Total and specific potato intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: results from three US cohort studies and a substitution meta-analysis of prospective cohorts.

Objectives: To investigate the associations between total and individual potato intake and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D), estimate the effect on T2D risk of replacing potatoes with whole grains and other major carbohydrate sources, and conduct a dose-response and substitution meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

Design: Prospective cohort study and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

Setting: Individual participant data from Nurses' Health Study (1984-2020), Nurses' Health Study II (1991-2021), and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2018).

Energy expenditure and obesity across the economic spectrum.

Global economic development has been associated with an increased prevalence of obesity and related health problems. Increased caloric intake and reduced energy expenditure are both cited as development-related contributors to the obesity crisis, but their relative importance remains unresolved. Here, we examine energy expenditure and two measures of obesity (body fat percentage and body mass index, BMI) for 4,213 adults from 34 populations across six continents and a wide range of lifestyles and economies, including hunter-gatherer, pastoralist, farming, and industrialized populations.

Climate Change and Cancer Risk: Connections with Physical Activity, Diet, and Adiposity.

Climate change and its environmental consequences have broadly influenced human health, including the direct effects of climate-related environmental exposures increasing cancer risk. In this review, we summarize evidence and make inferences on the indirect impact of climate change on cancer etiology through three interrelated cancer risk factors-physical activity, diet, and adiposity-and how these, in turn, may have downstream effects on cancer risk. Moreover, we highlight ways in which climate change will likely exacerbate existing cancer disparities through these three cancer risk factors.

Comparing the Metagenomic Performance of Stools Collected from Custom Cards and 95% Ethanol in Epidemiologic Studies.

Background: Stool cards have been used for microbiome assessment in epidemiologic studies.

Methods: We compared shotgun metagenomic sequencing from 32 participants who self-collected stool samples from the same bowel movement using a custom stool card versus a collection tube with 95% ethanol fixative in the Nurses' Health Study II. We evaluated the agreement between methods at both the whole-community and individual species levels.

Psychological resilience to trauma and longitudinal sleep outcomes among current and former nurses.

Objective: A life-disrupting stressor (e.g. pandemic) may cause or exacerbate poor sleep health; resilience may offset impacts.

Butter and Plant-Based Oils Intake and Mortality.

Importance: The relationship between butter and plant-based oil intakes and mortality remains unclear, with conflicting results from previous studies. Long-term dietary assessments are needed to clarify these associations.

Objective: To investigate associations of butter and plant-based oil intakes with risk of total and cause-specific mortality among US adults.

Alcohol Intake, Drinking Pattern, and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Three Prospective Cohorts of U.S. Women and Men.

Objective: Although the adverse effects of excessive alcohol consumption are well established, the association between light to moderate alcohol consumption (≤30 g ethanol per day) and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains controversial and holds substantial public health implications. We aimed to examine the association of total alcohol intake and drinking pattern with T2D among three cohorts, Nurses' Health Study (NHS), Nurses' Health Study II (NHSII), and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS).

Research Design And Methods: Former regular drinkers were excluded from baseline nondrinkers.

Associations between flavonoid-rich food and flavonoid intakes and incident unhealthy aging outcomes in older United States males and females.

Background: Our knowledge of the importance of flavonoid-rich foods in preventing unhealthy aging across its different domains is limited.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine prospective associations between flavonoid-rich food and flavonoid intakes and indicators of unhealthy aging, namely frailty, impaired physical function, and poor mental health.

Methods: We followed up 62,743 females and 23,687 males, all aged ≥60 y, from the Nurses' Health Study (1990-2014) and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (2006-2018), respectively.

Machine-learning approaches to predict individualized treatment effect using a randomized controlled trial.

Recent advancements in machine learning (ML) for analyzing heterogeneous treatment effects (HTE) are gaining prominence within the medical and epidemiological communities, offering potential breakthroughs in the realm of precision medicine by enabling the prediction of individual responses to treatments. This paper introduces the methodological frameworks used to study HTEs, particularly based on a single randomized controlled trial (RCT). We focus on methods to estimate conditional average treatment effect (CATE) for multiple covariates, aiming to predict individualized treatment effects.

Lignan Intake and Mortality Among Adults with Incident Type 2 Diabetes-Prospective Cohort Studies.

Background: Lignans are polyphenolic compounds abundant in plant-based foods such as seeds, whole grains, and certain fruits and vegetables and may lead to favorable metabolic health. It remains to be elucidated regarding the role of lignan consumption in the etiology of premature deaths among individuals with diabetes.

Objectives: To prospectively examine the association between postdiagnosis lignan intake and mortality among individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Drinking pattern and time lag of alcohol consumption with colorectal cancer risk in US men and women.

Background: Association between light to moderate alcohol consumption and colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence remains understudied, especially regarding drinking pattern, beverage type, and temporal aspects.

Methods: Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for time to CRC diagnosis were estimated among 137 710 participants. Estimates based on remote (eg, >10 years before follow-up) and recent (eg, the preceding 10 years before follow-up) alcohol intake, using different cutoffs (eg, 8, 10, 12 years) and mutual adjustment, enabled separating independent effects and investigating time lag of alcohol-CRC association.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, apolipoproteins and the risk of coronary heart disease in US men and women.

Background: Existing evidence for associations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) with blood lipids, lipoproteins and apolipoproteins (apo), and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk is limited and inconsistent. This study aims to explore associations between plasma PFASs, blood lipoprotein subspecies defined by apolipoproteins, and CHD risk.

Methods: A case-control study of CHD was conducted in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) and Nurses' Health Study (NHS).

Coffee consumption is associated with intestinal Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus abundance and prevalence across multiple cohorts.

Although diet is a substantial determinant of the human gut microbiome, the interplay between specific foods and microbial community structure remains poorly understood. Coffee is a habitually consumed beverage with established metabolic and health benefits. We previously found that coffee is, among >150 items, the food showing the highest correlation with microbiome components.

Modifiable lifestyle factors in the primordial prevention of hypertension in three US cohorts.

Background: Evidence is lacking on the relative contributions of specific lifestyle factors and their overall contribution to prevention of hypertension, in particular early-onset hypertension.

Methods: This prospective cohort study included participants of the Nurses' Health Study (NHS, N = 52,780 women, aged 40-67 in 1986), the NHS II (N = 83,871 women, aged 27-46 in 1991), and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS, N = 31,269 men, aged 40-75 in 1986), who were free from hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cancer at baseline. Four modifiable lifestyles were evaluated based on hypertension guidelines: BMI, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) score, and alcohol intake.

Proteomic signatures of healthy dietary patterns are associated with lower risks of major chronic diseases and mortality.

Healthy dietary patterns have been linked to a decreased risk of chronic diseases. However, it remains uncertain whether proteomic signatures can reflect proteome response to healthy diet patterns, and whether these proteomic signatures are associated with health outcomes. Using data from the UK Biobank including Olink plasma proteins, we identified substantial proteomic variation in relation to adherence to eight healthy dietary patterns.

Planetary health diet and cardiovascular disease: results from three large prospective cohort studies in the USA.

Background: In 2019, the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems proposed a Planetary Health Diet that seeks to optimise both chronic disease prevention as well as global environmental health. In this study, we aimed to examine the association between a dietary index based on the Planetary Health Diet and risk of cardiovascular disease.

Methods: We included women from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS I; 1986-2016), women from the Nurses' Health Study II (NHS II; 1991-2017), and men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS; 1986-2016) who were free of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes at baseline.

Integration of epidemiological and blood biomarker analysis links haem iron intake to increased type 2 diabetes risk.

Dietary haem iron intake is linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D), but the underlying plasma biomarkers are not well understood. We analysed data from 204,615 participants (79% females) in three large US cohorts over up to 36 years, examining the associations between iron intake and T2D risk. We also assessed plasma metabolic biomarkers and metabolomic profiles in subsets of 37,544 (82% females) and 9,024 (84% females) participants, respectively.

An Empirical Dietary Pattern Associated With the Gut Microbial Features in Relation to Colorectal Cancer Risk.

Background & Aims: Epidemiologic evidence for dietary influence on colorectal cancer (CRC) risk through the gut microbiome remains limited.

Methods: Leveraging 307 men and 212 women with stool metagenomes and dietary data, we characterized and validated a sex-specific dietary pattern associated with the CRC-related gut microbial signature (CRC Microbial Dietary Score [CMDS]). We evaluated the associations of CMDS with CRC risk according to Fusobacterium nucleatum, pksEscherichia coli, and enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis status in tumor tissue using Cox proportional hazards regression in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986-2018), Nurses' Health Study (1984-2020), and Nurses' Health Study II (1991-2019).

The state of the science on the health benefits of blueberries: a perspective.

Mounting evidence indicates that blueberry consumption is associated with a variety of health benefits. It has been suggested that regular consumption of blueberries can support and/or protect against cardiovascular disease and function, pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, and brain and cognitive function in individuals with health conditions and age-related decline. Further, mechanistic investigations highlight the role of blueberry anthocyanins in mediating these health benefits, in part through interactions with gut microbiota.