Assessing the Cost of Nutritionally Adequate and Low-Climate Impact Diets in Finland.

Background: Dietary changes form an important component of the sustainability transition of food systems but could be hindered by the cost of sustainable diets.

Objectives: This study aimed to characterize the cost of nutritionally adequate and culturally acceptable diets with low-greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) in Finland.

Methods: Two optimization models were built to find diets complying with nutritional and emissions requirements.

Reducing the carbon footprint of diets across socio-demographic groups in Finland: a mathematical optimisation study.

Objectives: To characterise nutritionally adequate, climate-friendly diets that are culturally acceptable across socio-demographic groups. To identify potential equity issues linked to more climate-friendly and nutritionally adequate dietary changes.

Design: An optimisation model minimises distance from observed diets subject to nutritional, greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) and food-habit constraints.

The impacts of partial replacement of red and processed meat with legumes or cereals on protein and amino acid intakes: a modelling study in the Finnish adult population.

Background: A shift towards more plant-based diets is considered healthy and environmentally sustainable but may cause a concern regarding protein and amino acid intakes. This modelling study aimed to assess the impacts of partial replacement of red and processed meat with legumes or cereals on the protein and indispensable amino acid intakes in the Finnish adult population.

Materials And Methods: We used the cross-sectional data of the National FinDiet 2017 Survey (two non-consecutive 24-h recalls,  = 1655, 47% men, aged 18-74 years).

Partial replacement of red and processed meat with legumes: a modelling study of the impact on nutrient intakes and nutrient adequacy on the population level.

Objective: The shift towards plant-based diets with less meat and more legumes is a global target and requires an understanding of the consequences of dietary adequacy on the population level. Our aim was to model the impact of partial replacement of red and processed meat with legumes on nutrient intakes and population shares below dietary reference intakes.

Design: Modelling study with three scenarios anchored in meat cut-offs: ≤ 70 g/d (Finnish dietary guideline); ≤ 50 g/d (Danish dietary guideline); ≤ 30 g/d (EAT-Lancet recommendation).

Disparities in Nutritional Adequacy of Diets between Different Socioeconomic Groups of Finnish Adults.

Information on dietary adequacy is needed to assess food and nutrition security in a modern society, especially in the transition towards climate-friendly food systems. In this study, differences in the nutritional adequacy of diets among Finnish adults were evaluated in population groups of different education, income and urbanisation levels. The study used data from the FinDiet 2017 Survey ( = 1655, 18-74 years).

Population group differences in subjective importance of meat in diet and red and processed meat consumption.

Red and processed meat (RPM) consumption associates directly with several unfavorable health outcomes and with environmental impact of diet. RPM consumption differs between certain population groups, and moreover, encompasses various subjective meanings. Literature on determinants of subjective importance of meat in diet (SIM), however, is scarce.

Dietary Heavy Metal Exposure among Finnish Adults in 2007 and in 2012.

For the non-smoking and non-occupationally exposed population in Europe, food is the main source of heavy metal exposure. The aim of the study was to estimate the dietary exposure of the Finnish adult population to cadmium, lead, inorganic arsenic, inorganic mercury and methyl mercury as well as nickel using governmental as well as industry data on heavy metal occurrence in foodstuffs and the data from two national food consumption surveys conducted in 2007 and 2012. The sources of heavy metal exposure were estimated for the working-age population (25 to 64 years) and for the elderly (65 to 74 years).

Dose-Dependent Associations of Dietary Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load, and Fiber With 3-Year Weight Loss Maintenance and Glycemic Status in a High-Risk Population: A Secondary Analysis of the Diabetes Prevention Study PREVIEW.

Objective: To examine longitudinal and dose-dependent associations of dietary glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL), and fiber with body weight and glycemic status during 3-year weight loss maintenance (WLM) in adults at high risk of type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: In this secondary analysis we used pooled data from the PREVention of diabetes through lifestyle Intervention and population studies in Europe and around the World (PREVIEW) randomized controlled trial, which was designed to test the effects of four diet and physical activity interventions. A total of 1,279 participants with overweight or obesity (age 25-70 years and BMI ≥25 kg ⋅ m) and prediabetes at baseline were included.

Associations of healthy food choices with gut microbiota profiles.

Background: Diet has a major influence on the human gut microbiota, which has been linked to health and disease. However, epidemiological studies on associations of a healthy diet with the microbiota utilizing a whole-diet approach are still scant.

Objectives: To assess associations between healthy food choices and human gut microbiota composition, and to determine the strength of association with functional potential.

Taxonomic signatures of cause-specific mortality risk in human gut microbiome.

The collection of fecal material and developments in sequencing technologies have enabled standardised and non-invasive gut microbiome profiling. Microbiome composition from several large cohorts have been cross-sectionally linked to various lifestyle factors and diseases. In spite of these advances, prospective associations between microbiome composition and health have remained uncharacterised due to the lack of sufficiently large and representative population cohorts with comprehensive follow-up data.

Links between gut microbiome composition and fatty liver disease in a large population sample.

Fatty liver disease is the most common liver disease in the world. Its connection with the gut microbiome has been known for at least 80 y, but this association remains mostly unstudied in the general population because of underdiagnosis and small sample sizes. To address this knowledge gap, we studied the link between the Fatty Liver Index (FLI), a well-established proxy for fatty liver disease, and gut microbiome composition in a representative, ethnically homogeneous population sample of 6,269 Finnish participants.

24-h urinary sodium excretion and the risk of adverse outcomes.

Aims: The objective was to evaluate whether sodium intake, assessed with the gold standard 24-h urinary collections, was related to long-term incidence of death, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes mellitus (DM).

Methods: A cohort of 4630 individuals aged 25-64 years collected 24-h urine samples in 1979-2002 and were followed up to 14 years for the incidence of any CVD, coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, heart failure (HF) and DM event, and death. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the association between the baseline salt intake and incident events and adjusted for baseline age, body mass index, serum cholesterol, prevalent DM, and stratified by sex and cohort baseline year.

Serum lipopolysaccharides predict advanced liver disease in the general population.

Background & Aims: Gut-derived endotoxemia has been implicated in the development of chronic liver disease, but its relevance at the population level remains unclear. We analyzed whether endotoxemia is associated with incident advanced liver disease in the general population.

Methods: Serum lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was measured in 6,727 (3,455 male and 3,272 female, mean age 53.

Dietary phytoestrogen intakes of adult women are not strongly related to fecundability in 2 preconception cohort studies.

Background: Phytoestrogens are plant-derived hormonally active compounds found in soy, cruciferous vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Although phytoestrogens have been associated with altered endogenous hormonal activity, luteal phase deficiency, and reduced endometrial decidualization, the literature reporting examinations of phytoestrogen intake and fertility presents mixed findings.

Objectives: We sought to evaluate prospectively the association between dietary phytoestrogen intake (isoflavones, lignans, and coumestans) and fecundability, the per-cycle probability of conception, in 2 cohorts of women planning pregnancy.

Insulin Resistance and Genetic Risk Predict Liver-Related Outcomes and Death in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

A pathophysiologic risk score consisting of insulin resistance and genetic risk predicts incident liver outcomes in NAFLD. Such scores may represent a viable strategy for risk stratification in NAFLD.

Risks of Light and Moderate Alcohol Use in Fatty Liver Disease: Follow-Up of Population Cohorts.

Background And Aims: The effects of alcohol use in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease are unclear. We investigated the impact of alcohol use in fatty liver disease on incident liver, cardiovascular, and malignant disease, as well as death.

Approach And Results: Our study comprised 8,345 persons with hepatic steatosis (fatty liver index >60) who participated in health-examination surveys (FINRISK 1992-2012 or Health 2000), with available data on baseline alcohol intake.

Genetic and lifestyle risk factors for advanced liver disease among men and women.

Background And Aim: Liver disease is traditionally categorized as alcoholic and non-alcoholic. We studied various risk factors predictive of advanced non-viral liver disease in general population and analyzed the interaction between these factors and alcohol consumption.

Methods: Persons without underlying liver disease who participated in the Health2000 or FINRISK studies 1992-2012 comprised a cohort of 41 260 individuals.

Combined Effects of Alcohol and Metabolic Disorders in Patients With Chronic Liver Disease.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are the major causes for nonviral liver cirrhosis in the population. Whereas the typical NAFLD patient is one with abdominal obesity, metabolic syndrome (MetS), and no or minimal alcohol use, the patient with pure alcoholic liver cirrhosis has, according to cohort studies, typically consumed >5-10 daily alcohol drinks for several years. However, both alcohol use and components of the MetS are continuous variables and, as such, not dichotomic.

Listeria monocytogenes risk assessment on cold smoked and salt-cured fishery products in Finland - A repeated exposure model.

Listeria monocytogenes causes severe consequences especially for persons belonging to risk groups. Finland is among the countries with highest number of listeriosis cases in the European Union. Although most reported cases appear to be sporadic and the maximum bacterial concentration of 100 cfu/g is not usually exceeded at retail, cold smoked and salt-cured fish products have been noted as those products with great risk especially for the elderly.

Insulin-like growth factor I, binding proteins -1 and -3, risk of type 2 diabetes and macronutrient intakes in men.

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis may be involved in the development of type 2 diabetes. We examined the associations of IGF-I and IGF binding proteins (IGFBP)-1 and -3 with diabetes risk and evaluated macronutrient intakes related to the observed associations. In a nested case-control study of the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study of Finnish male smokers aged 50-69 years, the IGF variables were measured from baseline serum samples for a random sample of 310 men with diabetes diagnosed during a 12-year follow-up and for 310 controls matched by age, recruitment day and intervention group.

Naturally occurring and added sugar in relation to macronutrient intake and food consumption: results from a population-based study in adults.

Associations between sugar intake and the remaining diet are poorly described in modern food environments. We aimed at exploring associations of high naturally occurring and added sugar intakes with sociodemographic characteristics, intake of macronutrients, fibre and selected food groups. Our data comprised 4842 Finnish adults aged 25-74 years, who participated in the population-based DIetary, Lifestyle and Genetic determinants of Obesity and Metabolic syndrome (DILGOM) study.

Dietary carbohydrate quantity and quality in relation to obesity: A pooled analysis of three Finnish population-based studies.

Background: The relationship between carbohydrate intake, dietary glycaemic index (GI) and load (GL), and obesity remains unsolved. Sugar intake and obesity represent a timely topic, but studies on sugar subcategories are scarce. We aimed to study whether total carbohydrate, sucrose, lactose, fibre, dietary GI, and GL are associated with obesity in 25-79-year-old Finns.