Publications by authors named "Sonia Blanco Mejia"

Background: Many clinical practice guidelines recommend dietary pulses for the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The impact of extracted pulse proteins remains unclear. We therefore conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of the effect of extracted pulse proteins on therapeutic lipid targets.

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  • There is a growing push for increased plant food consumption, particularly soy foods, which have potential health benefits for women, despite ongoing controversies regarding their effects.
  • A systematic review and meta-analysis of 40 randomized trials involving over 3,000 postmenopausal women were conducted to assess the impacts of soy isoflavones on various estrogen-related measures.
  • The results showed no significant effects of soy isoflavones on endometrial thickness, vaginal maturation, follicle-stimulating hormone, or estradiol levels, indicating that they may function as selective estrogen receptor modulators rather than acting like estrogen itself.
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This review synthesized the evidence from randomized controlled trials comparing the effect of meal replacements (MRs) as part of a weight loss intervention with conventional food-based weight loss diets on cardiometabolic risk in individuals with pre-diabetes and features of metabolic syndrome. MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were searched through January 16, 2024. Data were pooled using the generic inverse variance method and expressed as mean difference [95% confidence intervals].

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  • The study investigates the relationship between 100% fruit juice consumption and body weight changes in children and adults, addressing concerns about potential weight gain.
  • A total of 42 studies were analyzed, including 17 involving children and 25 involving adults, showing that increased fruit juice consumption in children correlates with a slight increase in BMI, while findings in adults vary based on adjustments for energy intake.
  • Randomized clinical trials among adults did not find significant evidence linking 100% fruit juice consumption to weight gain, suggesting that context and overall dietary patterns play a critical role.
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  • A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to investigate how food sources of fructose-containing sugars affect blood pressure (BP) under different energy control conditions.
  • Out of 147 trials involving over 5,200 participants, it was found that excess energy from fructose-containing sugars decreased BP when sugar was added but had no significant effects during substitution, subtraction, or free intake trials.
  • The results suggest that consuming fruit and 100% fruit juice at low levels may help lower BP, while high doses of mixed sources, especially sugar-sweetened beverages, can increase BP, highlighting the influence of food source and energy balance on BP outcomes.
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Background: Health authorities are near universal in their recommendation to replace sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) with water. Non-nutritive sweetened beverages (NSBs) are not as widely recommended as a replacement strategy due to a lack of established benefits and concerns they may induce glucose intolerance through changes in the gut microbiome. The STOP Sugars NOW trial aims to assess the effect of the substitution of NSBs (the "intended substitution") versus water (the "standard of care substitution") for SSBs on glucose tolerance and microbiota diversity.

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Background: Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) providing excess energy increase adiposity. The effect of other food sources of sugars at different energy control levels is unclear.

Objectives: To determine the effect of food sources of fructose-containing sugars by energy control on adiposity.

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Objective: Combined low-risk lifestyle behaviors (LRLBs) have been associated with a reduction in type 2 diabetes risk. This relationship has not been systematically quantified.

Research Design And Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to assess the association of combined LRLBs with type 2 diabetes.

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Recent observational studies have documented inverse associations of circulating very long-chain saturated fatty acids (VLCSFAs), namely arachidic acid (20:0), behenic acid (22:0), and lignoceric acid (24:0), with cardiometabolic outcomes. In addition to their endogenous production, it has been suggested that dietary intake or an overall healthier lifestyle may influence VLCSFA concentrations; however, a systematic review of the modifiable lifestyle contributors to circulating VLCSFAs is lacking. Therefore, this review aimed to systematically assess the effects of diet, physical activity, and smoking on circulating VLCSFAs.

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Background: Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) have been implicated in fueling the obesity epidemic.

Objectives: This study aimed to update a synthesis of the evidence on SSBs and weight gain in children and adults.

Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched through September 8, 2022, for prospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated intake of SSBs in relation to BMI and body weight in children and adults, respectively.

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Objective: High cereal fiber and low-glycemic index (GI) diets are associated with reduced cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in cohort studies. Clinical trial evidence on event incidence is lacking. Therefore, to make trial outcomes more directly relevant to CVD, we compared the effect on carotid plaque development in diabetes of a low-GI diet versus a whole-grain wheat-fiber diet.

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  • Research explores the link between fructose-containing sugars in sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and inflammatory markers, focusing on food source and energy control.
  • A systematic review analyzed 64 controlled trials, looking at how different fructose sources (like sweetened dairy and fruit juice) affect inflammation over varying energy levels.
  • Findings indicate that total fructose-containing sugars reduced C-reactive protein (CRP) in addition trials, while other trial types showed no significant effects on inflammation, suggesting the food source plays a critical role.
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Context: Despite advances in treatments for cardiometabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity, the increasing frequency of these conditions is of major clinical and public health concern. Therefore, primary prevention including diet and lifestyle approaches continues to play a key role in risk reduction. Meta-analyses of prospective cohort studies have documented inverse associations of dairy consumption with the incidence of different cardiometabolic disorders.

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Aims/hypothesis: Nordic dietary patterns that are high in healthy traditional Nordic foods may have a role in the prevention and management of diabetes. To inform the update of the EASD clinical practice guidelines for nutrition therapy, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of Nordic dietary patterns and cardiometabolic outcomes.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and The Cochrane Library from inception to 9 March 2021.

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  • Excess fructose from sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is linked to increased markers of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but the impact of other fructose sources is unclear.
  • The review encompassed 51 trials involving various food sources of fructose, focusing on their effects on intrahepatocellular lipid (IHCL), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST).
  • Findings showed that total fructose increased IHCL in addition trials but had no significant effects in substitution or ad libitum trials, and that SSBs were particularly effective in raising IHCL and ALT levels.
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Importance: There are concerns that low- and no-calorie sweetened beverages (LNCSBs) do not have established benefits, with major dietary guidelines recommending the use of water and not LNCSBs to replace sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Whether LNCSB as a substitute can yield similar improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors vs water in their intended substitution for SSBs is unclear.

Objective: To assess the association of LNCSBs (using 3 prespecified substitutions of LNCSBs for SSBs, water for SSBs, and LNCSBs for water) with body weight and cardiometabolic risk factors in adults with and without diabetes.

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Nuts are recommended for cardiovascular health, yet concerns remain that nuts may contribute to weight gain due to their high energy density. A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohorts and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to update the evidence, provide a dose-response analysis, and assess differences in nut type, comparator and more in subgroup analyses. MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane were searched, along with manual searches.

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Background: Although fructose as a source of excess calories increases uric acid, the effect of the food matrix is unclear.

Objectives: To assess the effects of fructose-containing sugars by food source at different levels of energy control on uric acid, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials.

Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched (through 11 January 2021) for trials ≥ 7 days.

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This systematic review investigates the association of sCD163, a novel biomarker of macrophage activation, with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), insulin resistance, and beta-cell dysfunction. Sixteen studies (seven cross-sectional, two case-control, one nested case-control, three prospective cohort, and three experimental) were identified. Most studies demonstrated that elevated sCD163 concentrations were associated with increased insulin resistance.

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Soybeans are a rich source of isoflavones, which are classified as phytoestrogens. Despite numerous proposed benefits, isoflavones are often classified as endocrine disruptors, based primarily on animal studies. However, there are ample human data regarding the health effects of isoflavones.

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This is an update of the previous 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis of vitamin and mineral supplementation on cardiovascular disease outcomes and all-cause mortality. New randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses were identified by searching the Cochrane library, Medline, and Embase, and data were analyzed using random effects models and classified by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation approach. This updated review shows similar findings to the previous report for preventive benefits from both folic acid and B vitamins for stroke and has been graded with moderate quality.

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Background: Antioxidants have been promoted for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk reduction and for the prevention of cancer. Our preliminary analysis suggested that only when selenium was present were antioxidant mixtures associated with reduced all-cause mortality.

Objective: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine the effect of selenium supplementation alone and of antioxidant mixtures with or without selenium on the risk of CVD, cancer, and mortality.

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Background Public health policies reflect concerns that certain fruit sources may not have the intended benefits and that vegetables should be preferred to fruit. We assessed the relation of fruit and vegetable sources with cardiovascular outcomes using a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Methods and Results MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane were searched through June 3, 2019.

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Recent data from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) suggest that DHA may have stronger anti-inflammatory effects than EPA. This body of evidence has not yet been quantitatively reviewed. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of DHA and EPA on several markers of systemic inflammation by pairwise and network meta-analyses of RCTs.

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