Effects of a low-intensity worksite-based nutrition intervention.
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Male employees from four local worksites were recruited to participate in a short-term and low-intensity nutrition intervention which focused on promoting low-fat dietary habits. The sites were randomized to control conditions or to the intervention programme that consisted of an individualized health risk appraisal, group sessions, mass media activities and environmental changes. Participants were seen before and three months after intervention to measure blood lipids, nutrition knowledge and dietary changes. Eighty-three per cent of all eligible subjects were screened (n = 770) and follow-up measures were obtained for 82%. The score for nutrition knowledge improved significantly in the intervention group. There was also a net reduction in the intake of total calories and in the percentage of energy from total fat. Reported intake of carbohydrates and proteins increased. For all employees assessed, there were no changes in mean total cholesterol level or fatty acid composition. Only among participants with hypercholesterolemia was a significant reduction in blood cholesterol observed. This low-intensity intervention programme achieved some self-reported dietary changes and was successful (at least in part because statistical regression needs to be considered) in obtaining a more short-term beneficial cholesterol level in employees at higher cardiovascular risk. (+info)
Adult nutrient intake as a risk factor for Parkinson's disease.
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BACKGROUND: This population-based case-control study evaluated nutrient intake as a risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD) among people aged > or =50 years in metropolitan Detroit. METHODS: Cases (n = 126) were diagnosed between 1991 and 1995 and neurologist-confirmed. Controls (n = 432) were frequency-matched for sex, age (+/-5 years) and race. Using a standardized food frequency questionnaire, subjects reported the foods they ate within the past year. RESULTS: Estimating the association between PD and risk of being in the highest versus the lowest intake quartile, there were elevated odds ratios for total fat (OR 1.94, 95% confidence interval [CI] : 1.05-3.58), cholesterol (OR 2.11, 95% CI: 1.14-3.90), lutein (OR 2.52, 95% CI: 1.32-4.84) and iron (OR 1.88, 95% CI: 1.05-3.38). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest an association of PD with high intake of total fat, saturated fats, cholesterol, lutein and iron. (+info)
Effects of coffee consumption against the development of liver dysfunction: a 4-year follow-up study of middle-aged Japanese male office workers.
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The association of coffee consumption with the development of increased serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and/or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities over 4 years was studied in 1221 liver dysfunction-free (serum AST and ALT < or = 39 IU/l and no medical care for or no past history of liver disease) Japanese male office workers aged 35 to 56 years. From the analysis using the Kaplan-Meier method, the estimated incidence of serum AST and/or ALT > or = 40 IU/l, > or = 50 IU/l, and > or = 60 IU/l decreased with an increase in coffee consumption. From the Cox proportional hazards model, coffee drinking was independently inversely associated with the development of serum AST and/or ALT > or = 40 IU/l (p = 0.019 by test for tendency), > or = 50 IU/l (p = 0.002), and > or = 60 IU/l (p = 0.007), controlling for age, body mass index, alcohol intake, and cigarette smoking. These results suggest that coffee may be protectively against the liver dysfunction in middle-aged Japanese men. (+info)
Serum leptin and habitual fatty acid dietary intake in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.
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OBJECTIVE: To study the contribution of a normal intake of nutrients to the variability of serum leptin concentrations in persons with type 1 diabetes mellitus. DESIGN: We studied the relation between serum leptin and nutrient intake in a cross-sectional study. METHODS: Serum leptin measured by radioimmunoassay, nutritional data determined by a self-administered 7-day nutritional questionnaire, and the fatty acid composition of the serum phospholipids (measured by thin layer chromatography and gas chromatography) were determined in 60 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Correlation and regression analyses were performed between serum leptin and dietary fatty acids and serum phospholipid fatty acids. RESULTS: In the prediction models for the concentrations of serum leptin in men with type 1 diabetes mellitus, the dietary fatty acids displaced the anthropometric variables, and were independent of the serum testosterone concentrations. This fact remained when the prediction was made on the basis of indirect markers of the intake, such as the serum phospholipid fatty acids. In the women, the fatty acids from the diet or from the serum phospholipids also partly explained the variation in serum leptin, although not displacing the anthropometric variables. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that, in non-experimental conditions, the concentrations of serum leptin in men with type 1 diabetes mellitus and, to a lesser extent, those in women with diabetes, may be influenced by the composition of the habitual diet, especially the type of dietary fat. (+info)
Helicobacter pylori infection: relationship between seroprevalence and dietary preference in a rural area.
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In order to evaluate the relationship between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and dietary preference, a cross-sectional study was performed among 626 residents in a rural area of Japan. Seropositive rates were 88.7% in males and 71.4% in females, and these increased with age for both sexes [male P < 0.05 and female P < 0.01]. The relationship between H. pylori-seropositivities and salted-food intake, after adjustment for age, demonstrated a significant result in the "almost every day" group in males with an odds ratio (OR) of 8.39 and with 95% confidence intervals (CI) of 1.02-69.30. As regards an association between seropositivities of H. pylori and levels of serum pepsinogens for the screening of chronic atrophic gastritis (low pepsinogen values used were a pepsinogen I level below 70 ng/ml and a pepsinogen I/pepsinogen II ratio below 3.0), the ORs of H. pylori-seropositivities for low pepsinogen cases were 6.32 [95% CI: 1.42-28.03] in males and 12.72 [95% CI: 4.57-35.46] in females. With regard to the relationship between low pepsinogen cases and light-colored vegetables intake, a significant low OR for the low pepsinogen cases was obtained in the "almost every meal" group in females after adjustment for age and seropositivities of H. pylori with an OR of 0.37 and with 95% CI of 0.15-0.92. (+info)
Fat intake and breast cancer risk in an area where fat intake is low: a case-control study in Indonesia.
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BACKGROUND: Associations of fat and other macronutrients with breast cancer risk are not clear in areas where fat intake is low. METHODS: We conducted a hospital-based case-control study from 1992 to 1995 in Jakarta, Indonesia. RESULTS: The study, based on 226 cases and 452 age and socioeconomic status matched controls, provided the following findings. (a) In the pre-marriage period, the greater the fat or protein consumption, the larger the risk, whereas decreasing risk with increasing carbohydrate intake was detected. The odds ratio (OR) for the highest quartile of intake relative to the lowest was 8.47 (95% CI: 4.03-17.8) for fat, 2.19 (95% CI: 1.30-3.69) for protein, and 0.16 (95% CI: 0.08-0.31) for carbohydrate. A positive association with fat and a negative one with carbohydrate were also observed for the post-marriage period, but of weaker magnitude compared to the pre-marriage period. (b) The effects of macronutrient intakes were stronger among premenopausal than among postmenopausal women. (c) Most of the associations of protein and carbohydrate were insignificant after adjustment for fat intake. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that fat intake might be an important determinant of breast cancer among populations with a low fat diet in Indonesia. (+info)
Diet, smoking and anthropometric indices and postmenopausal bone fractures: a prospective study.
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OBJECTIVE: Bone fractures are an important cause of morbidity and mortality among the elderly in the US. The present study assesses the possible role of a number of risk factors for postmenopausal bone fractures. METHODS: We analysed the relationships of anthropometric, demographic and lifestyle factors with the risk of bone fracture among 6250 postmenopausal women in a prospective cohort study, the New York University Women's Health Study. RESULTS: After an average of 7.6 years of follow-up, 1025 new incident bone fractures were reported, including 34 hip and 159 wrist fractures (incidence rates; 71.6 and 334.7 per 105 woman-years, respectively). The risk of fracture increased with increasing age, body height and total fat intake, while it was significantly lower among obese and African American women. The relative risk among African Americans was 0.45 (95% CI: 0.32-0.63) compared with non-African Americans. Women taller than 170 cm had a 64% increase in risk of fractures, as compared with those under 155 cm. These associations were generally more pronounced when fractures were limited to those at the hip and wrist. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides an indication for a potential role of dietary fat in the development of postmenopausal fractures and further evidence to support protective effects of obesity, short stature and African American ethnicity. (+info)
Dietary patterns in a high-risk population for glucose intolerance. Japanese-Brazilian Diabetes Study Group.
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We evaluated dietary habits as risk factor for glucose intolerance in a high risk population of Japanese-Brazilians enrolled in a study on the prevalence of diabetes (DM). Based on oral glucose tolerance test and WHO criteria, 331 had normal tolerance (NGT), 88 impaired tolerance (IGT) and 83 had type 2 DM (51 self-reported, 32 newly diagnosed diabetics). Clinical, laboratory and dietary data, assessed by food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), were compared between the NGT group and another composed of IGT and newly diagnosed DM (disturbed glucose tolerance or DGT group). Associations of total energy intake and nutrient intakes with glucose intolerance were analyzed by logistic regression. Also, subjects with NGT and DGT entered into separate models of multiple linear regression including BMI as the dependent variable, and total energy intake or each nutrient as independent variables. DGT group showed higher waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure, plasma glucose and insulin levels and worse lipid profile. Total energy intake, macronutrients, fibers, alcohol and saturated fat intakes did not differ between groups; DGT was not associated with any nutrient intake in multivariate analyses. BMI of the subjects with DGT but not with NGT was associated with protein and cholesterol intakes in linear regression analysis. Our findings did not support an association between nutritional factors and glucose intolerance even in subjects who are unaware of their DGT, using FFQ to reflect current habits. However, we suggest that protein and cholesterol intakes may be markers of increased BMI. Despite assuming that obesity and insulin resistance precedes DM, FFQ may not be useful in the assessment of unfavorable dietary patterns among subjects at risk for glucose intolerance, such as Japanese-Brazilians with elevated BMI. (+info)