Publications by authors named "Mary Hickson"

Objectives: To determine whether daily provision of a high protein, high energy meal for 12-weeks to under-nourished older adults living independently in the community can improve physical, physiological, and psychological outcomes.

Design: A randomised crossover trial.

Setting: Participant homes within a 15-mile radius to meal supplier; Dartmoor Community Kitchen Hub.

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  • In a study on children with Phenylketonuria (PKU), casein glycomacropeptide (GMP) was compared to phenylalanine-free amino acids (AA) as a protein substitute, focusing on digestion and overall health effects.
  • Results showed that GMP significantly improved gastrointestinal symptoms like stomach pain and bloating, although it did not have a major impact on other health markers like renal function or oxidative stress.
  • However, GMP's higher phenylalanine content poses challenges for use as a sole protein source in PKU kids due to their low tolerance for phenylalanine.
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  • In a study on phenylketonuria (PKU), data from 1323 patients across nine European and Turkish centers revealed that natural protein intake rises with age, especially during childhood and adolescence, while lifelong phenylalanine tolerance remains unclear.
  • The research collected dietary intake information from 2012 to 2018, showing varying tolerances among different PKU classifications, with patients having mild PKU tolerating about 50% more phenylalanine than those with classical PKU.
  • Additionally, the study highlighted that natural protein intake significantly increased for patients using sapropterin, with notable geographical differences in protein tolerance observed between Southern and Northern Europe.
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Background: Four out of five people living with osteoarthritis (OA) also suffer with at least one other long-term health condition. The complex interaction between OA and multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs) can result in difficulties with self-care, restricted mobility, pain, anxiety, depression and reduced quality of life. The aim of the MulTI-domain Self-management in Older People wiTh OstEoarthritis and Multi-Morbidities (TIPTOE) trial is to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the Living Well self-management support intervention, co-designed with people living with OA, integrated into usual care, in comparison to usual care alone.

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Background: Green leafy vegetables (GLV) contain inorganic nitrate, an anion with potential prebiotic effects on the oral microbiome. However, it remains unclear whether GLV and pharmacological supplementation [potassium nitrate (PN)] with a nitrate salt induce similar effects on the oral microbiome.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the effect of GLV with PN supplementation on the oral microbiome composition and salivary biomarkers in individuals with high blood pressure.

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  • A 2011 survey indicated that blood phenylalanine (Phe) control in patients with phenylketonuria (PKU) worsens with age, leading to new European PKU guidelines for blood Phe levels in 2017.
  • The study involved nine centers across Europe and Turkey, collecting data from 1323 patients with varying PKU severity to evaluate blood Phe control from 2012 to 2018.
  • Results showed that younger patients had better blood Phe control, with classical PKU patients having significantly higher mean blood Phe levels compared to mild PKU and hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA) patients, while female patients generally had a higher percentage of
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Background: A diagnosis of drug-resistant epilepsy is life changing for a family. Ketogenic diet therapy (KDT) can offer hope when other treatments have failed. However, it often requires a significant change in daily routine and dietary habits.

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Article Synopsis
  • - This Position Paper outlines the scientific basis for dietary recommendations and emphasizes the importance of adapting nutrient intake for individual health needs, particularly in the context of disease and treatment effects on food access and preferences.
  • - It highlights the complexity of delivering evidence-based nutrition interventions, calling for an integration of various scientific disciplines, including biology and psychology, to promote effective nutrition practices.
  • - The paper reviews frameworks for evaluating nutrition research, proposes guidelines for implementing evidence in practice, and offers recommendations for practitioners, researchers, and information disseminators to address challenges in personalized nutrition.
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In phenylketonuria (PKU), an important component of the UK dietary management system is a 50 mg phenylalanine (Phe)/1 g protein exchange system used to allocate the Phe/natural protein intakes according to individual patient tolerance. Any foods containing protein ≤ 0.5 g/100 g or fruits/vegetables containing Phe ≤ 75 mg/100 g are allowed without measurement or limit.

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Background: Evidence suggests that the low fermentable oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides, and polyols (FODMAP) diet improves irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms when delivered by a dietitian. However, demand for dietetic appointments exceeds supply. Prerecorded webinars are acceptable and cost-effective for delivering first-line IBS dietary advice.

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  • The Manual of dietetic practice, essential for dietitians, underwent a survey to gather feedback on its upcoming edition, focusing on aspects like content and structure.
  • Out of 1,179 respondents, a majority were experienced professionals, preferring a printed version, though many noted missing or outdated topics, particularly in mental health and sustainability.
  • The feedback highlighted the need for the next edition to include more practical and summarized information with enhanced visual formats to meet the needs of both professionals and students.
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In phenylketonuria (PKU), natural protein tolerance is defined as the maximum natural protein intake maintaining a blood phenylalanine (Phe) concentration within a target therapeutic range. Tolerance is affected by several factors, and it may differ throughout a person's lifespan. Data on lifelong Phe/natural protein tolerance are limited and mostly reported in studies with low subject numbers.

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Background: Expanding the primary care workforce to alleviate general practitioner (GP) workload, improve access and improve quality of care is a current UK strategy. Evidence suggests dietitians can improve patient outcomes and make cost savings. The present study aimed to evaluate a dietitian working as an expert generalist and first contact practitioner (FCP) in a general practice multi-disciplinary team (MDT) to provide appropriate care to patients and reduce GP workload.

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In phenylketonuria (PKU), a previous intervention study assessing the patients ability to tolerate fruits and vegetables containing phenylalanine 76-100 mg/100 g without limit or measurement, found that an extra 50 mg/day phenylalanine, but not 100 mg/day, was tolerated from these fruits and vegetables. In a further 6-month extension study, we examined the effect of the 'free' use of this group of fruits and vegetables on blood phenylalanine control. For 6 months, the patients ate fruits and vegetables containing phenylalanine 76-100 mg/100 g without limit or measurement.

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Alcohol intake is a major modifiable risk factor for many diseases. Alcohol can also damage skeletal muscle health during ageing which in turn increases risk of sarcopenia, frailty and falls but this relationship is understudied. The aim of this study was to model the relationship between a full range of alcohol consumption and components of sarcopenic risk, skeletal muscle mass and function, in middle-aged and younger older-aged men and women.

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Background: The long-term effects on people who have had COVID-19 affect nutrition and can be influenced by diet conversely. Specific nutritional guidelines, however, were scarce at the beginning of 2020, and empirical literature was also lacking. Conventional research methodologies needed to be adapted to review the available literature that could be relevant to the United Kingdom and policy documents as well as collect the views of health and care staff.

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Objective: Ketogenic diet therapy (KDT) can result in benefits (seizure-related and non-seizure-related) for children with drug-resistant epilepsy. However, clinical trials report a wide range of outcomes, making synthesis of evidence difficult, and do not adequately reflect parent views on important outcomes for their child. To address this, we established the first international parent, health professional, and researcher consensus to develop a core outcome set, guided by the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) Initiative (COMET registration #1116).

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Background: Food allergy in infants and young children places a significant burden on primary care. This study evaluated a dietetic-led paediatric food allergy service, which attempts to provide more rapid access to the dietitian and reduce the need for general practitioner (GP) and secondary care appointments.

Methods: Two community dietetic services for children referred with food allergy were compared.

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Fruits and vegetables containing phenylalanine ≤ 75 mg/100 g (except potatoes) have little impact on blood phenylalanine in phenylketonuria (PKU). In a randomized, controlled, crossover intervention trial, we examined the effect of increasing phenylalanine intake from fruits and vegetables, containing phenylalanine 76−100 mg /100 g, compared with milk protein sources on blood phenylalanine control. This was a five-phase study (4 weeks each phase).

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The regulation of health claims for foods by the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation is intended, primarily, to protect consumers from unscrupulous claims by ensuring claims are accurate and substantiated with high quality scientific evidence. In this position paper, the Academy of Nutrition Sciences uniquely recognises the of the transparent, rigorous scientific assessment by independent scientists of the evidence underpinning claims in Europe, an approach now independently adopted in UK. Further are the separation of risk assessment from risk management, and the extensive guidance for those submitting claims.

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Objective: The muscle strength in people on haemodialysis is associated with nutritional status, quality of life, functional independence, and survival. Handgrip Strength (HGS) is simple to measure, but clinical interpretation is limited by the lack of reference ranges for a haemodialysis population. This study aims to define a novel parameter, HGS index, which quantifies degree of clinical weakness specific to a haemodialysis population and to test if this predicts survival.

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