Egg consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes among African Americans: The Jackson Heart Study.

Background & Aims: Type 2 diabetes (DM) disproportionally affects African Americans. Data on the association between egg consumption and risk of DM are sparse. We sought to examine whether egg consumption is associated with the prevalence and incidence of DM among African Americans.

A Healthy Lifestyle Score Is Associated with Cardiometabolic and Neuroendocrine Risk Factors among Puerto Rican Adults.

Background: Although individual healthy lifestyle behaviors may reduce cardiovascular disease risk, few studies have analyzed the combined effect of multiple lifestyle components as one all-inclusive measure on such outcomes, much less in minority populations.

Objective: We aimed to develop a Healthy Lifestyle Score (HLS) that included several lifestyle recommendations and to test its association with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and allostatic load (AL) and their cardiometabolic and neuroendocrine factors in Puerto Ricans.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study in 787 Puerto Ricans living in Boston (aged 45-75 y), we developed an HLS that ranged from 0 to 190 (higher score indicative of healthier lifestyle) and included 5 components (diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviors, smoking, social support and network, and sleep).

Intakes of apple juice, fruit drinks and soda are associated with prevalent asthma in US children aged 2-9 years.

Objective: High soft drink consumption has been linked with asthma. Anecdotal evidence links high-fructose corn syrup with asthma. The receptor of advanced glycation end products (RAGE) has emerged as a mediator of asthma.

Medication type modifies inflammatory response to traffic exposure in a population with type 2 diabetes.

The association between residential traffic exposure and change in C-reactive protein over 2-years was evaluated using multivariate linear regression including interaction models for traffic and diabetes medication use/type (insulin vs. oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs)). The study population was Puerto Rican adults (n = 356) residing in greater Boston with type 2 diabetes.

Prevalence and changes over time of ideal cardiovascular health metrics among African-Americans: the Jackson Heart Study.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence and changes over time of ideal Life's Simple Seven (LSS) in African-Americans.

Methods: Prospective cohort of 5301 African-Americans from the Jackson Heart Study (JHS) from 2000 to 2013. Each of the LSS metrics was categorized as poor, intermediate, or ideal.

Neighborhood socioeconomic context and change in allostatic load among older Puerto Ricans: The Boston Puerto Rican health study.

Neighborhood context may influence health and health disparities. However, most studies have been constrained by cross-sectional designs that limit causal inference due to failing to establish temporal order of exposure and disease. We tested the impact of baseline neighborhood context (neighborhood socioeconomic status factor at the block-group level, and relative income of individuals compared to their neighbors) on allostatic load two years later.

Validation and reproducibility of a semi-quantitative FFQ as a measure of dietary intake in adults from Puerto Rico.

Objective: We aimed to assess the relative validity and reproducibility of a semi-quantitative FFQ in Puerto Rican adults.

Design: Participants completed an FFQ, followed by a 6 d food record and a second administration of the FFQ, 30 d later. All nutrients were log transformed and adjusted for energy intake.

Is self monitoring of blood pressure in pregnancy safe and effective?

Guidelines encourage the use of self monitoring of blood pressure in pregnancy, and research suggests that women prefer it. But HODGKINSON AND COLLEAGUES: explain that our enthusiasm may run ahead of the evidence and call for more research before it is routinely adopted.

Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies six novel loci associated with habitual coffee consumption.

Coffee, a major dietary source of caffeine, is among the most widely consumed beverages in the world and has received considerable attention regarding health risks and benefits. We conducted a genome-wide (GW) meta-analysis of predominately regular-type coffee consumption (cups per day) among up to 91,462 coffee consumers of European ancestry with top single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) followed-up in ~30 062 and 7964 coffee consumers of European and African-American ancestry, respectively. Studies from both stages were combined in a trans-ethnic meta-analysis.

Life events trajectories, allostatic load, and the moderating role of age at arrival from Puerto Rico to the US mainland.

Our aim was to examine the effects of trajectories of stressful life events on allostatic load, measured over a two year time period, and to investigate the roles of language acculturation and age at migration in this association, in a sample of Puerto Rican migrants. We used data from the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study; a population-based prospective cohort of older Puerto Ricans recruited between the ages of 45 and 75 years. The Institutional Review Boards at Tufts Medical Center and Northeastern University approved the study.

Genome-wide interaction of genotype by erythrocyte n-3 fatty acids contributes to phenotypic variance of diabetes-related traits.

Background: Little is known about the interplay between n-3 fatty acids and genetic variants for diabetes-related traits at the genome-wide level. The present study aimed to examine variance contributions of genotype by environment (GxE) interactions for different erythrocyte n-3 fatty acids and genetic variants for diabetes-related traits at the genome-wide level in a non-Hispanic white population living in the U.S.

Platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 inhibits platelet response to thrombin and von Willebrand factor by regulating the internalization of glycoprotein Ib via AKT/glycogen synthase kinase-3/dynamin and integrin αIIbβ3.

Objective: Platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) regulates platelet response to multiple agonists. How this immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif-containing receptor inhibits G protein-coupled receptor-mediated thrombin-induced activation of platelets is unknown.

Approach And Results: Here, we show that the activation of PECAM-1 inhibits fibrinogen binding to integrin αIIbβ3 and P-selectin surface expression in response to thrombin (0.

Food-insecure dietary patterns are associated with poor longitudinal glycemic control in diabetes: results from the Boston Puerto Rican Health study.

Objective: To determine whether dietary patterns associated with food insecurity are associated with poor longitudinal glycemic control.

Research Design And Methods: In a prospective, population-based, longitudinal cohort study, we ascertained food security (Food Security Survey Module), dietary pattern (Healthy Eating Index-2005 [HEI 2005]), and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in Puerto Rican adults aged 45-75 years with diabetes at baseline (2004-2009) and HbA1c at ∼2 years follow-up (2006-2012). We determined associations between food insecurity and dietary pattern and assessed whether those dietary patterns were associated with poorer HbA1c concentration over time, using multivariable-adjusted repeated subjects mixed-effects models.

Lead exposure, B vitamins, and plasma homocysteine in men 55 years of age and older: the VA normative aging study.

Background: Lead (Pb) exposure may influence the plasma concentration of homocysteine, a one-carbon metabolite associated with cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Little is known about the associations between Pb and homocysteine over time, or the potential influence of dietary factors.

Objectives: We examined the longitudinal association of recent and cumulative Pb exposure with homocysteine concentrations and the potential modifying effect of dietary nutrients involved in one-carbon metabolism.

Vegetarian diets and bone status.

Osteoporosis is a common chronic condition associated with progressive loss of bone mineral density (BMD) and compromised bone strength, with increasing risk of fracture over time. Vegetarian diets have been shown to contain lower amounts of calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B-12, protein, and n-3 (ω-3) fatty acids, all of which have important roles in maintaining bone health. Although zinc intakes are not necessarily lower quantitatively, they are considerably less bioavailable in vegetarian diets, which suggests the need for even higher intakes to maintain adequate status.

Protective association of milk intake on the risk of hip fracture: results from the Framingham Original Cohort.

Dairy foods are rich in bone-beneficial nutrients, yet the role of dairy foods in hip fracture prevention remains controversial. Our objective was to evaluate the association of milk, yogurt, cheese, cream, and milk + yogurt intakes with incident hip fracture in the Framingham Original Cohort. A total of 830 men and women from the Framingham Original Cohort, a prospective cohort study, completed a food-frequency questionnaire (1988 to 1989) and were followed for hip fracture until 2008.

Caffeine and alcohol intakes and overall nutrient adequacy are associated with longitudinal cognitive performance among U.S. adults.

Among modifiable lifestyle factors, diet may affect cognitive health. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations may exist between dietary exposures [e.g.

Factors associated with alcohol consumption patterns in a Puerto Rican urban cohort.

Objective: There is little research on factors associated with alcohol consumption among Puerto Ricans living in the USA; thus the aim of the present study was to examine alcohol intake patterns, and factors associated with drinking categories, in a cohort of Puerto Rican adults in Massachusetts.

Design: Cross-sectional study. Descriptive and polytomous logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with drinking patterns, stratified by gender.

Estudio Parto: postpartum diabetes prevention program for hispanic women with abnormal glucose tolerance in pregnancy: a randomised controlled trial - study protocol.

Background: Diabetes and obesity have reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. with rates consistently higher among Hispanics as compared to non-Hispanic whites.

Is phosphorus intake that exceeds dietary requirements a risk factor in bone health?

Phosphorus intake in excess of the nutrient needs of healthy adults is thought to disrupt hormonal regulation of phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), and vitamin D, contributing to impaired peak bone mass, bone resorption, and greater risk of fracture. Elevation of extracellular phosphorus due to excessive intake is thought to be the main stimulus disrupting phosphorus homeostasis in healthy individuals, as it is in renal disease even when intake is modest. If high serum phosphorus is the critical link to the effect of high phosphorus intake on bone health, the issue could be addressed through epidemiologic or dietary studies.

Assessing the health impact of phosphorus in the food supply: issues and considerations.

The Western dietary pattern of intake common to many Americans is high in fat, refined carbohydrates, sodium, and phosphorus, all of which are associated with processed food consumption and higher risk of life-threatening chronic diseases. In this review, we focus on the available information on current phosphorus intake with this Western dietary pattern, and new knowledge of how the disruption of phosphorus homeostasis can occur when intake of phosphorus far exceeds nutrient needs and calcium intake is limited. Elevation of extracellular phosphorus, even when phosphorus intake is seemingly modest, but excessive relative to need and calcium intake, may disrupt the endocrine regulation of phosphorus balance in healthy individuals, as it is known to do in renal disease.

The longitudinal association of vitamin D serum concentrations & adiposity phenotype.

Several cross-sectional studies have reported on the association between serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentrations (25(OH)D) and body mass index (BMI). We examined the longitudinal effect of BMI on serum 25(OH)D concentrations among 866 Puerto Rican adults living in the Greater Boston area: 246 men and 620 women, aged 45-75 years at baseline and 2 year. Our analyses showed negative correlations at two time points between BMI and serum 25(OH)D concentrations.

Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D, IRS1 variant rs2943641, and insulin resistance: replication of a gene-nutrient interaction in 4 populations of different ancestries.

Background: Associations of either insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) variants or circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and insulin resistance (IR) are inconsistent. This study sought to determine whether circulating 25(OH)D modulates the association of a potentially functional variant at IRS1 (rs2943641) with insulin resistance.

Method: Interaction between IRS1 rs2943641 and circulating 25(OH)D on homeostasis model assessment for IR (HOMA-IR) was examined in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study (BPRHS) (n = 1144).

Antioxidant vitamins and magnesium and the risk of hearing loss in the US general population.

Background: The protective effects of antioxidant vitamins on hearing loss are well established in animal studies but in few human studies. Recent animal studies suggest that magnesium intake along with antioxidants may act in synergy to prevent hearing loss.

Objective: We examined associations between intake of antioxidant vitamins (daily β-carotene and vitamins C and E) and magnesium and hearing thresholds and explored their joint effects in US adults.