Plasma Metabolomic Signatures of Healthy Dietary Patterns in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study.

BACKGROUND: In individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD), healthy dietary patterns are inversely associated with CKD progression. Metabolomics, an approach that measures many small molecules in biofluids, can identify biomarkers of healthy dietary patterns. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify known metabolites associated with greater adherence to 4 healthy dietary patterns in CKD patients. METHODS: We examined associations between 486 known plasma metabolites and Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015, Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)-2010, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, and alternate Mediterranean diet (aMED) in 1056 participants (aged 21-74 y at baseline) in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study. Usual dietary intake was assessed using a semiquantitative FFQ. We conducted multivariable linear regression models to study associations between healthy dietary patterns and individual plasma metabolites, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, and clinical factors. We used principal component analysis to identify groups of metabolites associated with individual food components within healthy dietary patterns. RESULTS: After Bonferroni correction, we identified 266 statistically significant diet-metabolite associations (HEI: n = 60; AHEI: n = 78; DASH: n = 77; aMED: n = 51); 78 metabolites were associated with >1 dietary pattern. Lipids with a longer acyl chain length and double bonds (unsaturated) were positively associated with all 4 dietary patterns. A metabolite pattern low in saturated diacylglycerols and triacylglycerols, and a pattern high in unsaturated triacylglycerols was positively associated with intake of healthy food components. Plasmalogens were negatively associated with the consumption of nuts and legumes and healthy fat, and positively associated with the intake of red and processed meat. CONCLUSIONS: We identified many metabolites associated with healthy dietary patterns, indicative of food consumption. If replicated, these metabolites may be considered biomarkers of healthy dietary patterns in patients with CKD.

Factors associated with continued participation in a matched monetary incentive programme at local farmers' markets in low-income neighbourhoods in San Diego, California.

OBJECTIVE: The Farmers' Market Fresh Fund Incentive Program is a policy, systems and environmental intervention to improve access to fresh produce for participants on governmental assistance in the USA. The current study examined factors associated with ongoing participation in this matched monetary incentive programme. DESIGN: Relationship of baseline factors with number of Fresh Fund visits was assessed using Poisson regression. Mixed-effects modelling was used to explore changes in consumption of fruits and vegetables and diet quality. SETTING: San Diego, California. SUBJECTS: Recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) who attended participating farmers' markets from 2010 to 2012 (n 7298). RESULTS: Among those with participation for ≤6 months, factors associated with increased visits included reporting more daily servings of fruits and vegetables (F&V) at baseline, being Vietnamese or Asian/Pacific Islander, and eligibility because of SNAP/CalFresh or SSI (v. WIC). Among those who came for 6-12 months, being Asian/Pacific Islander, eligibility because of SNAP/CalFresh and enrolling in the autumn, winter or spring were associated with a greater number of Fresh Fund visits. Among those who came for >12 months, being male and eligibility because of SSI were associated with a greater number of visits. Overall, the odds of increasing number of servings of F&V consumed increased by 2 % per month, and the odds of improved perception of diet quality increased by 10 % per month. CONCLUSIONS: Sustaining and increasing Fresh Fund-type programme operations should be a top priority for future policy decisions concerning farmers' market use in low-income neighbourhoods.

Highlighting the ratio of sodium to potassium in population-level dietary assessments: cross-sectional data from New York City, USA.

OBJECTIVE: To contrast mean values of Na:K with Na and K mean intakes by demographic factors, and to calculate the prevalence of New York City (NYC) adults meeting the WHO guideline for optimal Na:K (<1 mmol/mmol, i.e. <0·59 mg/mg) using 24 h urinary values. DESIGN: Data were from the 2010 Community Health Survey Heart Follow-Up Study, a population-based, representative study including data from 24 h urine collections. SETTING: Participants were interviewed using a dual-frame sample design consisting of random-digit dial telephone exchanges that cover NYC. Data were weighted to be representative of NYC adults as a whole. SUBJECTS: The final sample of 1656 adults provided 24 h urine collections and self-reported health data. RESULTS: Mean Na:K in NYC adults was 1·7 mg/mg. Elevated Na:K was observed in young, minority, low-education and high-poverty adults. Only 5·2 % of NYC adults had Na:K in the optimal range. CONCLUSIONS: Na intake is high and K intake is low in NYC adults, leading to high Na:K. Na:K is a useful marker and its inclusion for nutrition surveillance in populations, in addition to Na and K intakes, is indicated.

Online social networks that connect users to physical activity partners: a review and descriptive analysis.

BACKGROUND: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified a lack of encouragement, support, or companionship from family and friends as a major barrier to physical activity. To overcome this barrier, online social networks are now actively leveraging principles of companion social support in novel ways. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to evaluate the functionality, features, and usability of existing online social networks which seek to increase physical activity and fitness among users by connecting them to physical activity partners, not just online, but also face-to-face. METHODS: In September 2012, we used 3 major databases to identify the website addresses for relevant online social networks. We conducted a Google search using 8 unique keyword combinations: the common keyword "find" coupled with 1 of 4 prefix terms "health," "fitness," "workout," or "physical" coupled with 1 of 2 stem terms "activity partners" or "activity buddies." We also searched 2 prominent technology start-up news sites, TechCrunch and Y Combinator, using 2 unique keyword combinations: the common keyword "find" coupled with 1 of 2 stem terms "activity partners" and "activity buddies." Sites were defined as online social health activity networks if they had the ability to (1) actively find physical activity partners or activities for the user, (2) offer dynamic, real-time tracking or sharing of social activities, and (3) provide virtual profiles to users. We excluded from our analysis sites that were not Web-based, publicly available, in English, or free. RESULTS: Of the 360 initial search results, we identified 13 websites that met our complete criteria of an online social health activity network. Features such as physical activity creation (13/13, 100%) and private messaging (12/13, 92%) appeared almost universally among these websites. However, integration with Web 2.0 technologies such as Facebook and Twitter (9/13, 69%) and the option of direct event joining (8/13, 62%) were not as universally present. Largely absent were more sophisticated features that would enable greater usability, such as interactive engagement prompts (3/13, 23%) and system-created best fit activities (3/13, 23%). CONCLUSIONS: Several major online social networks that connect users to physical activity partners currently exist and use standardized features to achieve their goals. Future research is needed to better understand how users utilize these features and how helpful they truly are.

Dietary intake of Senegalese adults.

The aim of this work is to identify major food sources and dietary constituents of Senegalese adults. We conducted a cross-sectional study, using a single 24-hour dietary recall interview. Foods were classified into food groups based on similarities in nutrient content or use. Food groups included foods consumed individually, or as part of food mixtures such as stews, soups, or sandwiches. Median consumption (amount/day) of each food was determined and examined by relevant subgroups. Participants were 50 healthy Senegalese men, aged 20-62 years recruited at the Hôpital Général de Grand Yoff in Dakar, Senegal and from Sendou village, a rural area outside Dakar. A total of 90 foods and beverages were identified and classified into 11 groups. Sixty-five percent of foods identified could be classified as meats, grains, or fruits/vegetables. Fruits and vegetables comprised 42% (38/90) of all foods; meats 12% (11/90); and grains 11% (10/90). Sauces (6%, 5/90), sweets (4%, 4/90), and desserts (4%, 4/90) were also reported. The most common fruits/vegetables reported were potato, carrot, mango, and lettuce; commonly reported grains were bread and rice; and commonly reported meats were fish, beef, and ox. There were no differences in reported daily intake of each food by age, ethnicity, education, or residence. Most foods reported were traditional to the Senegalese diet, despite the increasing availability of Western foods in Senegal.

Spot urine sodium measurements do not accurately estimate dietary sodium intake in chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Sodium intake influences blood pressure and proteinuria, yet the impact on long-term outcomes is uncertain in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Accurate assessment is essential for clinical and public policy recommendations, but few large-scale studies use 24-h urine collections. Recent studies that used spot urine sodium and associated estimating equations suggest that they may provide a suitable alternative, but their accuracy in patients with CKD is unknown. OBJECTIVE: We compared the accuracy of 4 equations [the Nerbass, INTERSALT (International Cooperative Study on Salt, Other Factors, and Blood Pressure), Tanaka, and Kawasaki equations] that use spot urine sodium to estimate 24-h sodium excretion in patients with moderate to advanced CKD. DESIGN: We evaluated the accuracy of spot urine sodium to predict mean 24-h urine sodium excretion over 9 mo in 129 participants with stage 3-4 CKD. Spot morning urine sodium was used in 4 estimating equations. Bias, precision, and accuracy were assessed and compared across each equation. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 67 y, 52% were female, and the mean estimated glomerular filtration rate was 31 ± 9 mL · min(-1) · 1.73 m(-2) The mean ± SD number of 24-h urine collections was 3.5 ± 0.8/participant, and the mean 24-h sodium excretion was 168.2 ± 67.5 mmol/d. Although the Tanaka equation demonstrated the least bias (mean: -8.2 mmol/d), all 4 equations had poor precision and accuracy. The INTERSALT equation demonstrated the highest accuracy but derived an estimate only within 30% of mean measured sodium excretion in only 57% of observations. Bland-Altman plots revealed systematic bias with the Nerbass, INTERSALT, and Tanaka equations, underestimating sodium excretion when intake was high. CONCLUSION: These findings do not support the use of spot urine specimens to estimate dietary sodium intake in patients with CKD and research studies enriched with patients with CKD. The parent data for this study come from a clinical trial that was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00785629.

Scanning for new evidence to prioritize updates to the Dietary Reference Intakes: case studies for thiamin and phosphorus.

BACKGROUND: Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are fundamental to inform national nutrition policy. However, a regular systematic review of the 51 nutrients that have DRIs has limited feasibility, and many DRIs have not been reviewed in >15 y. OBJECTIVE: To address this issue, individuals (nutrient review group) who were members of the Food and Nutrition Board developed a streamlined, evidence-based methodology that could be used to identify nutrients potentially in need of a systematic review. DESIGN: The proposed methodology, termed an evidence scan, comprises several steps. First, an analytic framework is developed to identify markers of associations between intake of a nutrient and a corresponding clinical outcome. Next, the framework is used to direct the identification of keywords for a scan of published research that is potentially relevant to intake requirements or upper intake levels for a nutrient. Last, a panel of content experts selects the abstracts that are likely to be relevant and reviews the full publications. The results may be used to determine whether a revision of the nutrient's DRI is an immediate priority but would not supplant a comprehensive systematic evidence review. RESULTS: To illustrate the process, 2 nutrients were selected as case studies: thiamin and phosphorus (DRIs were last set in 1998 and 1997, respectively). Using the evidence scan for thiamin, we identified 70 potentially relevant abstracts, of which 9 full publications were reviewed. For phosphorus, 127 potentially relevant abstracts were identified, and 29 full publications were reviewed. CONCLUSIONS: From the review of these 2 nutrients, the nutrient review group concluded that there was insufficient new evidence to assign a high priority to a comprehensive systematic review for either thiamin or phosphorus. Evidence scanning is an efficient method of identifying DRI nutrients that are most in need of either a new or an updated systematic review.

The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report: Development and Major Conclusions.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) is published every 5 y jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the USDA and provides a framework for US-based food and nutrition programs, health promotion and disease prevention initiatives, and research priorities. Summarized in this report are the methods, major conclusions, and recommendations of the Scientific Report of the 2015 US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC). Early in the process, the DGAC developed a conceptual model and formulated questions to examine nutritional risk and determinants and impact of dietary patterns in relation to numerous health outcomes among individuals aged ≥2 y. As detailed in the report, an expansive, transparent, and comprehensive process was used to address each question, with multiple opportunities for public input included. Consensus was reached on all DGAC's findings, including each conclusion and recommendation, and the entire report. When research questions were answered by original systematic literature reviews and/or with existing, high-quality expert reports, the quality and strength of the evidence was formally graded. The report was organized around the following 5 themes: 1) food and nutrient intakes and health: current status and trends; 2) dietary patterns, foods and nutrients, and health outcomes; 3) diet and physical activity behavior change; 4) food and physical activity environments; and 5) food sustainability and food safety. The following 3 cross-cutting topics were addressed: 1) sodium, 2) saturated fat, and 3) added sugars. Physical activity recommendations from recent expert reports were endorsed. The overall quality of the American diet was assessed to identify overconsumed and underconsumed nutrients of public health concern. Common food characteristics of healthy dietary patterns were determined. Features of effective interventions to change individual and population diet and physical activity behaviors in clinical, public health, and community settings were identified. The report was used by the HHS and the USDA to develop the 2015 DGA.