Volume : 4, Issue : 7, July - 2015

SERUM BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS AND ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS IN THE BRAZILIAN ARMY MILITARIES SELECTED FOR THE UNITED NATIONS’ PEACEKEEPING MISSION IN HAITI

Samir Ezequiel Da Rosa, Jos Fernandes Filho, Marcos De S Rego Fortes, Amina Costa Chain, Eduardo Camillo Martinez

Abstract :

<p>Objective: The Brazilian Army (BA) actively participates in peacekeeping missions of the United Nations (UN), and to do so, it is necessary that their military are in minimum physical condition to face the obstacles in the course of actions within the theater of operations. The aim of this study was to analyze the associations between serum biochemical markers and anthropometric measures in BA&rsquo;s militaries selected for the UN peacekeeping mission. Method: The study included 262 male militaries from the BA, aged 19-49 years selected for the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti in 2012. Anthropometry was performed with measurement of total body weight, height and waist and hip circumferences. The body mass index and waist-hip ratio were calculated. Blood collection was performed after fasting for 12h for analysis of biochemical markers (HDL-C, triglycerides and glucose). Data were presented as mean &plusmn; standard deviation and percentage frequency. The associations between biochemical markers and anthropometric indices were assessed by Pearson correlation. Results: A significant negative correlation between HDL-C and waist circumference and a positive between glycaemia, triglycerides, body mass, body mass index and waist circumference were observed. The descriptive percentage of obese military found is below the national average, but overweight number is closer to the indices of the population. Conclusion: The weak correlation between blood glucose and anthropometric parameters as well as the inverse relationship between HDL-C and waist circumference, show that indirect instruments are independent predictors of NCD.</p>