Padrões alimentares, marcadores antropométricos e pressão arterial : um estudo de coorte com estudantes universitários

Abstract

University students experience a phase of change in diet and lifestyle during their stay at the university. The markers of body adiposity and blood pressure may undergo unwanted changes and students’ dietary patterns contribute to these changes. Objective: To analyze dietary patterns and cardiovascular risk markers in a cohort of university students. Methods: Longitudinal study that analyzed data from a dynamic cohort, with university students of both sexes and aged between 16 and 25 years. Students from full-time courses at a Brazilian federal university were evaluated. Sociodemographic, economic and lifestyle information were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Blood pressure, anthropometric measurements and body composition of the students were measured. 24-hour food recall (R24H) was applied to a subsample of randomly selected students. Dietary patterns were identified by factor analysis using the principal component extraction method from foods/food groups. Associations were analyzed using generalized linear models. Results: 1113 students were evaluated to verify the association between anthropometric markers of central adiposity and blood pressure. In this study, only the neck circumference was associated with systolic blood pressure, regardless of potential confounding factors, including total adiposity. To identify dietary patterns, 685 students were evaluated. Three dietary patterns were identified “University Restaurant”, “Snacks”, “Whole/Fit” and explained 30.8% of the variability of student food intake. The “University Restaurant” pattern was associated with males, economic classes B and C/D/E, living with parents and was inversely associated with being overweight. The "Snacks" pattern was associated with living alone. A total of 602 students with at least two measurements of body adiposity and blood pressure markers were evaluated to verify the association of dietary patterns with over time changes in the cardiovascular risk markers analyzed. The markers of total body adiposity (body mass index and percentage of body fat) and central fat location (waist circumference and neck circumference) increased over time. It was observed that the higher adherence of students to both the “University Restaurant” and “Whole/Fit” patterns were associated with the lowest rate of increase of these markers. Students in the third tertile of the distribution for the “University Restaurant” pattern also had a lower rate of increase in systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. Conclusion: Among the anthropometric markers of central adiposity only the neck circumference was associated with blood pressure. This study identified specific dietary patterns among university students. All anthropometric markers of body adiposity increased over time and the “University Restaurant” and “Whole/Fit” dietary patterns showed to be protective against the increase in the anthropometric markers of body adiposity and blood pressure