[A parallelism study between anthropometric planes].

PURPOSE: The role of thyroxine replacement in subclinical hypothyroidism remains unclear. We performed a 6-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the effects of thyroxine treatment for mild subclinical hypothyroidism, defined as a serum thyroid-stimulating hormone level between 5 to 10 microU/mL with a normal serum free thyroxine level (0.8-16 ng/dL). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We randomly assigned 40 women with mild subclinical hypothyroidism who had presented to their family practitioners to either thyroxine treatment (n = 23; 50 to 100 microg daily) or placebo (n = 17). Health-related quality of life (Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, 30-item General Health Questionnaire), fasting lipid profiles, body weight, and resting energy expenditure were measured at baseline and 6 months. RESULTS: The most common presenting symptoms were fatigue (n = 33 [83%]) and weight gain (n = 32 [80%]). At presentation, 20 women (50%) had elevated anxiety scores and 22 (56%) had elevated scores on the General Health Questionnaire. Thirty-five women completed the study. There were no significant differences in the changes from baseline to 6 months between women in the thyroxine group and the placebo group for any of the metabolic, lipid, or anthropometric variables measured, expressed as the mean change in the thyroxine group minus the mean change in the placebo group: body mass index, -0.3 kg/m(2) (95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.9 to 0.4 kg/m(2)); resting energy expenditure, -0.2 kcal/kg/24 h (95% CI: -1.3 to 1.0 kcal/kg/24 h); and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, -4 mg/dL (95% CI: -23 to 15 mg/dL). There was a significant worsening in anxiety scores in the thyroxine group (scores increased in 8 of 20 women and were unchanged in 2 of 20) compared with the placebo group (scores increased in 1 of 14 women and were unchanged in 6 of 14; P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS; We observed no clinically relevant benefits from 6 months of thyroxine treatment in women with mild subclinical hypothyroidism.

Anthropometry↗

PubMed2002

Determinants of the energy cost of front-crawl swimming in children.

The aim of the present study was to define the determinants of the energy cost of swimming (Cs) in children. Eleven healthy children [mean (SD) age: 12.42 (0.53) years] who practised 7.5-8.5 h x week(-1) volunteered to take part in this study. Anthropometric dimensions such as height (H), body mass (BM), hydrostatic lift (HL) and body surface area (SA) were measured. Forty-eight hours later when maximal oxygen consumption (VO(2max)) had been measured during 400 m of front-crawl swimming, Cs was measured over 200 m for three submaximal swimming speeds (0.9, 1.0 and 1.1 m x s(-1)). Oxygen consumption (Douglas bag method), stroke frequency (SF) and stroke length (SL) were calculated during the last 50 m of each 200 m. The mean (SD) VO(2max) of the young swimmers was 2.19 (0.38) l x min(-1) at a maximal aerobic velocity of 1.19 (0.03) m x s(-1). The values of for Cs at 0.9 m x s(-1), 1.0 m x s(-1) and 1.1 m x s(-1) were 29.27 (3.13) ml x m(-1), 30.25 (3.68) ml x m(-1) and 32.91 (3.59) ml x m(-1), respectively. There was a significant increase in Cs with increasing swim speed. In addition, SF increased with velocity when SL remained constant. The values for SF at 0.9 m x s(-1), 1.0 m x s(-1) and 1.1 m x s(-1) were 31.28 (4.36) strokes x min(-1), 34.10 (5.09) strokes x min(-1) and 38.31 (5.90) strokes x min(-1), respectively. No significant correlation was obtained between Cs and the anthropometric or stroking parameters. It was concluded that for young swimmers, anthropometric characteristics, SF and SL are not good predictors of Cs in front-crawl swimming, and that further studies are needed to explore the influence of underwater torque on Cs in prepubertal children.

Anthropometry↗