microbial conjugated fatty acids-enrichment of milk and discovery of additional undescribed conjugated linolenic acid isomersPublication . Fontes, Ana Luiza; Neves, Bruna; Conde, Tiago; Couto, Daniela; Pimentel, Lígia Leão; Rodríguez-Alcalá, Luis Miguel; Domingues, M. Rosário; Gomes, Ana MariaMicrobially enriched food in conjugated linoleic (CLA) and conjugated linolenic (CLNA) acids is intensively studied nowadays. The conversion of linoleic (LA) and α-linolenic acids (α-LNA) into these compounds may involve different fatty acid (FA) intermediates. This research aimed to investigate potential FA byproducts in milk during microbial CLA/CLNA-enrichment using Bifidobacterium breve DSM 20091. Milk fermented with pure α-LNA showed a decrease in free myristic acid, while pure LA led to an increase in free stearic acid. No additional FA compounds were found alongside CLA/CLNA isomers. The strain produced several CLA isomers from LA, but only when administered alone. Nonetheless, when α-LNA was assayed, additional CLNA isomers, never reported before for bifidobacteria, were observed. In conclusion, except for stearic acid in the presence of LA, no side-FA metabolites were released during milk microbial CLA/CLNA-enrichment. Results suggest either CLA/CLNA production occurs in one single-step or intermediates biotransformation is very fast.