Cognitive performance among the elderly and dietary fish intake: the Hordaland Health Study.

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that cognitive impairment and dementia in older subjects might be influenced by a diet including seafood.

Objective: The objective was to examine the cross-sectional relation between intake of different amounts of various seafood (fish and fish products) and cognitive performance.

Design: The subjects (n = 2031 subjects; 55% women), aged 70-74 y, were recruited from the general population in Western Norway and underwent cognitive testing.

Folic acid supplements and risk of facial clefts: national population based case-control study.

Objective: To explore the role of folic acid supplements, dietary folates, and multivitamins in the prevention of facial clefts.

Design: National population based case-control study.

Setting: Infants born 1996-2001 in Norway.

Evaluation of three dietary assessment methods and serum biomarkers as measures of fruit and vegetable intake, using the method of triads.

The validity of fruit and vegetable intake estimated by 14 d weighed records, a twenty-seven-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and a 180-item FFQ was investigated using serum carotenoids as the validity criterion. In addition, the method of triads was used to assess the validity of fruit and vegetable intake estimated from the FFQ and serum carotenoids. One hundred Norwegian men completed 14 d weighed records and the 180-item FFQ.

[Consumption of whole grain foods and chronic disease].

Background: We summarise evidence concerning the health effects of whole grain intake, as well as implications for Norway. All forms of whole grain products contain both the bran and the germ, which are rich in nutrients, in addition to the starch-rich endosperm. However, refined grain consists only of the endosperm, which contains far fewer nutrients.

Usefulness of a short food frequency questionnaire for screening of low intake of fruit and vegetable and for intake of fat.

Background: Simple screening tools to identify intake of fruit, vegetables and fat are necessary to design effective public health intervention strategies in order to increase intake of fruit and vegetable and to reduce fat intake.

Methods: 108 men recorded their food intake for 14 days and filled in a 27-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) 1.5-2 months later.

Validation of a quantitative food-frequency questionnaire for use in Western Mali.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to validate a quantitative food-frequency questionnaire (QFFQ) created for assessing the usual intake of foods and nutrients in the prevailing season in Western Mali.

Design: Intake of foods and nutrients over the week preceding the interview was measured with a 69-item QFFQ. Intakes were compared with intakes as measured with 2-day combined weighed and recalled diet records.

Similar effects on infants of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids supplementation to pregnant and lactating women.

Objective: There have been indications that high intake of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) during pregnancy may increase birth weight and gestational length. In addition, n-3 long-chain PUFAs may be important for the neurobiological development of the infants. High levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3) are found in the gray matter of the cerebral cortex and in the retina, and it seems as if the availability of long-chain PUFAs may be limiting cerebral development.

High intake of energy, sucrose, and polyunsaturated fatty acids is associated with increased risk of preeclampsia.

Objective: Preeclampsia is associated with high body mass index, insulin resistance, and hypertriglyceridemia. Our objective was to investigate prospectively whether diet in the first half of pregnancy is associated with the risk for preeclampsia.

Study Design: This prospective, population-based, cohort study of pregnant women investigated dietary intake early in the second trimester with a quantitative food frequency questionnaire.

Reduction of leptin gene expression by dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) for 6 weeks did not alter plasma leptin concentrations in male smokers. Changes in dietary intake of saturated fatty acids (FA) correlated positively, whereas changes in the intake of PUFA correlated negatively to changes in plasma leptin levels. A 3-week n-3 PUFA-enriched diet, as compared with a 3-week lard-enriched diet, induced lower plasma leptin concentration and reduced leptin mRNA expression in rat epididymal adipose tissue.

Presence of ochratoxin A in human milk in relation to dietary intake.

Individual and geographical variations in ochratoxin A (OA) levels in human blood and milk samples may be due to differences in dietary habits. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between OA contamination of human milk and dietary intake. Human milk samples were collected from 80 Norwegian women.

Reduced mortality among whole grain bread eaters in men and women in the Norwegian County Study.

Objective: To study whether mortality is reduced among whole grain eaters in Norway.

Design: Non-interventional, prospective, baseline 1977-1983, followed for mortality through to 1994.

Setting: Three Norwegian counties.

Partially hydrogenated soybean oil reduces postprandial t-PA activity compared with palm oil.

The effects of dietary trans fatty acids on fasting and diurnal variation in hemostatic variables are not known. This study compares the effects of three diets with three different margarines, one based on palm oil (PALM-diet), one based on partially hydrogenated soybean oil (PHSO, TRANS-diet) and one with a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA-diet) on diurnal postprandial hemostatic variables. A strictly controlled dietary Latin square study was performed and nine young female participants consumed each of the diets for 17 days in a random order.

Effect of long-term changes in diet and exercise on plasma leptin concentrations.

Background: Although it is known that plasma leptin concentrations correlate with the amount of adipose tissue in the body, little information is available on the long-term effects on leptin concentrations of changes in diet and exercise.

Objective: We wanted to examine whether changes in dietary energy sources and exercise-mediated energy expenditure, alone or in combination, affect plasma leptin concentrations.

Design: In a randomized, 2 x 2 factorial trial, 186 men with metabolic syndrome were divided into 4 groups: diet, exercise, a combination of diet and exercise, and control.

Dietary habits among patients with atopic dermatitis.

Objective: To evaluate the dietary habits among adult patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis and relate intake to clinical symptoms.

Design: Data were obtained from a clinical trial.

Setting: Five departments of dermatology at Norwegian University hospitals.

Healthy dietary habits in relation to social determinants and lifestyle factors.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the importance of social status and lifestyle for dietary habits, since these factors may influence life expectancy. We studied the association of four indicators for healthy dietary habits (fruits and vegetables, fibre, fat and Hegsted score) with sex, age, socio-economic status, education, physical leisure exercise, smoking and personal attention paid to keeping a healthy diet. Data were gathered with a self-administered quantitative food-frequency questionnaire distributed to a representative sample of Norwegian men and women aged 16-79 years in a national dietary survey, of whom 3144 subjects (63%) responded.

Evaluation of a food frequency questionnaire with weighed records, fatty acids, and alpha-tocopherol in adipose tissue and serum.

The authors examined the validity of a self-administered 180-item food frequency questionnaire in 125 Norwegian men aged 20-55 years who filled in the questionnaire and completed 14-day weighed records in fall 1995 to winter 1995/6. Spearman correlation coefficients between the two measurements ranged from 0.42 for percent of energy from fat to 0.

Plasma homocysteine concentration related to diet, endothelial function and mononuclear cell gene expression among male hyperlipidaemic smokers.

Background: Elevated plasma concentration of homocysteine is an independent risk factor for development of cardiovascular diseases.

Materials And Methods: We evaluated potential links between homocysteine and atherothrombogenesis by relating the plasma concentration of homocysteine to (i) dietary antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids (and determined influence of intervention with antioxidants or omega-3 fatty acids); (ii) markers of endothelial cell function; and (iii) peripheral blood mononuclear cell mRNA levels.

Results: We observed an inverse relationship between the plasma homocysteine concentration and dietary intake of vegetables, vitamin C and beta-carotene and between homocysteine and the serum concentration of folate, vitamin B12 and omega-3 fatty acids.

Intake of very-long-chain n-3 fatty acids related to social status and lifestyle.

Objectives: Little information is available about the intake of very-long-chain n-3 fatty acids in random samples of populations. We examined if the intake of these fatty acids was associated with gender, social status and lifestyle in a similar way as other indicators for a healthy diet in a nationwide survey.

Design And Subjects: Data were obtained from self-administered quantitative food frequency questionnaires filled in by a representative sample of Norwegian men and women, aged 16-79 y.

Under- and overreporting of energy intake related to weight status and lifestyle in a nationwide sample.

Desire for weight change and level of dietary consciousness may severely bias reported food intake in dietary surveys. We evaluated to what degree under- and overreporting of energy intake (EI) was related to lifestyle, sociodemographic variables, and attitudes about body weight and diet in a nationwide dietary survey. Data were gathered by a self-administered quantitative food-frequency questionnaire distributed to a representative sample of men and women aged 16-79 y in Norway, of whom 3144 subjects (63%) responded.

Malignant epithelial tumours in the upper digestive tract: a dietary and socio-medical case-control and survival study.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to elucidate the influence of social, dietary and environmental factors on the incidence of malignant epithelial tumours in the upper digestive tract and on the prognosis of patients with these cancers.

Design: A population-based case-control study was carried out, and the patients in the study were included in a survival analysis.

Setting: The study was carried out at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Ullevål University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Peroxidation of LDL from combined-hyperlipidemic male smokers supplied with omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.

The effects of marine omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (FAs) and antioxidants on the oxidative modification of LDL were studied in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Male smokers (n = 41) with combined hyperlipidemia were allocated to one of four groups receiving supplementation with omega-3 FAs (5 g eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid per day), antioxidants (75 mg vitamin E, 150 mg vitamin C, 15 mg beta-carotene, and 30 mg coenzyme Q10 per day), both omega-3 FAs and antioxidants, or control oils. LDL and human mononuclear cells were isolated from the patients at baseline and after 6 weeks of supplementation.

Response rates with different distribution methods and reward, and reproducibility of a quantitative food frequency questionnaire.

Objectives: To evaluate the use of a self-administered quantitative food frequency questionnaire (QFFQ) in a national dietary survey concerning (a) response rates with different distribution methods and reward; (b) degree of underreporting of energy intake; (c) reproducibility of the QFFQ; and (d) seasonal variation on reported intake.

Design And Subjects: A pilot study was performed in 1992 to test response rates to the QFFQ with three different distribution methods, with and without reward, in a random sample of 1200 adults aged 16-79 y. In another study, the QFFQ was distributed to a nation-wide, representative random sample of 5008 adults aged 16-79 y during June, September, November 1993 and March 1994.

Very-long-chain n-3 fatty acids as biomarkers for intake of fish and n-3 fatty acid concentrates.

We examined how supplementation with very-long-chain n-3 fatty acids was reflected in the concentration of these fatty acids in plasma phospholipids of 363 Norwegian men and women. The concentration of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in plasma phospholipids was significantly higher among individuals supplemented with n-3 fatty acids after the supplementation period than before. We also examined the relation between dietary intake of fatty acids measured with a 180-item quantitative food-frequency questionnaire and the concentration of the same fatty acids in plasma phospholipids in 579 men and women.

Norwegian case-control study testing the hypothesis that seafood increases the risk of thyroid cancer.

The hypothesis that consumption of seafood increases the risk of thyroid cancer has been tested by means of a matched case-control study. Linking the file of the National Health Screening Service (NHSS) containing dietary information about 60,000 Norwegians with the 1955-89 thyroid-cancer file of the Cancer Registry, by means of the 11-digit person-number, resulted in 92 cases--each of whom was matched with five controls with regard to age, gender, and place of residence. Forty-eight cases had answered questions on diet before diagnosis; 44 did so after diagnosis.

Accuracy of a quantitative food frequency questionnaire applied in elderly Norwegian women.

The accuracy (reproducibility and relative validity) of a self-administered quantitative food frequency questionnaire including 180 food items was evaluated. A total of 38 elderly women kept multiple weighed diet records for a total of 14 days over a 6-week period and filled in the questionnaire both before and after this period. Spearman rank correlations between the nutrient intakes from the two questionnaires varied from 0.