Publications by authors named "Marleen A Lentjes"
Article Synopsis
- * A study examined the relationship between biomarker-estimated flavan-3-ol intake and blood pressure in over 25,000 participants from the EPIC Norfolk cohort, revealing that high intake was linked to lower systolic blood pressure in both men and women.
- * The research found that hypertensive individuals benefited even more from flavan-3-ol intake regarding blood pressure reduction, suggesting that these compounds could play a significant role in promoting cardiovascular health across populations.
Vitamin D deficiency and physical inactivity have been associated with bone loss and fractures, but their combined effect has scarcely been studied either in younger or older adults. Therefore, we aimed to assess the associations between physical activity, age and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) status separately and in combination with the incidence of fracture risk in the EPIC-Norfolk cohort study. Baseline (1993-1998) self-reported physical activity and serum 25(OH)D concentrations at follow-up (1998-2000) were collected in 14,624 men and women (aged 42-82 y between 1998 and 2000).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Vitamin C sufficiency may help prevent osteoporosis and fractures by mediating osteoclastogenesis, osteoblastogenesis, and bone collagen synthesis.
Objective: We determined whether dietary intakes and plasma concentrations of vitamin C were associated with a heel ultrasound and hip and spine fracture risks in older men and women.
Design: Participants were recruited from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer in Norfolk study with 7-d diet diary estimates of vitamin C intake and plasma concentrations.
Article Synopsis
- The study assessed the relationship between seven cardiovascular health metrics defined by the American Heart Association and the risk of cardiovascular events, using data from the EPIC-Norfolk prospective study involving over 10,000 participants.
- Researchers found that individuals with a higher overall cardiovascular health score, which reflects better health across these metrics, had significantly lower risks of coronary heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular disease.
- The findings indicate that even minor improvements in health metrics can lead to major reductions in cardiovascular risk, highlighting the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Background: In our aging population, maintenance of bone health is critical to reduce the risk of osteoporosis and potentially debilitating consequences of fractures in older individuals. Among modifiable lifestyle and dietary factors, dietary magnesium and potassium intakes are postulated to influence bone quality and osteoporosis, principally via calcium-dependent alteration of bone structure and turnover.
Objective: We investigated the influence of dietary magnesium and potassium intakes, as well as circulating magnesium, on bone density status and fracture risk in an adult population in the United Kingdom.
Background: Dietary magnesium could modify the major stroke risk factors, high blood pressure (BP) and cholesterol, but has been understudied in both sexes in a single population. This study aimed to investigate if dietary magnesium intake was associated with BP, total cholesterol (TC) and incident stroke risk in an adult population.
Methods: We conducted cross-sectional analyses in a case-cohort study of 4443, men and women aged 40-75, representative of 25,639 participants years of the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer)-Norfolk cohort.
Objective: To examine the association between chocolate intake and the risk of future cardiovascular events.
Methods: We conducted a prospective study using data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk cohort. Habitual chocolate intake was quantified using the baseline food frequency questionnaire (1993-1997) and cardiovascular end points were ascertained up to March 2008.
Article Synopsis
- Flavonoids are important plant compounds with potential health benefits, but data on their intake in European diets is limited.
- This study aims to assess the common intake and sources of various flavonoid types across the European Union using food consumption databases.
- Results show that the average flavonoid intake in Europe is 428 mg/day, which is lower than levels associated with positive health effects, with notable variations among different countries.
Aims/hypothesis: This study aimed to evaluate the association of types of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) (soft drinks, sweetened-milk beverages, sweetened tea/coffee), artificially sweetened beverages (ASB) and fruit juice with incident type 2 diabetes and determine the effects of substituting non-SSB for SSB and the population-attributable fraction of type 2 diabetes due to total sweet beverages.
Methods: Beverage consumption of 25,639 UK-resident adults without diabetes at baseline (1993-1997) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Norfolk study was assessed using 7-day food diaries. During 10.
Dietary recommendations to promote health include fresh, frozen and tinned fruit, but few studies have examined the health benefits of tinned fruit. We therefore studied the association between tinned fruit consumption and mortality. We followed up participants from three prospective cohorts in the United Kingdom: 22,421 participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Norfolk cohort (1993-2012), 52,625 participants from the EPIC-Oxford cohort (1993-2012), and 7440 participants from the Whitehall II cohort (1991-2012), all reporting no history of heart attack, stroke, or cancer when entering these studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study aimed to explore the link between sugar intake and being overweight, using dietary biomarkers among participants from the EPIC-Norfolk cohort in the UK.
- It involved 1,734 adults aged 39-77, with data collected from diet diaries and urine samples to accurately measure sucrose intake.
- Findings indicated that objectively measured sucrose levels were linked to a higher BMI, while self-reported sugar intake showed an inverse relationship, suggesting that future research should prioritize objective measurement methods.
Article Synopsis
- Supplement users (SU) tend to prioritize healthy lifestyle choices but also report a higher prevalence of medical conditions, leading researchers to explore the motivations behind cod liver oil (CLO) consumption.
- In a study involving 25,639 participants aged 40-79 from Norfolk, UK, researchers found that CLO use is more common among women and linked to healthier behaviors like non-smoking and increased physical activity.
- Despite some similarities with general supplement users, CLO consumers demonstrated unique health characteristics, including a higher incidence of benign growths and bone-related diseases, while showing a negative association with cardiovascular issues, emphasizing the need to consider confounding factors in future analyses.
Objective: Dietary supplements are commonly consumed but may not be beneficial for everyone. It is known that supplement users have healthy behaviour characteristics but until now concordance between spouses living in the same household has not been investigated and concordance may be an important behavioural determinant.
Design: Prospective cohort study, cross-sectional data analysis.
Background: Compared to food patterns, nutrient patterns have been rarely used particularly at international level. We studied, in the context of a multi-center study with heterogeneous data, the methodological challenges regarding pattern analyses.
Methodology/principal Findings: We identified nutrient patterns from food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Study and used 24-hour dietary recall (24-HDR) data to validate and describe the nutrient patterns and their related food sources.
Aim/hypothesis: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between total and types of dairy product intake and risk of developing incident type 2 diabetes, using a food diary.
Methods: A nested case-cohort within the EPIC-Norfolk Study was examined, including a random subcohort (n = 4,000) and cases of incident diabetes (n = 892, including 143 cases in the subcohort) followed-up for 11 years. Diet was assessed using a prospective 7-day food diary.
Article Synopsis
- * The study assessed the intake of flavan-3-ol monomers, proanthocyanidins (PA), and theaflavins across 14 European countries, finding significant variations in average daily consumption.
- * Tea is the primary source of flavan-3-ol monomers, while pome fruits contribute most to PA intake; overall, the average intake is lower than amounts used in dietary studies.
Article Synopsis
- The study analyzed energy, nutrient, and food intake data from 7-day diet diaries (7dDD) of 25,639 participants in the EPIC-Norfolk study, focusing on important methodological challenges.
- Data showed a mean energy intake of 9.44 MJ/d for men and 7.15 MJ/d for women, with higher micronutrient density in women; however, participants, especially those with a higher BMI, often under-reported their intake.
- The way food intake data is categorized (crude vs disaggregated) affected the findings, highlighting that while rankings among individuals may remain consistent, the absolute food intake comparisons between different studies can vary significantly.
Article Synopsis
- A study aimed to assess flavanol intake and sources in Germany, highlighting its potential benefits for vascular health.
- Data from diet history interviews of over 15,371 individuals revealed that women generally consume more flavanols than men, except in older age groups.
- Pome fruits and black tea were identified as the main sources of flavanols, with intake varying based on age and gender among participants.
Objective: Supplement use has increased over time and measurements of supplement use are dependent on instruments chosen. Therefore, we investigated three different questionnaires to measure supplement use and whether these results were associated with age, year of recruitment (secular trend, 1993-1998), and seasonal trends.
Design: The questionnaires were self-administered within a median time interval of 54 days and included a Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire (1-year recall), a Food Frequency Questionnaire (1-year recall), and a 7-day diet diary.
Objective: A diet rich in phyto-oestrogens has been suggested to protect against a variety of common diseases but UK intake data on phyto-oestrogens or their food sources are sparse. The present study estimates the average intakes of isoflavones, lignans, enterolignans and coumestrol from 7 d food diaries and provides data on total isoflavone, lignan and phyto-oestrogen consumption by food group.
Design: Development of a food composition database for twelve phyto-oestrogens and analysis of soya food and phyto-oestrogen consumption in a populationbased study.
The alcohol-breast cancer association has been established using alcohol intake measurements from Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ). For some nutrients diet diary measurements are more highly correlated with true intake compared with FFQ measurements, but it is unknown whether this is true for alcohol. A case-control study (656 breast cancer cases, 1905 matched controls) was sampled from four cohorts in the UK Dietary Cohort Consortium.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The association between quantity of fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is not clear, and the relationship with variety of intake is unknown. The current study examined the association of both quantity and variety of F&V intake and risk of T2D.
Research Design And Methods: We examined the 11-year incidence of T2D in relation to quantity and variety of fruit, vegetables, and combined F&V intake in a case-cohort study of 3,704 participants (n = 653 diabetes cases) nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Norfolk study, who completed 7-day prospective food diaries.
Objective: Supplements are an important source of micronutrient intake, which, unless taken into account, can misclassify individuals with regard to levels of nutrient exposure. A label-based vitamin and mineral supplements (ViMiS) database was developed to contain manufacturers' information and to enter supplement use by participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition in Norfolk (EPIC-Norfolk). The ViMiS database contains information on all ingredients, broken down into nutrient information in order to be combined with nutrient intake derived from food consumption.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Intakes of n-3 (omega-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are important for health. Because fish is the major source of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), non-fish-eaters may have suboptimal n-3 PUFA status, although the importance of the conversion of plant-derived α-linolenic acid (ALA) to EPA and DHA is debated.
Objective: The objective was to determine intakes, food sources, and status of n-3 PUFAs according to dietary habit (fish-eaters and non-fish-eating meat-eaters, vegetarians, or vegans) and estimated conversion between dietary ALA and circulating long-chain n-3 PUFAs.