Association of n-3 long-chain PUFA and fish intake with depressive symptoms and low dispositional optimism in older subjects with a history of myocardial infarction.

Individuals with CHD are at increased risk of poor mental well-being. Dietary intake of EPA and DHA, the main n-3 fatty acids from fish, may be beneficial to mental well-being. We examined the association of EPA+DHA and fish intake with mental well-being in 644 participants, aged 60-80 years, with a history of myocardial infarction.

Lactopeptides and human blood pressure.

Purpose Of Review: Since the mid-1990s, a number of randomized controlled trials have been published that showed an antihypertensive effect of peptides derived from milk. Research has mainly focused on isoleucine-proline-proline and valine-proline-proline (IPP + VPP), two lactotripeptides that can inhibit the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) in vitro. In Finnish and Japanese subjects with (mild) hypertension, systolic blood pressure (SBP) reductions of approximately 5 mmHg were reported during 4-12 weeks of IPP + VPP supplementation.

Intakes of (n-3) fatty acids and fatty fish are not associated with cognitive performance and 6-year cognitive change in men participating in the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study.

High intake of fish and (n-3) PUFA may protect against age-related cognitive decline. However, results are inconsistent and limited data exist regarding changes in multiple cognitive functions over a longer period of time. In this study, we assessed the association between fatty fish intake as well as (n-3) PUFA intake with cognitive performance and cognitive change over 6 y in 1025 elderly men.

Body mass index and waist circumference predict both 10-year nonfatal and fatal cardiovascular disease risk: study conducted in 20,000 Dutch men and women aged 20-65 years.

Aims: Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) are both predictors of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). We compared absolute risk, hazard ratio (HR), and population attributable risk of nonfatal and fatal CVD for BMI and WC in a large prospective cohort study with an average follow-up of 10 years.

Methods And Results: Anthropometric data were measured between 1993 and 1997 in a general population sample of over 20,000 men and women aged 20-65 years in the Netherlands.

Intake of very long chain n-3 fatty acids from fish and the incidence of heart failure: the Rotterdam Study.

Aims: Evidence is accumulating for a cardioprotective effect of fish or its n-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). We examined EPA plus DHA and fish intake in relation to incident heart failure in the population-based Rotterdam Study.

Methods And Results: The analysis comprised 5299 subjects (41% men, age approximately 68 years) free from heart failure for whom dietary data were available.

Eating fish and risk of type 2 diabetes: A population-based, prospective follow-up study.

Objective: To investigate the relation between total fish, type of fish (lean and fatty), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in a population-based cohort.

Research Design And Methods: The analysis included 4,472 Dutch participants aged >or=55 years without diabetes at baseline. Dietary intake was assessed with a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire.

Effect of fish oil supplementation on quality of life in a general population of older Dutch subjects: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Objectives: To investigate the effect of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation on quality of life (QOL).

Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Setting: Independently living individuals from the general older Dutch population.

Fish-oil supplementation induces antiinflammatory gene expression profiles in human blood mononuclear cells.

Background: Polyunsaturated fatty acids can have beneficial effects on human immune cells, such as peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). However, the mechanisms of action of polyunsaturated fatty acids on immune cells are still largely unknown.

Objective: The objective was to examine the effects of supplementation with the polyunsaturated fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on whole-genome PBMC gene expression profiles, in healthy Dutch elderly subjects participating in a double-blind trial, by using whole-genome transcriptomics analysis.

Inverse association between dairy intake and hypertension: the Rotterdam Study.

Background: Little is known about the effect of different types of dairy food products on the development of hypertension.

Objective: The objective was to determine whether the incidence of hypertension in older Dutch subjects is associated with intake of dairy products.

Design: We examined the relation between dairy intake and incident hypertension in 2245 participants of the Rotterdam Study aged > or =55 y with complete dietary and blood pressure data, who were free of hypertension at baseline (1990-1993).

Habitual coffee consumption and blood pressure: an epidemiological perspective.

This paper summarizes the current epidemiological evidence on coffee consumption in relation to blood pressure (BP) and risk of hypertension. Data from cross-sectional studies suggest an inverse linear or U-shaped association of habitual coffee use with BP in different populations. Prospective studies suggest a protective effect of high coffee intake (4 or more cups per day) against hypertension, mainly in women.

A high menaquinone intake reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease.

Background And Aim: Vitamin K dependent proteins have been demonstrated to inhibit vascular calcification. Data on the effect of vitamin K intake on coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, however, are scarce. To examine the relationship between dietary vitamins K(1) and K(2) intake, and its subtypes, and the incidence of CHD.

Dairy intake, blood pressure, and incident hypertension in a general Dutch population.

Diet and lifestyle are important for maintaining a healthy blood pressure (BP). The role of dairy in the prevention of hypertension, however, is not yet clear. We studied the relation of dairy intake with BP in 21,553 Dutch participants aged 20-65 y who did not use antihypertensive medication.

Continuous dose-response relationship of the LDL-cholesterol-lowering effect of phytosterol intake.

Phytosterols (plant sterols and stanols) are well known for their LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C)-lowering effect. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in adults was performed to establish a continuous dose-response relationship that would allow predicting the LDL-C-lowering efficacy of different phytosterol doses. Eighty-four trials including 141 trial arms were included.

Effect of fish-oil supplementation on mental well-being in older subjects: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: It is suggested that a low intake of fish and/or n-3 PUFA is associated with depressed mood. However, results from epidemiologic studies are mixed, and randomized trials have mainly been performed in depressed patients, yielding conflicting results.

Objective: We investigated the effect of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on mental well-being in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

High dietary menaquinone intake is associated with reduced coronary calcification.

Background: Dietary vitamin K is thought to decrease risk of cardiovascular disease by reducing coronary calcification, but inconsistent results are reported. This may be due to different effects of vitamin K(1) (phylloquinone) and vitamin K(2) (menaquinone, MK), but few studies included both.

Methods: We investigated the association of intake of phylloquinone and menaquinone, including its subtypes (MK4-MK10), with coronary calcification in a cross-sectional study among 564 post-menopausal women.

Alcohol consumption and blood lipids in elderly coronary patients.

Alcohol may have a beneficial effect on coronary heart disease (CHD) that could be mediated by elevation of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC). Data on alcohol consumption and blood lipids in coronary patients are scarce. We studied whether total ethanol intake and consumption of specific types of beverages are associated with blood lipids in older subjects with CHD.

Effect of fish oil on cognitive performance in older subjects: a randomized, controlled trial.

Background: High intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may protect against age-related cognitive decline. However, results from epidemiologic studies are inconclusive, and results from randomized trials in elderly subjects without dementia are lacking.

Objective: To investigate the effect of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation on cognitive performance.

Coffee consumption and coronary calcification: the Rotterdam Coronary Calcification Study.

Background: The role of coffee in the cardiovascular system is not yet clear. We examined the relation of coffee intake with coronary calcification in a population-based cohort.

Methods And Results: The study involved 1570 older men and women without coronary heart disease who participated in the Rotterdam Study.

Lactotripeptides show no effect on human blood pressure: results from a double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Milk-derived peptides with ACE-inhibiting properties may have antihypertensive effects in humans. We conducted a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial to examine the blood pressure lowering potential of 2 ACE-inhibiting lactotripeptides, ie, Isoleucine-Proline-Proline and Valine-Proline-Proline. We included 135 Dutch subjects with elevated systolic blood pressure who were otherwise healthy and who received no current antihypertensive treatment.

Lifestyle and dietary correlates of dispositional optimism in men: The Zutphen Elderly Study.

Objective: Dispositional optimism has been associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular mortality, but the underlying mechanisms are still largely unknown. We therefore studied whether dispositional optimism was associated with healthy lifestyle and dietary habits.

Methods: In 773 (87.

Sodium and potassium intake and risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality: the Rotterdam Study.

Background: Dietary electrolytes influence blood pressure, but their effect on clinical outcomes remains to be established. We examined sodium and potassium intake in relation to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality in an unselected older population.

Methods: A case-cohort analysis was performed in the Rotterdam Study among subjects aged 55 years and over, who were followed for 5 years.