Publications by authors named "Raphaela C Ferreira"

Objectives: The present study aimed to identify associations between extremes in body weight status (underweight and excess body weight) before a COVID-19 diagnosis and clinical outcomes in patients infected with SARS coronavirus type 2.

Methods: A multicenter cohort study was conducted in eight different states in northeastern Brazil. Demographic, clinical (previous diagnosis of comorbidities), and anthropometric (self-reported weight and height) data about individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 were collected.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To compare redox imbalance and inflammation biomarkers in umbilical cords from pregnancies with and without preeclampsia (PE) and to analyse their relationships with perinatal outcomes.

Methods: A controlled cross-sectional study was conducted in Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil, that involved pregnant women with PE and a group of women without the disease, through the application of a standardized questionnaire. After delivery, umbilical cord samples were collected to measure antioxidant defense, products from oxidative damage, and inflammation biomarkers such as myeloperoxidase (MPO), interleukin- (IL-) 6, IL-8, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This article aims to evaluate the associated factors with excessive weight gain in pregnant women from Maceió, the capital of Alagoas, Northeastern Brazil. Cross-sectional study with pregnant women attended in public health in the city of Maceió in 2014, of which socioeconomic, clinical (glycemia, capillary hemoglobin, and blood pressure measurement), dietary, and anthropometric data, including in the latter gestational weight gain, classified as insufficient, adequate and excessive according to the US Institute of Medicine, were collected. The combination of excessive weight gain with the independent variables was tested using the Poisson regression expressed by the Prevalence Ratio (PR) and a 95% confidence interval (CI95%).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Oxidative stress (OS) is the basis of several diseases. Preeclampsia (PE) is a multisystemic syndrome, considered one of the major causes of maternal and fetal mortality. The placenta is considered the main anatomical pathogenetic substrate for the disease, being the placental OS a likely critical pathway in the pathogenesis of PE.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: To assess whether there is a risk of kidney disease during the postpartum period of women who had preeclampsia (PE).

Study Design: Observational trials were searched in the PubMed, Science Direct, Clinical trials, Cochrane, LILACS and Web of Science databases. The data extracted from the studies were systematized, and the risk of bias was evaluated for each of them.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To compare redox and inflammatory markers between normal and PE-derived placentas and to evaluate the relationship between placental redox imbalance markers and perinatal outcomes in pregnancies with PE.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the maternity hospital of a university hospital in Maceio-Alagoas, Brazil, in 2017, including women diagnosed with PE and healthy pregnant women and their conceptuses. After screening, standardized questionnaires containing socioeconomic, clinical, obstetric and anthropometric data were applied.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: To analyze the prevalence of hyperferritinemia in pregnant women with preeclampsia and its association with adverse perinatal outcomes.

Methods: A cross-sectional study carried out in 2017 with a convenience sample of pregnant women with preeclampsia attended at a high-risk maternity hospital in Alagoas, Brazil. Socioeconomic, lifestyle, clinical and biochemical data were collected through a structured questionnaire.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The occurrence of hypertensive syndromes during pregnancy leads to high rates of maternal-fetal morbidity and mortality. Amongst them, preeclampsia (PE) is one of the most common. This review aims to describe the relationship between oxidative stress and inflammation in PE, aiming to reinforce its importance in the context of the disease and to discuss perspectives on clinical and nutritional treatment, in this line of research.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Appropriate dietary recommendations represent a key part of secondary prevention in cardiovascular disease (CVD). We evaluated the effectiveness of the implementation of a nutritional program on quality of diet, cardiovascular events, and death in patients with established CVD.

Methods: In this open-label, multicenter trial conducted in 35 sites in Brazil, we randomly assigned (1:1) patients aged 45 years or older to receive either the BALANCE Program (experimental group) or conventional nutrition advice (control group).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The present article aimed to evaluate the consumption of protective foods and predictors of cardiovascular (CV) risk and its relationship with cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) by hypertensive individuals in the state of Alagoas. A population-based cross-sectional study was carried out from 2013 to 2016 with 655 hypertensive adults of both sexes. Food consumption was assessed by a validated food frequency questionnaire with measurements converted to scores and the foods were divided into three groups: I - processed foods/CV risk predictors; II - ultraprocessed foods/higher CV risk predictors; III - in natura or minimally processed foods/ CV risk protectors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This article describes a systematic review of the literature on studies that have used the scores method proposed by Fornés et al. (2002) to evaluate food consumption and discuss the method from the perspective of food pattern assessment. The search of the Medline, Lilacs and Scielo databases was limited to the English, Portuguese and Spanish languages and to articles published from 2002 to 2016.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the nutritional status of high-risk pregnant women and its impact on their newborns' birth weight at a university hospital in Maceio, Alagoas.
  • It examined 149 pregnant women, revealing that 32% were underweight, 48.3% overweight, and 39.6% of newborns were classified as small for gestational age (SGA).
  • The findings showed that overweight women were more likely to have large for gestational age (LGA) babies, while insufficient weight gain during pregnancy was linked to SGA babies, highlighting the need for interventions to improve these outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Restricted sodium intake has been recommended for more than 1 century for the treatment of hypertension. However, restriction seems to increase blood cholesterol. In women with excess weight, blood cholesterol may increase even more because of insulin resistance and the high lipolytic activity of adipose tissue.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To analyze the relation of abdominal obesity on cardiovascular risk in individuals seen by a clinic school of nutrition, classifying them based on Framingham score.

Methods: Cross-sectional study, conducted at the nutrition clinic of a private college in the city of Maceió, Alagoas. We included randomly selected adults and elderly individuals with abdominal obesity, of both sexes, treated from August to December of 2009, with no history of cardiomyopathy or cardiovascular events.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The objective of this study is to perform a systematic review of published studies that assessed nutrition knowledge in adults, focusing on the methodology and content of these studies. An article search was performed on the Medline, Lilacs, and SciELO databases. The search limits were human studies; English, Portuguese, and Spanish languages; and age (over 19).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This article reports the rationale for the Brazilian Cardioprotective Nutritional Program (BALANCE Program) Trial. This pragmatic, multicenter, nationwide, randomized, concealed, controlled trial was designed to investigate the effects of the BALANCE Program in reducing cardiovascular events. The BALANCE Program consists of a prescribed diet guided by nutritional content recommendations from Brazilian national guidelines using a unique nutritional education strategy, which includes suggestions of affordable foods.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: To evaluate the factors associated with anemia among pregnant women receiving public health care in a capital city in Northeastern Brazil.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on a sample of 428 patients obtained on the basis of the estimated prevalence of anemia during pregnancy (50%), a 95% confidence interval (95%CI), an error of 5% and a sample loss of 20%. Pregnant women who lived in the city and were served by the municipal public health network were considered to be eligible for the study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Two sources of medium-chain triglycerides--triheptanoin with anaplerotic properties and coconut oil with antioxidant features--have emerged as promising therapeutic options for the management of pharmacoresistant epilepsy. We investigated the effects of ketogenic diets (KDs) containing coconut oil, triheptanoin, or soybean oil on pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE) in rats. Twenty-four adult male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups and fed a control diet (7% lipids) or a KD containing soybean oil, coconut oil, or triheptanoin (69.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF