Browsing by Author "Fernandes, Isabel"
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- Assessment of nutritional status of oncology patients at hospital admission: a Portuguese real-world studyPublication . Trabulo, Carolina; Lopes, Joana; Dias, David da Silva; Gramaça, João; Fernandes, Isabel; Gameiro, Rita; Pina, Idília; Mäkitie, Antti; Ottery, Faith; Ravasco, PaulaBackground: Nutritional status in patients with cancer has a determining role in the evolution of the disease and tolerance to treatments. Severity of undernutrition impacts morbidity and mortality in cancer patients and can limit patient response to the optimal therapies if nutritional issues are not appropriately addressed and managed. Despite the importance of malnutrition for the clinical evolution of oncology patients, there is not yet a universally accepted standard method for evaluating malnutrition in such patients. The aim of this study was to stratify the nutritional status of inpatients at an Oncology Department. Methods: This is an observational study with 561 cancer patients, assessed at admission to a Medical Oncology Department from November 2016 to February 2020. All patients were considered eligible. Non-compliant and/or comatose patients were excluded. Nutritional status was assessed using the PG-SGA, BMI classified with the WHO criteria, and calculation of the percentage of weight loss in the previous 3–6 months. Results: A total of 561 patients (303 F: 258 M; mean age 65 ± 13 years) were included. One-third of the patients, n=191/561 (34%), lost 6% of their weight in the month prior to admission and 297/561 (53%) patients lost 10.2% of weight in the previous 6 months. Mean BMI was 24.1 ± 5.8 kg/m2; N = 280/561 (50%) patients had regular BMI according to the WHO criteria. N = 331/561 (59%) patients reported eating less in the month prior to admission. N = 303/561 (54%) had moderate/severe deficits of muscle and adipose compartments. The PG-SGA identified 499/561 (89%) patients as moderately/severely malnourished, of which 466/561 (83%) patients scored ≥9 points, meeting criteria for a critical need for nutritional support. Fifteen percent of patients scored >4 points, indicating a need for directed therapy for symptom control and only 1% scored <2 points (maintenance nutritional counseling). Conclusion: In this oncological setting, a higher proportion of patients were nutritionally-at-risk or with moderate/severe malnutrition. The large majority of patients in this study presented with a critical need for nutritional intervention. These findings highlight the need for an integrated assessment of nutritional status at patient referral. This will allow early and timely nutrition care, which is recommended to prevent or reverse further deterioration of the condition and to optimize treatment administration.
- Heat treatment effects on physical-chemical and microbiological quality of whole tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum L.) fruit during storagePublication . Pinheiro, Joaquina; Alegria, C.; Abreu, Marta; Fernandes, Isabel; Gonçalves, Elsa M.; Silva, Cristina L. M.
- Heat treatment effects on physical-chemical and microbiological quality of whole tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum L.) fruit during storagePublication . Pinheiro, Joaquina; Alegria, C.; Abreu, Marta; Fernandes, Isabel; Gonçalves, Elsa M.; Silva, Cristina L. M.
- Heat treatment evaluation on quality and safety of whole tomato (Lycopersicum Esculentum l.) fruitsPublication . Pinheiro, Joaquina; Alegria, Carla; Abreu, Marta; Fernandes, Isabel; Gonçalves, Elsa M.; Silva, Cristina L. M.
- Heat treatment evaluation on quality and safety of whole tomato (lycopersicum esculentum l.) fruitsPublication . Pinheiro, Joaquina; Alegria, C.; Abreu, Marta; Fernandes, Isabel; Gonçalves, Elsa M.; Silva, Cristina L. M.
- Living conditions and helicobacter pylori in adultsPublication . Amaral, Odete; Fernandes, Isabel; Veiga, Nélio; Pereira, Carlos; Chaves, Cláudia; Nelas, Paula; Silva, DanielIntroduction. Infection by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is transmissible and is considered a public health issue which affects people of all ages. The objective of this study was to identify factors (lifestyles, dietary factors, and hygiene conditions) related to the prevalence of H. pylori infection. Methods. We carried out an observational cross-sectional study with a community sample of adults from the municipalities of Viseu and Sátão, Portugal. The final sample resulted in 166 adults. The data were collected through a self-Administered questionnaire with questions regarding sociodemographic aspects and lifestyles. H. pylori infection was identified using the 13C-urea breath test. Results. No association was found between the prevalence of H. pylori infection and the use of tobacco, alcohol, or coffee or dietary factors. The prevalence of H. pylori infection was higher in adults who reported higher consumption of fried food and lower consumption of vegetables and fruit. H. pylori infection was significant for the variables of lower frequency of handwashing before going to the bathroom (p=0.02) and well water consumption (p=0.05). Conclusion. A significant association was found for H. pylori infection with the lower frequency of handwashing before going to the bathroom and the consumption of well water.
- Safety of frozen vegetables: a case study on carrotsPublication . Gonçalves, Elsa M.; Abreu, Marta; Sol, Manuela; Fernandes, Isabel; Silva, Cristina L. M.Consumers are confident in frozen foods, which is a consequence of proven safety and quality characteristics of the products. However, safety depends strongly on the quality of the raw materials, the hygienic conditions when handling both at industrial and home processing, and on the temperature conditions during the entire logistic chain. Bacteria survival depends upon a number of factors, such as type of microorganism, freezing process, rate of freezing, storage temperatures and freeze-thaw cycles. The goal of this work was to quantify the impact of the freezing operation per si and frozen storage, at two temperatures (-7º and –20 ºC), on total aerobes, yeast and moulds levels on shredded carrots (Daucus carrota L.). Results showed that, for both temperatures analyzed, the freezing operation itself had a significant effect (p<0,05) in reducing microbial counts, when compared with the initial levels. Storage temperature did not influence significantly mesophilic aerobic flora levels (p<0,05). However, yeasts counts in samples stored at –20ºC presented a gradual decline along the storage period, being significantly lower than samples at -7ºC, after 10 days of storage. Moulds were not detected in all analyzed samples.
- Sociodemographic profile and the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in Portuguese adultsPublication . Amaral, Odete; Fernandes, Isabel; Pereira, Carlos; Veiga, Nélio Jorge; Nelas, Paula; Chaves, Cláudia; Coutinho, EmíliaIntroduction: within the last decades, great importance has been given to the bacterium Helicobacter Pylori. The Helicobacter pylori infection is a public health problem and is recognized as one of the most common chronic infections, estimating that about half of the world’s population is infected with it. This bacterium, located in the gastric mucosa, is related to some pathologies: gastritis, gastric carcinoma, peptic ulcer. Methods: We carried out an observational cross-sectional study with a community sample of adults from the municipalities of Viseu and Satão. The final sample consisted of 166 adults, aged between 19 and 92 years (mean of 46.96 ± 3.17 years), and the majority female (56.6%). Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire with questions regarding sociodemographic aspects, the family household and daily habits and lifestyles. The H. pylori infection was identified using the urea breath test. The test was performed in the morning after at least 6 hours of fasting. Statistical analysis was performed using the statistical program SPSS 23.0. The prevalences were expressed in proportions and compared by the chi-square test with a level of significance of 0.05. Associations were calculated using the Odds Ratio (OR), with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results: The prevalence of Helicobacter Pylori was 48.8% (50.0% in females and 47.2% in males). We found higher percentages in the female gender, for ages ≤ 50 years, married, with an education level inferior to 12th grade, with a greater number of siblings, and for those who were employed. Nonetheless, the differences were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Almost half of the sample was infected by the Helicobacter pylori bacteria. We found no association between the presence of Helicobacter pylori and gender; age; marital status; schooling, body mass index, professional situation, number of household members and the number of rooms