Publications by authors named "Shahar D"

Background: Malnutrition in the elderly places a significant burden on healthcare, social, and aged-care systems, yet it often remains undiagnosed and untreated. This study aims to evaluate family physicians' knowledge and attitudes towards the diagnosis and treatment of malnutrition in the elderly.

Methods: Based on a literature review, an online questionnaire was developed, comprised of seven knowledge-related items and eight attitude-related questions regarding malnutrition in elderly populations.

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Background: Collection of detailed dietary data is labor intensive and expensive, harmonization of existing data sets has been proposed as an effective tool for research questions in which individual studies are underpowered.

Methods: In this paper, we describe the methodology used to retrospectively harmonize nutritional data from multiple sources, based on the individual participant data of all available studies, which collected nutritional data in Israel between 1963 and 2014. This collaboration was established in order to study the association of red and processed meat with colorectal cancer.

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In order to explore the association between meat consumption and gastrointestinal/colorectal cancer (CRC) risk and to estimate the Israeli population attributable fraction (PAF), we conducted a collaborative historical cohort study using the individual participant data of seven nutritional studies from the past 6 decades. We included healthy adult men and women who underwent a nutritional interview. Dietary assessment data, using food-frequency or 24-h recall questionnaires, were harmonized.

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Background And Objective: The adoption of plant-based diets in recent years has increased the need for accurate assessments of dietary intake among vegans, vegetarians, semi-vegetarians, and omnivores. This study aimed at developing and validating a modular web-based food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ), the MY-VEG-FFQ. This FFQ was based on the original FFQ (O-FFQ) designed for the Israeli population and incorporates a skip algorithm tailored for different dietary patterns.

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Purpose: To examine the risk factors for arm morbidity following breast cancer treatments, taking a broad view of all types of physical morbidity, including prolonged pain, lymphedema, decreased range of motion, and functional limitations.

Methods: A systematic literature review was performed according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Guidelines. Studies exploring the risk factors for prolonged arm morbidity following breast cancer surgery and treatments were included.

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Nutritional intervention studies in older adults with malnutrition aim to improve nutritional status. Although these studies show a significant gain in body weight, there is inconsistent evidence of clinical effectiveness on muscle strength and mortality. This study aimed to examine the effects of nutritional interventions on muscle strength and risk of mortality in older adults (malnourished or at risk) and explore whether these effects are influenced by participant characteristics.

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We employ unique panel data on the universe of COVID-19 vaccination and infection cases in Israel to examine the role of political belief in COVID-19 vaccine uptake, virus transmission, and closure policy response. The paper identifies political beliefs based on statistical area votes in national elections held in Israel on the eve of the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. Unlike the U.

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Purpose: Ultra-processed food (UPF), as defined by the NOVA classification, is related to lower diet quality, which may adversely affect maternal health and neonatal outcomes. This study aims to describe nutrient intake of pregnant women by the share of UPF in the diet and to identify associations between UPF intake and maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, pregnant women (n = 206) were recruited upon arrival to the obstetrics ward for delivery, and asked to complete a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), and questionnaires regarding environmental exposures, and socio-demographic characteristics.

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Aims: To determine associations of three dietary patterns (Mediterranean (MEDI) diet, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and the Mediterranean- DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet) with cognitive decline in older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D).

Methods: This is a longitudinal observational study. Participants (N = 960) from the Israel Diabetes and Cognitive Decline (IDCD) study were included in this study.

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Unlabelled: Providing a growing global population with healthy and sustainable diets is an immediate challenge. In the current study, estimates were obtained for the environmental footprints (land, water, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions) in association with the Mediterranean diet (MED) and the EAT-Lancet reference diet, which represents a healthy diet derived from sustainable food systems. We used a newly developed Sustainable Healthy Diet (SHED) index that was validated for the Israeli population by Tepper et al.

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Background: Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption is related to increased morbidity and mortality. However, knowledge on its association with cognitive function is lacking. In this longitudinal study, we examined the associations between UPF intake and cognitive decline in older adults with type-2 diabetes (T2D).

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Eating in catering systems has been identified as a driver of poor diet quality. Interventions within catering systems increase the nutrient density of dishes. Little is known about the incremental costs associated with this strategy.

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Improving nutrition improves health outcomes. Eating in a catering system may provide an environment for promoting healthy dietary choices. To map the factors that shape the food choices of diners who routinely eat in catering systems, we collected and analyzed qualitative data about diners' perceptions of their food choices in communal dining rooms in three kibbutzim in Israel.

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Purpose: Promoting sustainable diets through sustainable food choices is essential for achieving the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations. Establishing a practical tool that can measure and score sustainable and healthy eating is highly important.

Methods: We established a 30-item questionnaire to evaluate sustainable-dietary consumption.

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Identifying the concerns about and attitudes toward adopting a healthy, sustainable diet may facilitate the development of effective implementation policies targeted at changing an individual's dietary choices toward reducing the environmental burden of food systems. This cross-sectional online study was conducted in Israel among 348 adults aged 20-45 who responded to an advertisement posted on several social media platforms. Respondents received a link for the survey after signing informed consent forms.

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Purpose: A surgical technique was developed in the past by our group to reduce the rate of inadvertent complications. It was then seemed that it also increased the rate of complete lesion excision. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a cervical traction suture technique in increasing the prevalence of complete lesion excisions and reducing the incidence of unintended injuries to adjacent tissues during large loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ).

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An increasing current through a superconductor can result in a discontinuous increase in the differential resistance at the critical current. This critical current is typically associated either with breaking of Cooper-pairs or with the onset of collective motion of vortices. Here we measure the current-voltage characteristics of superconducting films at low temperatures and high magnetic fields.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how the Haptoglobin (Hp) genotype affects the relationship between vitamin E intake and brain volume in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes.
  • Researchers analyzed brain volumes using MRI in a group of 181 participants, correlating these volumes to their daily vitamin E intake and Hp genotype.
  • Results show that vitamin E intake significantly affects the inferior frontal gyrus volume differently based on Hp genotype, suggesting the need for future studies to account for genotype variations in vitamin E impact on brain health.
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Aims: To identify trajectories of long-term HbA1c levels and examine associations with subsequent risk for morbidity and mortality.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal follow-up among 27,724 patients, newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, in a large healthcare organization. We identified trajectories of long-term HbA1c levels during the first 5 years post diabetes onset to examine associations with subsequent risk for morbidity and all-cause mortality.

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Nutritional research is currently entering the field of personalized nutrition, to a large extent driven by major technological breakthroughs in analytical sciences and biocomputing. An efficient launching of the personalized approach depends on the ability of researchers to comprehensively monitor and characterize interindividual variability in the activity of the human gastrointestinal tract. This information is currently not available in such a form.

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For more than two decades, there have been reports on an unexpected metallic state separating the established superconducting and insulating phases of thin-film superconductors. To date, no theoretical explanation has been able to fully capture the existence of such a state for the large variety of superconductors exhibiting it. Here, we show that for two very different thin-film superconductors, amorphous indium oxide and a single crystal of 2H-NbSe, this metallic state can be eliminated by adequately filtering external radiation.

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In most superconductors, the transition to the superconducting state is driven by the binding of electrons into Cooper pairs [1]. The condensation of these pairs into a single, phase coherent, quantum state takes place at the same time as their formation at the transition temperature, . A different scenario occurs in some disordered, amorphous, superconductors: Instead of a pairing-driven transition, in-coherent Cooper pairs first pre-form above , causing the opening of a pseudogap, and then, at , condense into the phase coherent superconducting state [2-11].

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Background & Aims: There is a substantial body of evidence supporting the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, which has differing variations across the Mediterranean region. Abbreviated dietary screeners can be adapted and used to assess adherence to the local Mediterranean diet variant. We aimed to describe the process of adapting the Spanish Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) for use in Israel, and to test the predictive utility of the adapted score for mortality.

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In many affluent countries, including Israel, networks of food banks and pantries have increasing responsibility to alleviate endemic poverty and food insecurity. While they may relieve acute hunger, their long-term influence on health and well-being is poorly understood. An exploratory cross-sectional telephone survey assessed both adequacy and quality of food aid provided via food pantries in the food bank network, in relation to recipients' dietary needs and health.

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