Mediterranean diet and a health behavior index in relation to cardiovascular biomarkers: Data from the Health and Retirement Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Although lifestyle factors have been repeatedly examined for their role on cardiovascular diseases, their composite effect has not been frequently explored. We aimed to investigate the relation of dietary patterns (DPs) and a health behavior index (HBI) with cardiovascular biomarkers. METHODS AND RESULTS: A cross-sectional analysis with data from 3461 US residents, participants in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), was performed. Nutritional data were obtained with a food frequency questionnaire, while adherence to Mediterranean Diet (MD) was determined by the Mediterranean Diet Score. A posteriori DPs were estimated using principal component analysis and the HBI was constructed combining adherence to MD, smoking status, physical activity levels, alcohol consumption and body mass index. Multiple linear regression models were performed to examine the relation between DPs or HBI and levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C), cystatin C (Cys C), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL) and TC:HDL in blood. Multiple linear regression showed that the "healthy" DP and the MD had a significant negative association with CRP and Cys C (p < 0.05), while the "Western-type" DP had a significant positive association with TC:HDL ratio, CRP and Cys C. Moreover, the HBI was positively associated with HDL (p < 0.05) and negatively associated with TC:HDL ratio, CRP and Cys C (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to MD and to a healthy dietary pattern was negatively associated with biomarkers of inflammation, while the HBI was associated with a better cardiometabolic profile, assessed with blood biomarkers.

Young Artistic Gymnasts Drink Ad Libitum Only Half of Their Fluid Lost during Training, but More Fluid Intake Does Not Influence Performance.

To examine the effect of the fluid balance on and performance in young artistic gymnasts during training under ad libitum and prescribed fluid intake conditions, eleven males (12.3 ± 2.6 years, mean ± SD) performed two 3 h identical training sessions. Participants ingested, in a random order, water equivalent to either 50% (LV) or 150% (HV) of their fluid loss. After the 3 h training, the gymnasts performed program routines on three apparatuses. The pre-exercise urine specific gravity (USG) was similar between conditions (LV: 1.018 ± 0.007 vs. HV: 1.015 ± 0.007; p = 0.09), while the post-exercise USG was lower in the HV condition (LV: 1.017 ± 0.006 vs. HV: 1.002 ± 0.003; p < 0.001). Fluid loss corresponding to percentage of body mass was higher in the LV condition (1.2 ± 0.5%) compared to the HV condition (0.4 ± 0.8%) (p = 0.02); however, the sums of the score performances were not different (LV: 26.17 ± 2.04 vs. HV: 26.05 ± 2.00; p = 0.57). Ingesting fluid equivalent to about 50% of the fluid lost, which was the amount that was drunk ad libitum during training, maintained short-term hydration levels and avoided excessive dehydration in artistic preadolescent and adolescent gymnasts. A higher amount of fluid, equivalent to about 1.5 times the fluid loss, did not provide an additional performance benefit.

Adherence to Mediterranean Diet Is Associated With Lung Function in Older Adults: Data From the Health and Retirement Study.

Objective: The aim of this work was to examine the association between adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MD) and lung function in older adults.Design: This was an observational and cross-sectional study.Setting: This research was conducted among community-dwelling older adults from the 2014 Health and Retirement Study (HRS).Subjects: Subjects were 2108 adults aged 50 years or older, 1234 (58.5%) of whom were female.Measures: Dietary intakes from respondents of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) were used for the current analysis. Adherence to MD was evaluated using the MedDietScore, while lung function was evaluated through peak expiratory flow rate (PEF; l/min). Multiple linear regression and logistic regression were performed, adjusted for potential confounders, to examine the relation between adherence to MD and lung function.Results: Mean MedDietScore was 28.0 (± 5.0), indicating a moderate adherence to MD. Multiple linear regression showed a significant association between the MedDietScore and lung function (ß = 0.072, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.039-0.104) after adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, race, comorbidities, education, height, grip strength, smoking history, physical activity, and daily caloric intake. Specific food groups such as grains, dairy products, and fish consumption were also associated with PEF rate (p < 0.05). Logistic regression confirmed these findings, and high adherence to MD was associated with reduced risk of having PEF rate < 80% of its peak predictive value (odds ratio: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.48-0.89).Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that adherence to MD is an independent predictor of lung function in older adults, and dietary interventions could be a possible preventive measure in adults with a high risk of developing lung function decline.

Development and validation of two anthropometric models estimating abdominal fat percentage in Greek adult women and men.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Abdominal obesity is associated with adverse health implications. However, the assessment of abdominal adiposity is either indirect, like in the case of waist circumference measurement, or difficult in daily clinical practice, like in the case of using reference methods such as computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, etc. The aim of the current study was to develop and validate, using DXA as reference method, two easy and simple to use protocols, that estimate abdominal fat mass percentage (%AFM) in Greek females and males respectively, based on simple anthropometric measurements. METHODS: Circumferences and skinfolds were obtained from 709 Caucasian adults (437 women and 272 men) in order to develop and validate the two equations. The validation and the reliability of the equations were examined with Bland-Altman analysis and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: The equations were: for females, %AFM = -121,368 - (17,322 × Height(m)) + (76,452 × log Abdominal Circumference(cm)) + (18,341 × log Suprailiac Skinfold(mm)) + (8802 × log Abdominal Skinfold(mm)), for males, %AFM = -174,117 - (15,247 × Height(m))+ (104,503 × log Abdominal Circumference(cm)) + (9907 × log Suprailiac Skinfold(mm)) + (7971 × log Abdominal Skinfold(mm)). The equations had no significant bias (0,203% and 0,406%, respectively), acceptable limits of agreement (±9.358% and ±8.780%, respectively) and high reliability (0,940 and 0,957, respectively). CONCLUSION: Both equations were found to be valid and reliable for Greek population. Therefore, the utilization of these equations for abdominal fat assessment could be an alternative of labor-intensive, expensive and time-consuming reference methods.

Assessing performance in pre-season wrestling athletes using biomarkers.

INTRODUCTION: Although regular training introduces the desired changes in athletes' metabolism towards optimal final performance, literature is rarely focusing on the metabolic responses off-competition. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate biochemical indices during typical preseason training in wrestling athletes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty male freestyle and Greco-roman wrestlers (14 to 31 years) followed a typical session of the preparatory phase. Capillary blood glucose and lactate concentrations were assessed immediately before and after training. Protein, microalbumin, creatinine and their ratio were estimated the next day in the first morning urine. RESULTS: Pre-training lactate concentrations were lower in Greco-roman than in freestyle wrestlers (1.8 (1.4 - 2.1) vs. 2.9 (2.1 - 3.1) mmol/L). Exertion resulted in a significant increase in lactate concentrations, by 3.2 (2.6 - 4.1) mmol/L in Greco-roman wrestlers and 4.5 (3.4 - 5.3) mmol/L in freestylers. These changes were found to correlate with athlete's sport experience (rs = 0.71, P < 0.001). Glucose concentrations were also significantly increased by 0.5 (0.1 - 0.8) mmol/L, in correlation with lactate change (rs = 0.49, P = 0.003). Twelve subjects exhibited urine albumin concentrations at 30 mg/L, and thirteen creatinine concentrations around 17.7 mmol/L. The corresponding ratio was found abnormal in 4 cases, especially when creatinine excretion and body fat were low. CONCLUSIONS: Wrestling training is associated with mobilization of both lactic and alactic anaerobic energy systems. The regular comprehensive monitoring of biochemical markers would be advantageous in determining the efficiency of the preparatory phase and the long-term physiological adaptations towards the competition phase, or athlete's overtraining.