Cardiometabolic deaths attributable to poor diet among Kuwaiti adults.

Background: Nutrition transition towards a Western diet is happening in parallel with the rapidly increasing rates of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors in Kuwait. The cardiometabolic deaths attributable to poor diet have not been quantified among Kuwaiti adults.

Methods: Using a Comparative Risk Assessment model that incorporated dietary intake data from Kuwait's first national nutrition survey, number of cardiometabolic deaths from the World Health Organization, and estimated associations of diet with cardiometabolic deaths from the Global Burden of Disease project, we estimated the number and proportion of cardiometabolic deaths attributable to suboptimal intake of 10 dietary factors among Kuwaiti adults ages 25+ years, and by population subgroups.

Child stunting starts in utero: Growth trajectories and determinants in Ugandan infants.

Childhood stunting remains a public health burden worldwide. Although many studies have examined early life and in-utero risk factors; most have been observational and have used analytic techniques that make inferences limited to population means, thereby obscuring important within-group variations. This study addressed that important gap.

Effects of Iron and Vitamin A Levels on Pregnant Women and Birth Outcomes: Complex Relationships Untangled Using a Birth Cohort Study in Uganda.

Introduction: Women and infants are among the most vulnerable groups for micronutrient deficiencies. Pregnancy micronutrient status can affect birth outcomes and subsequent infants' growth.

Methods: We determined the relationship between maternal iron and vitamin A status at delivery using several biomarkers (ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor [sTFR], body iron stores [BIS], hemoglobin and retinol binding protein [RBP]) and birth outcomes (body weight, Z-scores, head circumference, small-for-gestational-age and preterm birth) in rural Uganda.

Nutrition Capacity Building to Meet National Priorities: Lessons Learned in Developing and Implementing Malawi's First Dietetics Program.

The current nutrition situation in Malawi, characterized by high rates of malnutrition in communities and hospitals and a rapidly increasing burden of overweight/obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases, highlights the urgent need for registered dietitians, who have a proven track record in the prevention and management of all forms of malnutrition and improving patient outcomes. However, dietetics practice has been described as underdeveloped and fragmented in many parts of Africa, exacerbated by a severe and chronic shortage of dietetics professionals and a lack of nutrition and dietetic education programs in most African countries.We share early lessons learned in the development and implementation of the first dietetics program in Malawi.

Consumption of animal source foods, especially fish, is associated with better nutritional status among women of reproductive age in rural Bangladesh.

In rural Bangladesh, intake of nutrient-rich foods, such as animal source foods (ASFs), is generally suboptimal. Diets low in nutrients and lacking in diversity put women of reproductive age (WRA) at risk of malnutrition as well as adverse birth outcomes. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between maternal dietary diversity, consumption of specific food groups and markers of nutritional status, including underweight [body mass index (BMI) < 18.

Effective nutrition governance is correlated with better nutrition outcomes in Nepal.

Background: The public health burden of undernutrition remains heavy and widespread, especially in low-income countries like Nepal. While predictors of undernutrition are well documented, few studies have examined the effects of political will and quality of policy or program implementation on child growth.

Methods: Data were collected from two nationwide studies in Nepal to determine the relationship between a metric of nutrition 'governance' (the Nutrition Governance Index), derived from interviews with 520 government and non-government officials responsible for policy implementation and anthropometry measured for 6815 children in 5556 households.

Dietary lycopene attenuates cigarette smoke-promoted nonalcoholic steatohepatitis by preventing suppression of antioxidant enzymes in ferrets.

Cigarette smoke (CS) is an independent risk factor in development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and fibrosis. Lycopene, a carotenoid naturally occurring in tomatoes, has been shown to be a protective agent against tobacco carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK)-induced NASH. In the present study using a ferret model we investigated whether CS promotes NASH and whether dietary lycopene can inhibit CS-promoted NASH development, and if so, what potential mechanisms were involved.

Markers of Environmental Enteric Dysfunction Are Associated with Poor Growth and Iron Status in Rural Ugandan Infants.

Background: Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED), characterized by altered intestinal permeability/inflammation, microbial translocation, and systemic inflammation (SI), may be a significant contributor to micronutrient deficiencies and poor growth in infants from low-resource settings.

Objective: We examined associations among EED, SI, growth, and iron status at 6 mo of age.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 6-mo-old infants (n = 548) enrolled in a Ugandan birth-cohort study (NCT04233944).

Xanthophyll β-Cryptoxanthin Inhibits Highly Refined Carbohydrate Diet-Promoted Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression in Mice.

Scope: β-Cryptoxanthin (BCX) can be cleaved by both β-carotene 15,15'-oxygenase (BCO1) and β-carotene 9',10'-oxygenase (BCO2), generating biological active vitamin A and apocarotenoids. We examined whether BCX feeding could inhibit diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-initiated, highly refined carbohydrate diet (HRCD)-promoted hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development, dependent or independent of BCO1/BCO2 activity.

Methods And Results: Two-week-old male wild-type (WT) and BCO1 /BCO2 double knockout (DKO) mice are given a single intraperitoneal injection of DEN (25 mg kg body weight) to initiate hepatic carcinogenesis.

Dietary Patterns Associated with the Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Kuwaiti Adults.

Background: Kuwaiti adults have experienced a rapid increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors. Dietary patterns in the Kuwaiti diet associated with the increasingly higher CVD burden have not been adequately evaluated.

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify the major dietary patterns in Kuwaiti adults and examine their associations with CVD risk factors.

Dietary β-Cryptoxanthin Inhibits High-Refined Carbohydrate Diet-Induced Fatty Liver via Differential Protective Mechanisms Depending on Carotenoid Cleavage Enzymes in Male Mice.

Background: β-Cryptoxanthin (BCX), a provitamin A carotenoid shown to protect against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), can be cleaved by β-carotene-15,15'-oxygenase (BCO1) to generate vitamin A, and by β-carotene-9',10'-oxygenase (BCO2) to produce bioactive apo-carotenoids. BCO1/BCO2 polymorphisms have been associated with variations in plasma carotenoid amounts in both humans and animals.

Objectives: We investigated whether BCX feeding inhibits high refined-carbohydrate diet (HRCD)-induced NAFLD, dependent or independent of BCO1/BCO2.

Lycopene Inhibits Smoke-Induced Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Lung Carcinogenesis by Modulating Reverse Cholesterol Transport in Ferrets.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer share the same etiologic factor, cigarette smoking. Higher consumption of dietary lycopene has been associated with lower risks of COPD and lung cancer in smokers. We investigated whether lycopene feeding protects against COPD and lung cancer in ferrets, a nonrodent model that closely mimics cigarette smoke (CS)-induced chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and lung tumorigenesis in human.

Unsafe Drinking Water Is Associated with Environmental Enteric Dysfunction and Poor Growth Outcomes in Young Children in Rural Southwestern Uganda.

Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED), a subclinical disorder of the small intestine, and poor growth are associated with living in poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions, but specific risk factors remain unclear. Nested within a birth cohort study, this study investigates relationships among water quality, EED, and growth in 385 children living in southwestern Uganda. Water quality was assessed using a portable water quality test when children were 6 months, and safe water was defined as lacking contamination.

Biomarkers of maternal environmental enteric dysfunction are associated with shorter gestation and reduced length in newborn infants in Uganda.

Background: Adverse birth outcomes, including preterm birth and stunting at birth, have long-term health implications. The relation between adverse birth outcomes and chronic, asymptomatic gastrointestinal inflammation (environmental enteric dysfunction-EED) is poorly understood.

Objective: We aimed to examine the relation between maternal EED and adverse birth outcomes in a sample of pregnant Ugandan women and their newborn infants.

Maternal aflatoxin exposure during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes in Uganda.

Aflatoxins are toxic metabolites of Aspergillus moulds and are widespread in the food supply, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Both in utero and infant exposure to aflatoxin B (AFB ) have been linked to poor child growth and development. The objective of this prospective cohort study was to investigate the association between maternal aflatoxin exposure during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes, primarily lower birth weight, in a sample of 220 mother-infant pairs in Mukono district, Uganda.

Effect of prior meal macronutrient composition on postprandial glycemic responses and glycemic index and glycemic load value determinations.

The potential impact of prior meal composition on the postprandial glycemic response and glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) value determinations remains unclear. We determined the effect of meals that varied in macronutrient composition on the glycemic response and determination of GI and GL values of a subsequent standard test food. Twenty healthy participants underwent 6 test sessions within 12 wk.

Ablation of systemic SIRT1 activity promotes nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by affecting liver-mesenteric adipose tissue fatty acid mobilization.

Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) has been reported to protect against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) development. The mechanism of how SIRT1 deacetylase activity affects NAFLD has not been well investigated. The current investigation addressed the causal effect of systemic SIRT1 activity on NAFLD development and the underlying mechanism involved in both liver and mesenteric adipose tissue (MAT).

Effect of macronutrients and fiber on postprandial glycemic responses and meal glycemic index and glycemic load value determinations.

The potential confounding effect of different amounts and proportions of macronutrients across eating patterns on meal or dietary glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) value determinations has remained partially unaddressed. The study aimed to determine the effects of different amounts of macronutrients and fiber on measured meal GI and GL values. Four studies were conducted during which participants [ = 20-22; women: 50%; age: 50-80 y; body mass index (in kg/m): 25-30)] received food challenges containing different amounts of the variable nutrient in a random order.

Estimating the reliability of glycemic index values and potential sources of methodological and biological variability.

Background: The utility of glycemic index (GI) values for chronic disease risk management remains controversial. Although absolute GI value determinations for individual foods have been shown to vary significantly in individuals with diabetes, there is a dearth of data on the reliability of GI value determinations and potential sources of variability among healthy adults.

Objective: We examined the intra- and inter-individual variability in glycemic response to a single food challenge and methodologic and biological factors that potentially mediate this response.

Deletion of tumor progression locus 2 attenuates alcohol-induced hepatic inflammation.

Background: The pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) involves the interaction of several inflammatory signaling pathways. Tumor progression locus 2 (TPL2), also known as Cancer Osaka Thyroid (COT) and MAP3K8, is a serine-threonine kinase that functions as a critical regulator of inflammatory pathways by up-regulating production of inflammatory cytokines. The present study aims to fill the gap in knowledge regarding the involvement of TPL2 in the mechanism of alcohol-induced hepatic inflammation.

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with high prevalence of diabetes in Kuwaiti adults: results from a national survey.

Background: Vitamin D homeostasis may play a critical role in glucose metabolism. Little is known on vitamin D deficiency and its association with diabetes in countries of the Arabia Gulf where the population is experiencing a rapid increase in the incidence of diabetes.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study of 960 adults enrolled in the first National Nutrition Survey of the State of Kuwait (NNSSK), we examined vitamin D status in association with the prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes.

Hepatic DNA hydroxymethylation is site-specifically altered by chronic alcohol consumption and aging.

Purpose: Global DNA hydroxymethylation is markedly decreased in human cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma, which is associated with chronic alcohol consumption and aging. Because gene-specific changes in hydroxymethylcytosine may affect gene transcription, giving rise to a carcinogenic environment, we determined genome-wide site-specific changes in hepatic hydroxymethylcytosine that are associated with chronic alcohol consumption and aging.

Methods: Young (4 months) and old (18 months) male C57Bl/6 mice were fed either an ethanol-containing Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet or an isocaloric control diet for 5 weeks.

Inhibition of diethylnitrosamine-initiated alcohol-promoted hepatic inflammation and precancerous lesions by flavonoid luteolin is associated with increased sirtuin 1 activity in mice.

Background: Chronic and excessive alcohol consumption is an established risk for hepatic inflammation and carcinogenesis. Luteolin is one of the most common flavonoids present in plants and has potential beneficial effects against cancer. In this study, we examined the effect and potential mechanisms of luteolin supplementation in a carcinogen initiated alcohol-promoted pre-neoplastic liver lesion mouse model.

Dietary tomato powder inhibits alcohol-induced hepatic injury by suppressing cytochrome p450 2E1 induction in rodent models.

Chronic and excessive alcohol consumption leads to the development of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and greatly increases the risk of liver cancer. Induction of the cytochrome p450 2E1 (CYP2E1) enzyme by chronic and excessive alcohol intake is known to play a role in the pathogenesis of ALD. High intake of tomatoes, rich in the carotenoid lycopene, is associated with a decreased risk of chronic disease.

Aging alters hepatic DNA hydroxymethylation, as measured by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

Background: Aging is one of the most important risk factors for cancer. It appears that aberrant epigenetic changes might be a common driver of aging and cancer. Among them are changes in DNA methylation and DNA hydroxymethylation.