Aim: To measure serum hepcidin in late pregnancy and in cord blood, and to analyze relationship between hepcidin, interleukin-6, and biomarkers of fetal iron status. Materials and methods: Data from 15 uncomplicated singleton pregnancies were analyzed longitudinally in trimester 3 (T3) and at birth. Results: In T3, S-ferritin (median 14 mu g/L) and transferrin (median 4.0 g/L) indicated low iron status, whereas the median soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) was 4.0 mg/L, i.e. within the reference interval. Median T3 S-hepcidin was 7.8 ng/mL. Later on in cord blood, ferritin concentration (180 mu g/L) were significantly higher, transferrin concentration (1.8 g/L) were significantly lower, and both sTfR (4.7 mg/L) and S-hepcidin concentrations (30.5 ng/mL) were significantly higher than maternal T3 concentrations. At the same time, cord blood interleukin-6 indicated an activated acute-phase reaction. In T3, after logarithmic transformation, there was a significant correlation between S-hepcidin and both S-ferritin (r = 0.691) and sTfR (r = -0.825). There was also a significant correlation between S-ferritin and both sTfR (r = -0.729) and transferrin (r = 0.549) in T3. Conclusions: Although S-ferritin, S-hepcidin, and sTfR were correlated during pregnancy, these relationships were not apparent in umbilical cord blood. Further, cord blood interleukin-6 indicated an activated acute-phase response, and sTfR, which is known to be unaffected by inflammation, indicated a low iron status in cord blood. Thus, instead of representing an enhanced iron status, the data appear to suggest that hepcidin and ferritin in cord blood may be influenced by the low-grade acute-phase response that occurs during delivery.

The prevalence of obesity, defined as body mass index (BMI) ⩾30 kg/m2, differs between populations; however, there is a need for data on description on body composition in reference populations of different ages and from different countries. The objective of this study was to pool dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) body composition reference data from population-based Swedish cohorts. Four population-based cross-sectional cohort studies including 1424 adult Swedes were divided into five age groups (20–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–61 and 75 years of age); BMI 24.6±3.9 kg/m2 were pooled. Body composition was measured with DXA. The difference in BMI from the youngest to the oldest age group was 3.2 and 4.3 kg/m2 in men and women, respectively (P<0.001, both sexes), and fat mass (FM) was 9.9 and 9.1% higher in the oldest compared with the youngest men and women (P<0.001, both sexes). Fat-free mass (FFM) remained stable up to 60 years of age in men (P=0.83) and was lower at 75 years of age compared with the younger ages. In women, FFM was lower from age 60. From youngest to oldest age groups, height-adjusted FM differed from 4.6 to 7.8 kg/m2 in men and from 6.8 to 10.8 kg/m2 in women (P<0.001, both sexes). Our results provide reference data on body composition in Swedish populations. BMI and FM were higher among older age groups compared with the younger ones. FFM remained stable up to 60 years of age and was lower first among the 75 years of age.

OBJECTIVE:To assess variables of body composition and identify their correlates in a group of individuals studied from adolescence to early adulthood.METHODS:Cross-sectional results were obtained from 203, 149 and 106 subjects at the respective ages. Sixty-two subjects examined at all three ages constituted the longitudinal study group. A cohort of randomly selected 15-year-old adolescents from an industrial town in Sweden was studied by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and followed up at 17 and 20.5 years. Lean body mass (LBM), fat mass (FM) and total body bone mineral content (TBMC) were measured by DXA. Total bone mineral density (TBMD) was calculated. Information of parental educational level, energy intake and food habits, energy expenditure (TEE) and physical activity level (PAL) was obtained by questionnaires and diaries.RESULTS:LBM, TBMC and TBMD increased significantly more in males and FM more in females, from 15 to 20.5 years of age. Body weight, height, TEE, PAL and the fathers' educational level and, at age 15, also gender were identified as significant correlates of the body composition variables.CONCLUSION:New reference values for body composition at ages 15, 17 and 20.5 years are presented and also a finding about an association between the father's educational level and the adolescent's body composition.

Bokrecension | Abrahamsson, Lillemor, Andersson, Agneta, Becker, Wulf & Nilsson, Ger (red.) (2006) Naringslara for Hogskolan. Uppl. 5. Stockholm : Liber

Bokrecension | Rigo, Jacques & Ziegler, Ekhard E. (Eds.) (206). Protein and energy requirements in infancy and childhood. Basel: Karger

Slimming diets: Fakes and fraud M any overweight and obese people try to find different solutions to reduce their weight.With promises about rapid weight loss, many desperate and disillusioned people are lured into testing useless products, as emphasized by Dan Larhammar in an article in this issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition (SJN).He comments critically upon different diets, e.g. the blood group diet.Many products advertised as excellent slimming diets are both expensive and not scientifically proven to be effective in a weight-reducing programme.Certain diets are also dangerous to health.The article is published together with others in SJN Issues 1 and 2, 2005, on the theme ''Popular diets, body weight and health''.It is high time for medical experts and official authorities to take responsibility in evaluating and criticizing incorrect claims in the jungle of advertisements of slimming diets in mass media and elsewhere.

"Functional foods, ageing and degenerative disease." Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition, 49(1), pp. 45–46

Food is the main source of trace elements for the general population. The gastrointestinal absorption of certain trace elements, e.g., cadmium, is strongly influenced by iron (Fe) status. This factor may also be relevant for the bioavailability of other trace elements. Therefore, we investigated relationships between Fe status indicators and trace element concentrations in blood and serum of 234 boys and girls at ages 15 and 17 years. Fe status was measured using serum ferritin (S-Ft), soluble transferrin receptor in serum (sTfR), and the ratio sTfR/S-Ft. The trace elements we investigated were, in blood, cadmium, cobalt, copper, zinc, selenium, rubidium, mercury, and lead, and, in serum, cobalt, copper, zinc, selenium, rubidium, tungsten, mercury, and lead. We found inverse correlations between Fe status and blood cadmium, blood or serum cobalt, or blood copper. There were positive correlations between Fe status and mercury concentrations. Selenium was positively correlated with sTfR. The relationships between Fe status and lead were equivocal. There were fewer correlations for serum than for blood, but the inverse relationships between Fe status and cobalt were equally strong in serum and blood. We found only occasional, and perhaps spurious, correlations with zinc, rubidium, and tungsten. In conclusion, previous indications that cadmium, cobalt, and copper are absorbed by transport mechanisms similar to that of Fe are supported by this study. Strong positive correlations between Fe status and mercury concentrations remain to be explained.

To assess physical activity and energy expenditure and to identify their correlates during adolescence and early adulthood. In a cohort study, total energy expenditure (TEE) and physical activity level (PAL) were assessed at 15 and 21 y from a 7-day activity diary and predicted BMR. The influences on TEE and PAL of body size, gender, sexual maturity, physical activity habits, sitting time, region, social conditions, employment, food habits, smoking and alcohol intake were examined in multivariate analyses. 71 male and 89 female subjects, living in two socioeconomically different regions of Sweden, a university region and an industrial region. The university city of Uppsala and the industrial town of Trollhättan. At both 15 and 21 y, PAL and TEE were high, with gender, sitting time and physical activity habits as main correlates. At age 21 y, employment and the mother's educational level also appeared as significant correlates. The relations between the main variables and their correlates were more complex than at age 15 y, and the sitting time was reduced and the activity habits were changed. A reduction of daily sitting appears to be a major reason why high levels of physical activity and energy expenditure were maintained from 15 to 21 y of age in spite of changed and less frequent activity habits during this interval. Uppsala University, County Councils of Uppsala and Älvsborg and the Swedish Dairies Association of Research and Development.

(2005). Finns det plats for socker i kosten? Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition: Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 95-95.

(2004). Meal patterns impact and obesity. Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition: Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 107-107.

BACKGROUND:Osteoporosis is a growing health problem. One of the proposed reasons for this is a more sedentary lifestyle. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between muscle strength and total body bone mineral density (TBMD) in young adults at expected peak bone mass. METHODS:Sixty-four women and 61 men (total 125) 21 years of age were included. Handgrip strength, isokinetic knee-flexion and -extension muscle strength, TBMD, and body composition were measured. RESULTS:Univariate regression analyses showed that knee flexion and extension explained almost 30% of the variation in TBMD in women, whereas handgrip strength was not associated with TBMD. In men, no correlation between any measures of muscle strength and TBMD was evident. Stepwise regression analysis showed that knee-flexion and -extension muscle strength in women were associated with TBMD, R2=0.27. In men, lean body mass, fat mass, weight, and height were predictors for TBMD, R2=0.43, whereas muscle strength did not affect the prediction of TBMD. CONCLUSIONS:Muscle strength at weight-bearing sites is related to TBMD in women, whereas body composition is related to TBMD in men. The association of lower limb strength on TBMD only in young women indicates a gender difference.

(2003). Salt iodization: effectively combating iodine deficiency. Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition: Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 161-161.

(2003). Water intoxication—a dangerous condition. Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition: Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 107-107.

Aim :As part of a longitudinal nutrition study of adolescents, changes in serum ferritin (s‐Ft), serum transferrin receptors (s‐TfR) and the TfR/Ft ratio from 15 to 21 y of age were studied in randomly selected Swedish adolescents. Methods :Blood samples from 60 males and 66 females were drawn at 15, 17 and 21 y of age. Results :In males, median s‐Ft increased significantly from 33 (μg 1 −1 at 15 y to 96 (μg 1 −1 at 21 y, and in females, after a non‐significant decrease at 17 y, from 27 at 15 y to 34 (μg 1 at 21 y. Between 15 and 17 y, s‐TfR increased significantly, in males from 5.9 to 7.7 p.g 1, and in females from 5.2 to 7.6 μg 1 −1 , whereas s‐TfR decreased significantly in both genders between 17 and 21 y. The log (TfR/Ft) ratio did not change in males between 15 and 17 y, but decreased significantly from 2.2 ± 0.3 to 1.8 ±0.3 by the age of 21 y. In females, the TfR/Ft ratio increased significantly between 15 and 17 y, whereas a significant decrease was found by the age of 21 y. S‐Ft <12 μg 1 −1 at 15, 17 and 21 y was 3, 2 and 2% in males, and in females 18, 26 and 21%, respectively. Conclusion :This study shows an increase in s‐Ft and a decline in s‐TfR in males, indicating increased iron stores. In females, s‐Ft did not increase significantly, whereas s‐TfR and the TfR/ Ft ratio decreased between 17 and 21 y, indicating that cellular iron needs were met.

Mercury and selenium in whole blood and serum of 245 17-year old Swedish adolescents were analysed. The relationships between these elements' concentrations and the consumption of fish as well as the number of dental amalgam fillings were studied. The geometric means (GM) of the mercury concentrations were 1.1 μg/L in blood and 0.43 μg/L in serum. The mean selenium concentration in blood was 110 μg/L and the GM of the serum selenium concentration 110 μg/L. Fish species with dietary restrictions due to elevated mercury levels (i.e. pike, perch, pikeperch, burbot, eel and halibut) were consumed on average 0.7 times/month and fish species without such restrictions 4.1 times/month. Despite this comparatively low fish consumption, the adolescents' blood mercury concentrations were positively correlated with fish consumption. Of the adolescents, 39% had amalgam fillings (mean 2 ± 1.5). Serum mercury was influenced by the number of amalgam fillings, by fish consumption, blood and serum levels of selenium and the residential area. Blood and serum selenium concentrations were not influenced by fish consumption, but were positively associated with the serum mercury concentration.