title: Anthropometric and dietary intake indicators as predictors of pulmonary function in cystic fibrosis patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate whether anthropometric and dietary intake indicators are predictors of pulmonary function in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional study involving 69 patients (age range, 5.4-16.5 years) diagnosed with CF under follow-up at the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, located in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Anthropometric assessment was based on body mass index (BMI), mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC), and triceps skinfold thickness (TST). Dietary intake was assessed by using recall data, which were compared with the recommended dietary allowances. Pulmonary function was assessed by ventilatory capacity, expressed as FEV(1). Prevalence ratios for the outcome studied (FEV(1) < 80% of predicted) were calculated by indicator.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In patients with MAMC and TST below the 25th percentile, the prevalence of FEV(1) < 80% of predicted was significantly higher than in those with higher MAMC and TST (p < 0.001 and p = 0.011, respectively). In comparison with other patients, those with a BMI below the 50th percentile showed a 4.43 times higher prevalence of FEV(1) < 80% of predicted (95% CI: 1.58-12.41), and that prevalence was 2.54 times higher in those colonized with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) than in those not so colonized (95% CI: 1.43-4.53). The association between dietary intake and the prevalence of FEV1 < 80% of predicted was of only borderline significance (95% CI: 0.95-3.45).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Not being colonized with MRSA and having a BMI above the 50th percentile appear to preserve pulmonary function in CF patients.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciêncas Pneumológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.
authors.forename: Gabriele Carra
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Forte
authors.forename: Juliane Silva
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drehmer
authors.forename: Miriam Isabel Souza dos Santos
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Simon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000150:complications