Phyto-oestrogens and risk of prostate cancer in Scottish men.

A population-based case-control study of diet, inherited susceptibility and prostate cancer was undertaken in the lowlands and central belt of Scotland to investigate the effect of phyto-oestrogen intake and serum concentrations on prostate cancer risk. A total of 433 cases and 483 controls aged 50-74 years were asked to complete a validated FFQ and provide a non-fasting blood sample. Multivariate logistic regression analysis found significant inverse associations with increased serum concentrations of enterolactone (adjusted OR 0.

Two-year randomized controlled trial of vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) and vitamin D3 plus calcium on the bone health of older women.

Unlabelled: Dietary supplementation with vitamin K(1), with vitamin D(3) and calcium or their combination, was examined in healthy older women during a 2-year, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Combined vitamin K with vitamin D plus calcium was associated with a modest but significant increase in BMC at the ultradistal radius but not at other sites in the hip or radius.

Introduction: The putative beneficial role of high dietary vitamin K(1) (phylloquinone) on BMD and the possibility of interactive benefits with vitamin D were studied in a 2-year double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in healthy Scottish women > or =60 years of age.

Comparative dietary intake and sources of phylloquinone (vitamin K1) among British adults in 1986-7 and 2000-1.

Using data from 7 d weighed dietary records, dietary intake and sources of phylloquinone (vitamin K1) were examined by socio-demographic and lifestyle factors in 1916 participants aged 16-64 years from the 1986-7 Dietary and Nutritional Survey of British Adults, and 1423 participants aged 19-64 years from the 2000-1 National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Using UK-specific food content data, geometric mean phylloquinone intakes were estimated as 72 (95% CI 70, 74) and 67 (95% CI 65, 69) microg/d in 1986-7 and 2000-1 respectively (P<0.001).

A newly constructed and validated isoflavone database for the assessment of total genistein and daidzein intake.

The principal phyto-oestrogens (PO) in food are isoflavones, lignans, coumestans and prenylated flavonoids, with isoflavones and lignans being the most commonly found in UK diets. Until recently obtaining accurate data on the PO content of foods was hampered by lack of suitable analytical methods and validation techniques. Furthermore, although PO data exist for some foods, these foods may not be available in the UK.

Dietary silicon intake in post-menopausal women.

Si has been suggested as an essential element, and may be important in optimal bone, skin and cardiovascular health. However, there are few estimates of dietary Si intakes in man, especially in a UK population. Following the development of a UK food composition database for Si, the aim of the present study was to investigate dietary intakes of Si amongst healthy women aged over 60 years and to identify important food sources of Si in their diet.

A provisional database for the silicon content of foods in the United Kingdom.

Si may play an important role in bone formation and connective tissue metabolism. Although biological interest in this element has recently increased, limited literature exists on the Si content of foods. To further our knowledge and understanding of the relationship between dietary Si and human health, a reliable food composition database, relevant for the UK population, is required.

Phyto-oestrogen intake in Scottish men: use of serum to validate a self-administered food-frequency questionnaire in older men.

Objective: To study dietary intake and serum concentrations of isoflavones in order to provide relative validation of isoflavone intake estimates from the Scottish Collaborative Group - Food-Frequency Questionnaire (SCG-FFQ).

Design: Validation study.

Setting: Southern Scotland.

Childhood obesity and socioeconomic status: a novel role for height growth limitation.

Objective: To assess prevalence and socioeconomic context of overweight and obesity in a cohort of Scottish children.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Primary schools in Dundee, Angus, and Fife, Eastern Scotland, UK.

Energy intakes of children after preloads: adjustment, not compensation.

Background: Young children accurately compensate for energy-dense preloads consumed before test meals. The accuracy of compensation seems to deteriorate as a function of age.

Objective: The hypothesis that accurate energy compensation varies by age, body mass index, and individual characteristics of children and their mothers was tested.

The Pro12Ala and C-681G variants of the PPARG locus are associated with opposing growth phenotypes in young schoolchildren.

Aims/hypothesis: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma is an important regulator of adiposity in mouse and man, and common variation in the PPARG gene has been associated with birthweight, adult obesity, insulin sensitivity and type 2 diabetes. We hypothesised that these variants may be associated with childhood obesity.

Methods: Height and weight were recorded for 2454 prepubertal children aged between 4 and 10 years, who were then genotyped for three common variants of the PPARG locus: C-681G, Pro12Ala and C1431T.

The impact of inter-generational social and regional circumstances on dietary intake patterns of British adults: results from the 1946 British Birth Cohort.

Objectives: (1) To determine the extent to which an individual's childhood social circumstances and region of residence influence their dietary pattern at age 43 years and (2) to establish the extent to which an individual adopts the dietary pattern of their social and regional circumstances at age 43 years.

Design: Longitudinal study of a social class stratified, random sample of all legitimate, singleton births in the week of 3-9 March 1946.

Settings: England, Scotland and Wales.

Beyond deficiency: potential benefits of increased intakes of vitamin K for bone and vascular health.

Vitamin K is well known for its role in the synthesis of a number of blood coagulation factors. During recent years vitamin K-dependent proteins were discovered to be of vital importance for bone and vascular health. Recommendations for dietary vitamin K intake have been made on the basis of the hepatic requirements for the synthesis of blood coagulation factors.

Phylloquinone (vitamin K1) intakes and food sources in 18-64-year-old Irish adults.

Dietary vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) levels that are sufficient to maintain normal blood coagulation may be sub-optimal for bone, and habitual low dietary intakes of vitamin K may have an adverse effect on bone health. The objective of the present study was to measure the intake and adequacy of phylloquinone intake and the contribution of foods to phylloquinone intake in a nationally representative sample of Irish adults. The North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey database was used, which contains data collected using a 7 d food diary in a randomly selected sample of Irish adults aged 18-64 years (n 1379; 662 men and 717 women).

Dietary acid-base balance and intake of bone-related nutrients in Cambridge teenagers.

Objectives: To evaluate the diet of 16-18-y-old boys and girls with particular reference to intakes of nutrients believed to affect bone health and dietary acid-base balance.

Design: A 7-day food diary was completed between the months of October and December.

Setting: Cambridge, UK.

Childhood and adult dietary vitamin E intake and cardiovascular risk factors in mid-life in the 1946 British Birth Cohort.

Objectives: To determine whether dietary vitamin E intake in childhood or mid-life was predictive of adult hypertension and high waist circumference, as two important risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Design: Longitudinal study of a social class stratified random sample of all the legitimate, singleton births in the week of 3-9 March 1946.

Settings: England, Scotland and Wales.

The effects of dietary fatty acid supplementation on endothelial function and vascular tone in healthy subjects.

Objective: Evaluation of the effects of supplementation of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids on vascular tone and endothelial function in healthy men and women aged 40 to 65 years.

Methods: In a double-blind, randomised, placebo controlled study, 173 healthy volunteers took one of six oil supplements for 8 months. Supplements were placebo, oleic acid rich sunflower oil, evening primrose oil, soya bean oil, tuna fish oil, and tuna/evening primrose oil mix.

Consumption of whole-grain foods by British adults: findings from further analysis of two national dietary surveys.

Objective: To assess the consumption of whole-grain foods in different age and sociodemographic groups in Great Britain, using data from two national surveys.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of the consumption of whole-grain foods.

Setting: The 1986-87 Dietary and Nutritional Survey of British Adults and the 1994-95 National Diet and Nutrition Survey of people aged 65 years and over.

UK Food Standards Agency Optimal Nutrition Status Workshop: environmental factors that affect bone health throughout life.

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) convened a group of expert scientists to discuss and review UK FSA- and Department of Health-funded research on diet and bone health. This research focused on the lifestyle factors that are amenable to change and may significantly affect bone health and the risk of osteoporotic fracture. The potential benefits of fruits and vegetables, meat, Ca, vitamins D and K and phyto-oestrogens were presented and discussed.

Statistical approaches for assessing the relative validity of a food-frequency questionnaire: use of correlation coefficients and the kappa statistic.

Objective: To compare different statistical methods for assessing the relative validity of a self-administered, 150-item, semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) with 4-day weighed diet records (WR).

Design: Subjects completed the Scottish Collaborative Group FFQ and carried out a 4-day WR. Relative agreement between the FFQ and WR for energy-adjusted nutrient intakes was assessed by Pearson and Spearman rank correlation coefficients, the percentages of subjects classified into the same and opposite thirds of intake, and Cohen's weighted kappa.

Nutritional supplementation in older adults: pleasantness, preference and selection of sip-feeds.

Objectives: Malnourishment is common in older adults, and nutritional supplementation is used to improve body weight and well-being. Clinical reports suggest, however, that patients routinely reject sip-feeds. The present study examined the following questions: whether sip-feeds are less preferred and less likely to be selected than other energy-dense foods in healthy elders; and whether eating alone further reduces intake relative to eating in a social setting.

Sociodemographic inequalities in the diet of young children in the 1946 British birth cohort.

Objective: To evaluate whether there was food and nutrient equality across occupational social classes and geographical region for members of the 1946 British birth cohort at age 4 years.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of selected food groups, energy and nutrients from one-day recall diet records.

Setting: England, Scotland and Wales in 1950.

Plasma phylloquinone (vitamin K1) concentration and its relationship to intake in a national sample of British elderly people.

Plasma phylloquinone (vitamin K1) concentration was examined according to season, socio-demographic and lifestyle factors and phylloquinone intake in a nationally representative sample of British people aged 65 years and over from the 1994-5 National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Values for both plasma phylloquinone concentration and phylloquinone intake were available from 1076 participants (561 men, 515 women). Eight hundred and thirty-four were living in private households, 242 in residential or nursing homes.

Intake and sources of phylloquinone (vitamin K1): variation with socio-demographic and lifestyle factors in a national sample of British elderly people.

Intake and sources of phylloquinone (vitamin K1) were examined according to socio-demographic and lifestyle factors in free-living British people aged 65 years and over, from the 1994-5 National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Complete 4-d weighed dietary records were obtained from 1152 participants living in private households. Using newly-available, mainly UK-specific food content data, the weighted geometric mean intake of phylloquinone was estimated at 65 (95 % CI 62, 67) microg/d for all participants, with higher intakes in men than in women (70 v.

Preferences for different high-energy foods in elderly medical in-patients.

Malnourishment is a common finding in hospitalised elderly patients. It is often addressed by the provision of nutritional supplements, in the form of sip-feeds. Patients' intake of these is frequently inadequate.

Seasonal variation in plasma levels of endothelin-1 and nitric oxide.

Background: There is a seasonal variation in the incidence of stroke and coronary heart disease with admissions to hospital being higher in the colder months of the year. The mechanism whereby this winter prevalence of vascular disease occurs is still not fully understood. The aim of our study was to measure plasma levels of vasoactive compounds throughout the year to establish whether or not there were any fluctuations which could play a part in the higher winter incidence.