Factors Associated with Weaning in Infants with Cow's Milk Allergy: A Cohort Study.

To analyze the factors associated with weaning in infants with cow's milk allergy (CMA) treated at a food allergy reference center in a state in the northeast of Brazil. A prospective cohort study, with a case group (children with CMA) and two control groups (symptomatic nonallergic children [SC] and asymptomatic [AC]). At the beginning of the study, 30 children comprised the CMA group, 84 the SC group, and 52 the AC group.

Diagnosis of cystic fibrosis: a high heterogeneity of symptoms and genotypes in a Brazil population.

Introduction: In highly multiracial populations with inadequate newborn screening, knowledge of the various phenotypic presentations of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) can help reach an early diagnosis. This study aims to describe phenotypes and genotypes at the time of CF diagnosis in a state in the Northeast Region of Brazil.

Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study.

Nutritional management of immediate hypersensitivity to legumes in vegetarians.

Vegetarianism is becoming a common practice among people. Products of vegetable origin are also on the rise, such as vegetable "milk" and legume-based snacks, which may lead to legume sensitivity and allergies in vegetarian diet followers. Furthermore, products derived from legumes, such as lupin flour or fenugreek powder, are often used as food additives.

Impact of Infant Milk-Type and Childhood Eating Behaviors on Functional Constipation in Preschool Children.

Objective: To investigate the association between functional constipation, infant feeding in early infancy and eating behavior in preschool children.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was undertaken in public and private schools in the state of Sergipe (Northeast of Brazil). The sample calculation was based on a 25% estimate of constipation prevalence in Brazilian children, resulting in a sample size of 1051 children.

Low adherence to traditional dietary pattern and food preferences of low-income preschool children with food neophobia.

Objective: To associate dietary patterns and food neophobia in low-income preschoolers.

Design: This was a cross-sectional study using a semi-structured questionnaire for socio-demographic data, birth conditions and breast-feeding history. Food neophobia was assessed using an adapted version of the Child Food Neophobia Scale.

Micronutrient deficiencies in normal and overweight infants in a low socio-economic population in north-east Brazil.

Background: Micronutrient deficiencies are the most prevalent form of malnutrition worldwide. Although commonly related to underweight, micronutrient deficiencies can occur in both normal and overweight children in medium- and low-income populations undergoing nutritional transition.

Objective: To describe haemoglobin and micronutrient levels in infants from a low-income area in Brazil in relation to their weight-for-length Z-score.

Diarrhea incidence and intestinal infections among rotavirus vaccinated infants from a poor area in Brazil: a spatial analysis.

Background: Acute diarrhea is the second leading cause of mortality among children under 5 years of age in developing countries. The pathogen most strongly associated with diarrhea is rotavirus followed by enteric pathogens such as bacteria, helminthes and protozoan. Adequate sanitation and water supply contribute to decrease acute diarrhea incidence of most etiologic agents, although vaccination remains the most important intervention to control rotavirus acute diarrhea.

Infant overweight as early marker of childhood overweight in Brazil.

Objective: To investigate infant overweight and rapid weight gain as predictors of overweight and adiposity in childhood.

Methods: Prospective, longitudinal birth cohort following 153 low-income Brazilian children. Weight, length, middle upper arm circumference (MUAC) and triceps skinfold thickness (TSF) were measured on enrolment and 6-monthly for 18 months.

Serum CCL11 (eotaxin-1) and CCL17 (TARC) are serological indicators of multiple helminth infections and are driven by Schistosoma mansoni infection in humans.

Objectives: To evaluate systemic serum cytokine and chemokine markers for inflammation and Th1/Th2 responses in relation to multiple helminth infections, parasite burden and/or nutritional status of individuals.

Methods: In a longitudinal study, stool samples from 210 individuals from an area highly endemic for Ascaris lumbricoides, Necator americanus and Schistosoma mansoni were examined before and 12 months after clearance of parasites by chemotherapy. On both occasions, the presence of mono- or multiple infections and intensities of infection were compared with nutritional parameters and with serum cytokines or chemokines as markers for inflammatory, regulatory or Th1- or Th2-type immune responses.

Hookworm, Ascaris lumbricoides infection and polyparasitism associated with poor cognitive performance in Brazilian schoolchildren.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between hookworm and Ascaris lumbricoides infection and performance on three subsets of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - third edition (WISC-III) (Digit Span, Arithmetic and Coding) and Raven Colored Progressive Matrices.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of 210 children between the ages of 6 and 11 years in Americaninhas, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Separate proportional odds models were used to measure the association between the intensity of helminth infections and poor performance on each of the four cognitive tests.

Age patterns in undernutrition and helminth infection in a rural area of Brazil: associations with ascariasis and hookworm.

Objective: To investigate the nutritional status of individuals from a rural area of Brazil, and associations with helminth infections in an age-stratified sample.

Method: A total of 1113 individuals aged from 6 months to 83 years from the rural community of Americaninhas in Minas Gerais were investigated. Assessments comprised anthropometric measurements of weight, height and body composition, examining faecal samples for helminth eggs, and peripheral blood assays for albumin, haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations.

Age-related changes in hookworm infection, anaemia and iron deficiency in an area of high Necator americanus hookworm transmission in south-eastern Brazil.

Surprisingly few detailed age-stratified data exist on the epidemiology of hookworm and iron status, especially in Latin America. We present data from a cross-sectional survey examining 1332 individuals aged 0-86 years from a community in south-east Brazil for hookworm, anaemia and iron deficiency. Sixty-eight percent of individuals were infected with the human hookworm Necator americanus.