Kortykosteroidy a ryzyko złamania szyjki kości udowej u osób w podeszłym wieku cierpiących na choroby układu oddechowego: wyniki analizy greckiej kohorty badania EPIC

WSTĘP: Wraz ze starzeniem się populacji w najbliższych latach należy spodziewać się wzrostu częstości występowania osteoporozy i chorób układu oddechowego. Kortykosteroidy — leki zwiększające ryzyko osteoporozy, są stosowane w różnych postaciach u chorych na schorzenia układu oddechowego, bez względu na zaawansowany wiek i zwiększone ryzyko złamań. Celem badania była ocena ryzyka złamania szyjki kości udowej u osób w wieku podeszłym, leczonych kortykosteroidami ze wskazań pulmonologicznych, z uwzględnieniem leków wziewnych. MATERIAŁ I METODY: Dane na temat nowych złamań szyjki kości udowej zbierano za pomocą aktywnej obserwacji prospektywnej uczestników greckiego segmentu badania EPIC-Greece (EPIC-Greece, European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition), którzy w momencie rekrutacji osiągnęli wiek co najmniej 60 lat i deklarowali chorobę układu oddechowego rozpoznaną przez lekarza. Dane na temat statusu socjoekonomicznego, stylu życia, stanu zdrowia oraz stosowania kortykosteroidów gromadzono za pomocą kwestionariuszy na początku i końcu badania. W celu oceny współczynnika ryzyka (HR) zastosowano model regresji Coxa, z uwzględnieniem czynników zakłócających. WYNIKI: Stwierdzono wzrost ryzyka złamania szyjki kości udowej związany ze stosowaniem kortykosteroidów (HR: 1,68; 95% CI: 0,85–3,34). Zwiększone ryzyko utrzymywało się, gdy analizę ograniczono do osób przyjmujących jakiekolwiek kortykosteroidy z powodu chorób obturacyjnych (HR: 1,40; 95% CI: 0,64–3,06) oraz do osób przyjmujących wyłącznie leki wziewne (HR: 1,58; 95% CI: 0,71–3,50). Ta pozytywna zależność nie osiągnęła jednak poziomu istotności statystycznej, prawdopodobnie z powodu małej liczby osób ze złamaniami. WNIOSKI: Ryzyko złamania szyjki kości udowej powinno być brane pod uwagę w sytuacji, gdy zaleca się stosowanie kortykosteroidów ze wskazań pulmonologicznych osobom w podeszłym wieku. Problem ten dotyczy również leków wziewnych.WSTĘP: Wraz ze starzeniem się populacji w najbliższych latach należy spodziewać się wzrostu częstości występowania osteoporozy i chorób układu oddechowego. Kortykosteroidy — leki zwiększające ryzyko osteoporozy, są stosowane w różnych postaciach u chorych na schorzenia układu oddechowego, bez względu na zaawansowany wiek i zwiększone ryzyko złamań. Celem badania była ocena ryzyka złamania szyjki kości udowej u osób w wieku podeszłym, leczonych kortykosteroidami ze wskazań pulmonologicznych, z uwzględnieniem leków wziewnych. MATERIAŁ I METODY: Dane na temat nowych złamań szyjki kości udowej zbierano za pomocą aktywnej obserwacji prospektywnej uczestników greckiego segmentu badania EPIC-Greece (EPIC-Greece, European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition), którzy w momencie rekrutacji osiągnęli wiek co najmniej 60 lat i deklarowali chorobę układu oddechowego rozpoznaną przez lekarza. Dane na temat statusu socjoekonomicznego, stylu życia, stanu zdrowia oraz stosowania kortykosteroidów gromadzono za pomocą kwestionariuszy na początku i końcu badania. W celu oceny współczynnika ryzyka (HR) zastosowano model regresji Coxa, z uwzględnieniem czynników zakłócających. WYNIKI: Stwierdzono wzrost ryzyka złamania szyjki kości udowej związany ze stosowaniem kortykosteroidów (HR: 1,68; 95% CI: 0,85–3,34). Zwiększone ryzyko utrzymywało się, gdy analizę ograniczono do osób przyjmujących jakiekolwiek kortykosteroidy z powodu chorób obturacyjnych (HR: 1,40; 95% CI: 0,64–3,06) oraz do osób przyjmujących wyłącznie leki wziewne (HR: 1,58; 95% CI: 0,71–3,50). Ta pozytywna zależność nie osiągnęła jednak poziomu istotności statystycznej, prawdopodobnie z powodu małej liczby osób ze złamaniami. WNIOSKI: Ryzyko złamania szyjki kości udowej powinno być brane pod uwagę w sytuacji, gdy zaleca się stosowanie kortykosteroidów ze wskazań pulmonologicznych osobom w podeszłym wieku. Problem ten dotyczy również leków wziewnych

Mediterranean diet pyramid today. Science and cultural updates

Objective: To present the Mediterranean diet (MD) pyramid: a lifestyle for today. Design: A new graphic representation has been conceived as a simplified main frame to be adapted to the different nutritional and socio-economic contexts of the Mediterranean region. This review gathers updated recommendations considering the lifestyle, dietary, sociocultural, environmental and health challenges that the current Mediterranean populations are facing. Setting and Subjects: Mediterranean region and its populations. Results: Many innovations have arisen since previous graphical representations of the MD. First, the concept of composition of the ‘main meals’ is introduced to reinforce the plant-based core of the dietary pattern. Second, frugality and moderation is emphasised because of the major public health challenge of obesity. Third, qualitative cultural and lifestyle elements are taken into account, such as conviviality, culinary activities, physical activity and adequate rest, along with proportion and frequency recommendations of food consumption. These innovations are made without omitting other items associated with the production, selection, processing and consumption of foods, such as seasonality, biodiversity, and traditional, local and eco-friendly products. Conclusions: Adopting a healthy lifestyle and preserving cultural elements should be considered in order to acquire all the benefits from the MD and preserve this cultural heritage. Considering the acknowledgment of the MD as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO (2010), and taking into account its contribution to health and general well-being, we hope to contribute to a much better adherence to this healthy dietary pattern and its way of life with this new graphic representation.peer-reviewe

A Consensus Proposal for Nutritional Indicators to Assess the Sustainability of a Healthy Diet: The Mediterranean Diet as a Case Study

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence of the multiple effects of diets on public health nutrition, society, and environment. Sustainability and food security are closely interrelated. The traditional Mediterranean Diet (MD) is recognized as a healthier dietary pattern with a lower environmental impact. As a case study, the MD may guide innovative inter-sectorial efforts to counteract the degradation of ecosystems, loss of biodiversity, and homogeneity of diets due to globalization through the improvement of sustainable healthy dietary patterns. This consensus position paper defines a suite of the most appropriate nutrition and health indicators for assessing the sustainability of diets based on the MD. METHODS: In 2011, an informal International Working Group from different national and international institutions was convened. Through online and face-to-face brainstorming meetings over 4 years, a set of nutrition and health indicators for sustainability was identified and refined. RESULTS: Thirteen nutrition indicators of sustainability relating were identified in five areas. Biochemical characteristics of food (A1. Vegetable/animal protein consumption ratios; A2. Average dietary energy adequacy; A3. Dietary Energy Density Score; A4. Nutrient density of diet), Food Quality (A5. Fruit and vegetable consumption/intakes; A6. Dietary Diversity Score), Environment (A7. Food biodiversity composition and consumption; A8. Rate of Local/regional foods and seasonality; A9. Rate of eco-friendly food production and/or consumption), Lifestyle (A10. Physical activity/physical inactivity prevalence; A11. Adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern), Clinical Aspects (A12. Diet-related morbidity/mortality statistics; A13. Nutritional Anthropometry). A standardized set of information was provided for each indicator: definition, methodology, background, data sources, limitations of the indicator, and references. CONCLUSION: The selection and analysis of these indicators has been performed (where possible) with specific reference to the MD. Sustainability of food systems is an urgent priority for governments and international organizations to address the serious socioeconomic and environmental implications of short-sighted and short-term practices for agricultural land and rural communities. These proposed nutrition indicators will be a useful methodological framework for designing health, education, and agricultural policies in order, not only to conserve the traditional diets of the Mediterranean area as a common cultural heritage and lifestyle but also to enhance the sustainability of diets in general

Does the Mediterranean diet predict longevity in the elderly? A Swedish perspective

Dietary pattern analysis represents a useful improvement in the investigation of diet and health relationships. Particularly, the Mediterranean diet pattern has been associated with reduced mortality risk in several studies involving both younger and elderly population groups. In this research, relationships between dietary macronutrient composition, as well as the Mediterranean diet, and total mortality were assessed in 1,037 seventy-year-old subjects (540 females) information. Diet macronutrient composition was not associated with mortality, while a refined version of the modified Mediterranean diet index showed a significant inverse association (HR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.89; 0.98). As expected, inactive subjects, smokers and those with a higher waist circumference had a higher mortality, while a reduced risk characterized married and more educated people. Sensitivity analyses (which confirmed our results) consisted of: exclusion of one food group at a time in the Mediterranean diet index, exclusion of early deaths, censoring at fixed follow-up time, adjusting for activities of daily living and main cardiovascular risk factors including weight/waist circumference changes at follow up. In conclusion, we can reasonably state that a higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet pattern, especially by consuming wholegrain cereals, foods rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, and a limited amount of alcohol, predicts increased longevity in the elderly

Supplementation with cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruit decreases oxidative stress in healthy humans: A comparative study with vitamin C

Background: Cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruit contains vitamin C and characteristic betalain pigments, the radical-scavenging properties and antioxidant activities of which have been shown in vitro. Objective: We investigated the effects of short-term supplementation with cactus pear fruit compared with vitamin C alone on total-body oxidative status in healthy humans. Design: In a randomized, crossover, double-treatment study, 18 healthy volunteers received either 250 g fresh fruit pulp or 75 mg vitamin C twice daily for 2 wk, with a 6-wk washout period between the treatments. Before (baseline) and after each treatment, 8-epiprostaglandin F2α (8-epi-PGF2α) and malondialdehyde in plasma, the ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione (GSH:GSSG) in erythrocytes, and lipid hydroperoxides in LDL were measured as biomarkers of oxidative stress; plasma Trolox-equivalent antioxidant activity (TEAC) and vitamins A, E, and C were evaluated as indexes of antioxidant status. Results: Both treatments caused comparable increases compared with baseline in plasma concentrations of vitamin E and vitamin C (P < 0.05); vitamin A and TEAC did not change significantly. After supplementation with cactus pear fruit, 8-epi-PGF2α and malondialdehyde decreased by ≈30% and 75%, respectively; GSH:GSSG shifted toward a higher value (P < 0.05); and LDL hydroperoxides were reduced by almost one-half. Supplementation with vitamin C did not significantly affect any marker of oxidative stress. Conclusions: Consumption of cactus pear fruit positively affects the body's redox balance, decreases oxidative damage to lipids, and improves antioxidant status in healthy humans. Supplementation with vitamin C at a comparable dosage enhances overall antioxidant defense but does not significantly affect body oxidative stress. Components of cactus pear fruit other than antioxidant vitamins may play a role in the observed effects. © 2004 American Society for Clinical Nutrition

Identification Of Urinary Polyphenol Metabolite Patterns Associated With Polyphenol-rich Food Intake In Adults From Four European Countries

We identified urinary polyphenol metabolite patterns by a novel algorithm that combines dimension reduction and variable selection methods to explain polyphenol-rich food intake, and compared their respective performance with that of single biomarkers in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. The study included 475 adults from four European countries (Germany, France, Italy, and Greece). Dietary intakes were assessed with 24-h dietary recalls (24-HDR) and dietary questionnaires (DQ). Thirty-four polyphenols were measured by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS-MS) in 24-h urine. Reduced rank regression-based variable importance in projection (RRR-VIP) and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) methods were used to select polyphenol metabolites. Reduced rank regression (RRR) was then used to identify patterns in these metabolites, maximizing the explained variability in intake of pre-selected polyphenol-rich foods. The performance of RRR models was evaluated using internal cross-validation to control for over-optimistic findings from over-fitting. High performance was observed for explaining recent intake (24-HDR) of red wine (r = 0.65; AUC = 89.1%), coffee (r = 0.51; AUC = 89.1%), and olives (r = 0.35; AUC = 82.2%). These metabolite patterns performed better or equally well compared to single polyphenol biomarkers. Neither metabolite patterns nor single biomarkers performed well in explaining habitual intake (as reported in the DQ) of polyphenol-rich foods. This proposed strategy of biomarker pattern identification has the potential of expanding the currently still limited list of available dietary intake biomarkers