Adherence to a DASH-style diet and cardiovascular disease risk: The 10-year follow-up of the ATTICA study.

Background: Recent findings suggest a protective role of the DASH dietary pattern on cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and mortality.

Aim: In this direction, we aimed at investigating the relationship between adherence to a DASH-style diet and CVD risk in a Greek cohort.

Methods: This sub-sample from the ATTICA epidemiological study consisted of 669 adults with a complete dietary profile at baseline, adequate to calculate DASH-diet score, and complete 10-year follow-up (2002-2012).

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet and healthy ageing: Current evidence, biological pathways, and future directions.

With an ever-ageing population in developed countries, healthy ageing is an emerging public health priority for securing citizens' quality of life and minimizing healthcare associated costs. While adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with numerous health benefits and deterrence of age-related disorders, a comprehensive review of the current evidence to guide further public health interventions is lacking. This study systematically assessed, according to PRISMA guidelines, current evidence arising from observational studies regarding the potential impact of adherence to the Mediterranean diet on healthy ageing among elder adults.

The anti-inflammatory potential of diet and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: the ATTICA study.

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is correlated with low-grade inflammation and dietary habits. Until today, there have been limited epidemiologic data assessing the role of diet's inflammatory potential on NAFLD. The aim was to evaluate the relationship between an anti-inflammatory diet, as reflected by the Dietary Anti-Inflammation Index (D-AII), and NAFLD among cardiovascular disease (CVD)-free adults.

Vitamin D status, gender and cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review of prospective epidemiological studies.

: Vitamin D deficiency is highly suggested as an emerging risk factor in primary and secondary cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. However, there remains controversy regarding the need for vitamin D supplementation in high CVD risk individuals to prevent cardiac episodes and to achieve a better prognosis. Another literature gap is the potential existence of sex-specific associations of this factor with major CVD events or surrogate markers.

Lipoprotein (a) and 10-year Cardiovascular Disease Incidence in Apparently Healthy Individuals: A Sex-based Sensitivity Analysis from ATTICA Cohort Study.

The association between lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) and 10-year first fatal/nonfatal cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in apparently healthy men and women was evaluated. The ATTICA prospective study was conducted during 2001-2012 and included n = 1514 men and n = 1528 women (age >18 years) from the greater Athens area, Greece. Follow-up CVD assessment (2011-2012) was achieved in n = 2020 participants (n = 317 cases); baseline Lp(a) was measured in n = 1890 participants.

The role of lipoprotein (a) in primary and secondary cardiovascular disease prevention: a systematic review of epidemiological studies.

Purpose Of Review: Lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] is highly suggested as an emerging risk factor in cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. However, there remains controversy regarding the shape of Lp(a) risk curve and the extent to which Lp(a) confers risk for CVD, independently of conventional lipid markers. This systematic review outlines the current state of knowledge regarding the role of Lp(a) in primary and secondary CVD prevention.

Dietary Patterns and Their Association with Anxiety Symptoms among Older Adults: The ATTICA Study.

By 2050, the global population aged 60 years and over is expected to reach nearly 2.1 billion and affective disorders might be also expected to increase. Although nutrition has been related with affective disorders, there is a lack of studies assessing the relation between dietary habits and anxiety among European and Mediterranean older populations.

From Mediterranean diet to Mediterranean lifestyle: a narrative review.

Objective: To summarize the recent scientific evidence regarding the wellness-promoting capacity of the Mediterranean lifestyle (ML), with a special focus on physical, social and environmental wellness.

Design: Narrative review of English-language publications in PubMed, Scopus and Embase, from 1 January 2010 to 31 October 2018.

Setting: Prospective cohort studies, interventional studies, meta-analyses and reviews of those investigating the effect of at least one component of the ML on wellness parameters.

Skeletal muscle mass in acute coronary syndrome prognosis: Gender-based analysis from Hellenic Heart Failure cohort.

Background And Aims: Predictive and prognostic ability of muscle mass in CVD settings is increasingly discussed. The gender-specific effect of skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) on 10-year recurrent fatal/non fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD) event of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients was evaluated.

Methods And Results: In 2006-2009, n = 1000 consecutive patients (n = 222 women), hospitalized at the First Cardiology Clinic of Athens with ACS diagnosis and with symptoms and left ventricular function indicative of heart failure were selected.

The Association between Whole Grain Products Consumption and Successful Aging: A Combined Analysis of MEDIS and ATTICA Epidemiological Studies.

The quality of carbohydrates in the diet, including whole grains, matters greatly to health. There is emerging evidence supporting various protective effects from whole grain consumption against certain chronic diseases. However, being free of disease is not a requirement for healthy ageing, as many older adults have one or more health conditions but, when well controlled, have little influence on their wellbeing.

Parental weight status and early adolescence body weight in association with socioeconomic factors.

Background: Childhood obesity remains a major health issue. The understanding of the multifactorial nature of childhood obesity remains the cornerstone to eliminate the rising trends. This study aimed to examine the association between parental and childhood weight status, in relation to various socioeconomic (SE) factors.

Concomitant Associations between Lifestyle Characteristics and Physical Activity Status in Children and Adolescents.

Background: To examine the concomitant associations between physical activities (PA) and lifestyle factors in a representative sample of children and adolescents.

Study Design: Cross-sectional, observational study.

Methods: Population data were derived from a school-based health survey carried out in 2015 on 177,091 (51% boys) Greek children aged 8 to 17 yr old.

Identifying determinants of obesity in Athens, Greece through global and local statistical models.

Individual socioeconomic status is linked to obesity risk, though, less is known about the influence of an area's socio-environmental conditions on obesity/overweight prevalence. This association was investigated using obesity/overweight data collected from 2445 individuals in Athens greater area, who were randomly enrolled in ATTICA study, during 2001 to 2002, and factors related to educational and economic level, population density, immigrants and green urban areas. Thematic mapping illustrated the socio-environmental status and highlighted the obesity/overweight prevalence across the municipalities of Athens.

Dietary patterns and lifestyle characteristics in adults: results from the Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey (HNNHS).

Objectives: The objective of this study was to identify and describe different dietary patterns in a nationally representative sample of Greek adults and to assess potential associations with lifestyle characteristics.

Study Design: This was a cross-sectional study.

Methods: Dietary patterns were derived by principal component analysis using individual dietary data (24-h recall) of 3552 participants of the Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey (HNNHS).

Frequency and Quantity of Egg Intake Is Not Associated with Dyslipidemia: The Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey (HNNHS).

Background: Gaps remain on the safety of egg intake on cardiovascular health, setting the study's aim to investigate the association between quantity and frequency of egg consumption, with established dyslipidemia.

Methods: Study participants ( = 3558, 40.3% males) included individuals from the Hellenic National and Nutrition Health Survey (HNNHS), of national representation.

The Association between Green and Black Tea Consumption on Successful Aging: A Combined Analysis of the ATTICA and MEDiterranean ISlands (MEDIS) Epidemiological Studies.

Tea is one of the most-widely consumed beverages in the world with a number of different beneficial health effects, mainly ascribed to the polyphenolic content of the tea catechins. The aim of this study was to examine the consumption of green, black, or no tea, in relation to the previously validated successful ageing index (SAI; higher values "healthier" ageing) in a combined analysis of adults aged >50 years old from the ATTICA ( = 1128 adults from Athens, Greece metropolitan area) and the MEDiterranean Islands Study (MEDIS) ( = 2221 adults from various Greek island and Mani) studies. After adjusting for age, sex, smoking, and coffee consumption, green tea was positively associated with SAI (b ± SE: 0.

Exclusive Breastfeeding Is Favorably Associated with Physical Fitness in Children.

To examine the potential association between exclusive breastfeeding and its duration on physical fitness (PF) components during childhood. A random sample of 5,125 dyads children and their mothers was evaluated. With the use of a standardized questionnaire, telephone interviews were carried out for the collection of maternal lifestyle factors (e.

Association of meal and snack patterns with micronutrient intakes among Greek children and adolescents: data from the Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey.

Background: The present study aimed to examine how different meal and snack patterns are associated with micronutrient intakes and diet quality among a nationally representative sample of Greek children and adolescents aged 1-19 years from the cross-sectional Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey (n = 598).

Methods: Meal and snack patterns were derived using 24-h dietary recalls. Mean adequacy ratio (MAR) was used as an overall measure of diet quality.

Dietary patterns and management of type 2 diabetes: A systematic review of randomised clinical trials.

Background And Aim: The aim of the present review is to examine evidence from published studies on the effectiveness of six or more months of low carbohydrate, macrobiotic, vegan, vegetarian, Mediterranean and intermittent fasting (IF) diets compared to low fat diets on diabetes control and management.

Methods And Results: In accordance with PRISMA guidelines, Cochrane CENTRAL, PubMed and Scopus databases were systematically searched for relevant studies. Twenty randomised controlled trials (RCTs) > 6 months that investigated the effectiveness of various dietary patterns on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were included.

Socioeconomic inequalities in relation to health and nutrition literacy in Greece.

Poor health literacy (HL) is associated with poor health behaviours and outcomes. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of socioeconomic status on HL and nutrition literacy (NL) in Greece. This is a cross-sectional study which took place in Attica, Greece.

Visceral adiposity index outperforms common anthropometric indices in predicting 10-year diabetes risk: Results from the ATTICA study.

Background: Visceral adiposity index (VAI) is a novel marker of visceral adipose tissue accumulation and dysfunction. The study aim was to explore the association of VAI with the 10-year type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) incidence in apparently healthy individuals and compare its T2DM predictive ability against common anthropometric indices.

Methods: In 2001 to 2002, the ATTICA study (Greece) recruited a random sample of 1514 and 1528 CVD-free men (18-87 years old) and women (18-89 years old), respectively.

Sociodemographic Indicators of Health Status Using a Machine Learning Approach and Data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA).

BACKGROUND Studies on the effects of sociodemographic factors on health in aging now include the use of statistical models and machine learning. The aim of this study was to evaluate the determinants of health in aging using machine learning methods and to compare the accuracy with traditional methods. MATERIAL AND METHODS The health status of 6,209 adults, age <65 years (n=1,585), 65-79 years (n=3,267), and >80 years (n=1,357) were measured using an established health metric (0-100) that incorporated physical function and activities of daily living (ADL).

Breakfast skipping in Greek schoolchildren connected to an unhealthy lifestyle profile. Results from the National Action for Children's Health program.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to examine prevalence and correlates of skipping breakfast in a representative sample of children and adolescents.

Methods: Cross-sectional, observational study. Population data derived from a school-based health survey carried out in 2015 on 177 091 Greek children aged 8-17 years.