Age- and Sex-Specific Analyses of Diet Quality and 4-Year Weight Change in Nonobese Adults Show Stronger Associations in Young Adulthood

Background: Although the general importance of diet quality in the prevention of unintentional weight gain is known, it is unknown whether its influence is age or sex dependent. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the strength of the association between diet quality and 4-y weight change was modified by age and sex. Methods: From the Dutch population-based Lifelines Cohort, 85,618 nonobese adult participants (age 18-93 y), recruited between 2006 and 2013, were included in the study. At baseline, diet was assessed with a 110-item food-frequency questionnaire. The Lifelines Diet Score, based on international evidence for diet-disease relations at the food group level, was calculated to assess diet quality. For analyses, the score was divided in quintiles (Qs). Body weight was objectively measured at baseline and after a median follow-up of 44 mo (25th-75th percentile: 35-51 mo). In between, body weight was self-reported twice. Linear mixed models were used to investigate the association between diet quality and weight change by sex and in 6 age categories (18-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and ≥70 y). Results: Mean 4-y weight change decreased over age categories. Confounder-adjusted linear mixed models showed that the association between diet quality and weight change was modified by sex (P-interaction = 0.001). In women, the association was also modified by age (P-interaction = 0.001). Poor diet quality was most strongly associated with weight gain in the youngest men [Q1 compared with Q5: +0.33 kg/y (95% CI: 0.10, 0.56)] and women [+0.22 kg/y (95% CI: 0.07, 0.37)]. In contrast, in women aged ≥70 y, poor diet quality was associated with greater weight loss [-0.44 kg/y (95% CI: -0.84, -0.05)]. Conclusions: Poor diet quality was related to higher weight gain, especially in young adults. Oppositely, among women aged ≥70 y, poor diet quality was related to higher weight loss. Therefore, a healthful diet is a promising target for undesirable weight changes in both directions

Diet quality and colorectal tumor risk in persons with Lynch syndrome

Contains fulltext : 229397.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Persons with Lynch syndrome (LS) have an increased risk of developing colorectal tumors (CRTs). Adherence to diet quality indices associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk in the general population has not been studied before in LS. METHODS: Dietary habits of 490 participants with LS from a prospective cohort study was collected using a food frequency questionnaire. The Dutch Healthy Diet index 2015 (DHD15-index) and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) were used to score food-based diet quality. Diet quality scores were divided into tertiles where a higher tertile reflects a higher diet quality. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate the association between the DHD15-index, DASH score and CRT risk. RESULTS: During a median follow-up time of 53.4 months, 210 participants (42.9%) developed CRTs. The DHD-index and DASH score were not associated with CRT risk; hazard ratios for highest vs. lowest tertile were 1.00 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.67-1.48) and 1.11 (95% CI: 0.74-1.69), respectively. No linear trends across the DHD-index and DASH score tertiles were observed (P-trend = 0.97 and 0.83 respectively). CONCLUSION: In contrast to observations in the general population, no evidence for an association between the food-based DHD15-index or DASH score and CRT risk was observed in persons with LS. Further studies are needed investigating the association between diet quality and mechanisms leading to the development of LS-associated tumors

FADS1 FADS2 gene variants modify the association between fish intake and the docosahexaenoic acid proportions in human milk

BACKGROUND: The genes encoding Delta(5)- and Delta(6)-desaturases (FADS1 FADS2 gene cluster) were reported to be associated with n-3 (omega-3) and n-6 (omega-6) fatty acid proportions in human plasma, tissues, and milk. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) can be supplied especially by dietary fish or fish oil and synthesized from alpha-linolenic acid through a pathway involving these desaturases. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated whether FADS gene variants modify the effect of maternal fish and fish-oil intake on plasma and milk DHA proportions. DESIGN: FADS1 rs174561, FADS2 rs174575, and intergenic rs3834458 single nucleotide polymorphisms were genotyped in 309 women from the KOALA Birth Cohort Study in the Netherlands. Plasma was collected at 36 wk of pregnancy, and milk was collected at 1 mo postpartum. Fish and fish-oil intake was assessed by using a food-frequency questionnaire at 34 wk of pregnancy and updated for the week of milk collection. Gene-diet interactions were tested by linear regression analysis. RESULTS: DHA proportions were lower in women homozygous for the minor allele than in women who were homozygous for the major allele (DHA proportions in plasma phospholipids: P < 0.01; DHA proportions in milk: P < 0.05). Fish intake ranged from 0 to 2.5 portions of fatty fish/wk, and 12 women took fish-oil supplements during pregnancy. DHA proportions in plasma phospholipids increased with increasing fish and fish-oil intake, irrespective of the genotype. DHA proportions in milk increased only with fish and fish-oil intake in the major-allele carriers. CONCLUSION: Lower proportions of DHA in milk from women who were homozygous for the minor allele could not be compensated for by increasing fish and fish-oil intake, possibly because of limited incorporation into milk