Dietary N-Nitroso Compounds and Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A USA-Based Study.

Background And Aims: N-nitroso compounds (NOCs) are among the most potent dietary carcinogens. N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), and N-nitrosopiperidine (NPIP) are abundant in foods and carcinogenic to the liver. We investigated the relationship between dietary NOCs and HCC risk.

Quantification of persistent organic pollutants in dietary supplements using stir bar sorptive extraction coupled with GC-MS/MS and isotope dilution mass spectrometry.

In this work, we describe a method developed to quantify persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in dietary supplement samples using stir-bar sorptive extraction (SBSE)-GC-MS/MS-isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS). This method enables accurate, precise, and sensitive quantification of POPs in plant-extract based dietary supplement products commercially available in the United States. When compared with calibration curves, IDMS provided more accurate and precise measurements.

Dietary N-nitroso compounds and risk of pancreatic cancer: results from a large case-control study.

N-nitroso compounds (NOCs) are among the most potent dietary and pancreatic carcinogens. N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) and N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) are the most prevalent NOCs identified in foods. Using a validated and comprehensive N-nitroso database developed to estimate total NOCs and important individual NOCs from food intake, we investigated dietary exposure to NOCs in relation to pancreatic cancer in a large matched case-control study.

Breakfast consumption has no effect on neuropsychological functioning in children: a repeated-measures clinical trial.

Background: Although many studies have investigated the relation between breakfast consumption and various domains of cognitive functioning within children, some of the reported findings are inconsistent.

Objective: We sought to determine the short-term effects of a breakfast meal on the neuropsychological functioning of healthy school-aged children after an overnight fast.

Design: The study was conducted in a clinical research center with the use of a counterbalanced repeated-measures design among children who either consumed breakfast or were fasting.

A Community-based Healthy Living Promotion Program Improved Self-esteem Among Minority Children.

Objectives: Improving self-esteem, dietary habits, and physical activity is essential for long-term success in childhood obesity prevention. The aim is to evaluate the effects of a healthy living promotion program, Healthy Kids-Houston, on BMI, dietary habits, self-esteem, and physical activity among minority children.

Methods: The after-school program was implemented at community centers in low-income neighborhoods with close proximity to public schools.

A High Throughput Method for Measuring Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Seafood Using QuEChERS Extraction and SBSE.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Method NMFS-NWFSC-59 2004 is currently used to quantitatively analyze seafood for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination, especially following events such as the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion that released millions of barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This method has limited throughput capacity; hence, alternative methods are necessary to meet analytical demands after such events. Stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) is an effective technique to extract trace PAHs in water and the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) extraction strategy effectively extracts PAHs from complex food matrices.

Characterizing lunch meals served and consumed by pre-school children in Head Start.

Objective: To examine the variability of food portions served and consumed by African-American and Hispanic-American pre-school children attending Head Start.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Food consumption by pre-schoolers (n 796) enrolled in sixteen Head Start centres in Houston, Texas (51 % boys, 42 % African-American, mean age 4 years) were assessed during 3 d of lunch meals using digital photography.

Characterizing dinner meals served and consumed by low-income preschool children.

Background: A dinner meal is consumed by approximately 95% of preschool children, yet few studies have characterized the dinner meal within a broader environmental context. The primary goal of this study was to identify the average quantities of foods served and consumed at the dinner meal by preschool children. A secondary goal was to look at factors that influenced the total amounts of food and energy consumed among preschoolers at the dinner meal.

Validity and feasibility of a digital diet estimation method for use with preschool children: a pilot study.

Objective: The goal of the study was to assess the validity and feasibility of a digital diet estimation method for use with preschool children in Head Start.

Methods: Preschool children and their caregivers participated in validation (n = 22) and feasibility (n=24) pilot studies. Validity was determined in the metabolic research unit using actual gram weight measurements as the reference method.

Resemblance of dietary intakes of snacks, sweets, fruit, and vegetables among mother-child dyads from low income families.

The objective of this study was to determine the correlation between intake of snacks, sweets, fruit, vegetables, and energy in low-income mother-child dyads. This was a secondary analysis of data collected from Head Start centers in Houston, Texas and Birmingham, Alabama. Twenty four hour dietary recalls for one weekend day were collected from mother (mean 31.

General versus central adiposity and relationship to pediatric metabolic risk.

Background: The influence of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and general versus central adiposity on pediatric metabolic risk is not well described.

Methods: Secondary analyses on pediatric participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2006 (n=2,155). MVPA (min/day) and adherence to MVPA recommendations were assessed objectively by accelerometers.

Construction of an N-nitroso database for assessing dietary intake.

Dietary N-nitroso compounds are carcinogens synthesized during food processing from two main classes of precursors, oxides of nitrogen and amines or amides. Quantification of the dietary intake of N-nitroso compounds is significant to human cancers, including those of the stomach and upper gastro-intestinal tract, colon, and brain. Previous studies investigating these cancers primarily used proxy estimates of N-nitroso intake and not a full and complete database.

Protocol for the development of automated high-throughput SPME-GC methods for the analysis of volatile and semivolatile constituents in wine samples.

Ever since the invention of gas chromatography (GC), numerous efforts within the chromatographic community have been directed toward the development of fast GC methods. However, the developments in high-speed GC technologies have simultaneously created demand for the availability of compatible detection and sample preparation methods, so that the speed of the overall analytical process is increased. Solid phase micro extraction (SPME) is a sample preparation technique developed to address the need for rapid sample preparation.

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and obesity in adolescents aged 12 to 19 years: comparison between the United States and Korea.

This study compared the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS), its risk factors, and obesity in adolescents in the United States (US) and Korea. Data were obtained from 2003-2004 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and 2005 Korea NHANES for adolescents aged 12-19 yr in the US (n=734) and in Korea (n=664). The 2007 International Diabetes Federation (IDF) pediatric definition for diagnosis of MetS and the 2000 US Growth Charts and 2007 Korea Growth Charts for assessment of obesity were utilized.

N-nitroso compounds: assessing agreement between food frequency questionnaires and 7-day food records.

Background: N-nitroso compounds are recognized as important dietary carcinogens. Accurate assessment of N-nitroso intake is fundamental to advancing research regarding its role with cancer. Previous studies have not used a quantitative database to estimate the intake of these compounds in a US population.

Poverty and food intake in rural America: diet quality is lower in food insecure adults in the Mississippi Delta.

Objective: To determine if measures of diet quality differ between food insecure and food secure adults in a rural high-risk population.

Design: Random digit dialing telephone survey of a cross-section of the population designed to collect data on food intake, household demographics, and food security status.

Setting: A representative sample of adults who live in 36 counties in the Lower Mississippi Delta region of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Assessment of the diet quality of US adults in the Lower Mississippi Delta.

Background: The Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD) is a region at high risk of nutritionally related diseases. Assessing LMD diet quality is important in policy making, monitoring service outcomes, and designing sustainable research interventions.

Objective: The purpose was to assess the diet quality of LMD adults by using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) to 1) identify potential and needed interventions, 2) determine population subgroups needing special attention, and 3) compare regional intakes with national intakes.

Consumption of calcium among African American adolescent girls.

Objective: To determine the adequacy of calcium intake of children by demographic group in the Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD) and compare to national statistics.

Design: FOODS 2000 was used to examine the dietary calcium intake of LMD children and compare it to US children in the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) 1994-1996, 1998.

Setting And Participants: The sample of 465 non-Hispanic children 3-17 years of age who live in 36 counties of the LMD was identified by using list-assisted random digit dialing methods.

The association of child and household food insecurity with childhood overweight status.

Context: The prevalence of childhood overweight status is increasing. Some have suggested that childhood overweight is associated with food insecurity, defined as limited or uncertain access to enough nutritious food.

Objectives: The purpose of this work was to assess the association of household and child food insecurity with childhood overweight status.

Influences on fruit and vegetable consumption by low-income black American adolescents.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify personal, behavioral, and environmental factors influencing fruit and vegetable consumption among 10- to 13-year-old low-income black American youth in the lower Mississippi Delta region. Social Cognitive Theory, along with other theoretical constructs, guided focus group questions and analysis.

Design: A qualitative study using focus group methodology.

Child health-related quality of life and household food security.

Objective: To examine the association of household food insecurity with child self- or proxy-reported health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Design: Cross-sectional telephone survey from January 1, 2000, through June 30, 2000.

Participants: Three hundred ninety-nine children who live in 36 counties of the Delta region of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Household food insecurity is associated with adult health status.

The prevalence of household food security, which reflects adequacy and stability of the food supply, has been measured periodically in the United States and occasionally in high-risk groups or specific regions. Despite a plausible biological mechanism to suggest negative health outcomes of food insecurity, this relation has not been adequately evaluated. This study was conducted in the Lower Mississippi Delta region to examine the association between household food insecurity and self-reported health status in adults.

High prevalence of food insecurity and hunger in households in the rural Lower Mississippi Delta.

Context: Residents of the Lower Mississippi Delta of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi are at risk for food insecurity since a high proportion of the population live in households with incomes below the poverty level and have reduced access to food and decreased availability of a variety of foods. However, the magnitude of the problem is unknown because presently only nationwide and state estimates of food insecurity are available.

Purpose: This study was conducted by the Lower-Mississippi Delta Nutrition Intervention Research Consortium to determine the prevalence of household food insecurity, identify high-risk subgroups in the Lower Delta, and compare to national data.

Evaluating body fat in girls and female adolescents: advantages and disadvantages of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Background: Within the past 10 y, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) has become one of the most widely used methods of measuring human body composition. However, DXA has not been fully evaluated against an independent criterion method of measuring body fatness in young females.

Objective: Our objective was to determine the bias and agreement between DXA and a 4-compartment model in predicting the percentage of fat mass (%FM) in a multiethnic group of young females.