Coffee consumption is not related to the metabolic syndrome at the age of 36 years: the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Coffee consumption has been postulated to decrease the risk of diabetes mellitus type II. The long-term effects of coffee consumption on the metabolic syndrome (MS) and its components are unknown. This study investigated the relationship of long-term coffee consumption between the age of 27 and 36 years with the prevalence of the MS at the age of 36 years. SUBJECT/METHODS: Data on coffee consumption and the MS components were derived from a healthy sample of 174 men and 194 women followed up from the age of 27 years onwards. Data analysis was performed with the use of generalized estimating equations and regression analysis. RESULTS: At the age of 36 years, the prevalence of the MS was 10.1%. The growth of coffee consumption did not differ significantly between subjects with or without the MS or its components. Regression analyses showed that one cup day(-1) higher coffee consumption was related to 0.11 mm Hg lower mean arterial blood pressure (P=0.03), 0.02 mg 100 ml(-1) higher triglyceride level (P=0.57), 0.04 mg 100 ml(-1) higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (P=0.35), 0.09% higher HbA(1c) (P=0.12) and 0.02 cm larger waist circumference (P=0.57). After adjustment for physical activity, energy intake, smoking behaviour and alcohol consumption, none of the relationships between coffee consumption and the MS or its components was significant. CONCLUSIONS: Coffee consumption is not associated with the MS or its components in a healthy sample followed up for 9 years.

A 15-year physical activity pattern is positively related to aerobic fitness in young males and females (13-27 years).

The purpose of this paper is to test the hypothesis that daily physical activity over a period of 15 years has been beneficial to aerobic fitness in young male and female participants (13-27 years) in the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study. Only subjects with the maximal data of six sets of measurements were included (83 male and 98 female participants). Daily physical activity was assessed using a standardized interview on activity and expressed as a weighted activity score. Aerobic fitness was assessed using a maximal running test on a treadmill and measuring the maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and the maximal slope of the track (Smax). To assess the longitudinal relationship between daily physical activity and aerobic fitness a real longitudinal analysis was carried out with generalized estimating equations, adjusting for differences in initial aerobic fitness at age 13, and for other lifestyle (dietary intake, smoking and alcohol consumption) and biological parameters (biological age, body fat, blood pressure and concentration of serum cholesterol). A significant relationship (P < 0.01) was observed between daily physical activity and both VO2max and Smax. It can be concluded that the development of aerobic fitness between the age of 13 and 27 years is independently and positively related to daily physical activity in this group of male and female participants in the study. The functional implications, however, are small: a relatively high increase in the weighted physical activity score of 30% over a period of 15 years results in a 2%-5% increase in aerobic fitness.

Blood cholesterol levels of 32-year-old alcohol consumers are better than of nonconsumers.

Blood cholesterol levels are expected to be important factors in the causal pathway between alcohol consumption and CHD. The relation between alcohol consumption and blood cholesterol levels is investigated in 130 men and 145 women aged 32.4 years old (+/-1.0), from the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study. When controlled for gender, cholesterol levels at age 13.1 years, and lifestyle at adult age (smoking, physical activity, dietary habits), no significant differences were found for total cholesterol (TC) levels between alcohol consumers and nonconsumers. Serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels were 0.12 mmol/l higher in subjects consuming >/=100 grams of alcohol per week than in nonconsumers (p < 0.05). Regression coefficients of subjects consuming 10 to 50, or 50 to 100 g alcohol per week did not differ statistically from those of nonconsumers. The positive relation between alcohol consumption and serum HDL was modified by smoking (found in nonsmokers, but not in smokers). No differences between beer, wine, and spirits were found for their relation with serum HDL. In conclusion, 32.4-year-old nonsmoking subjects who consumed >/=100 g of alcohol per week had improved HDL levels compared with nonconsumers, whereas the protective effect of drinking smaller amounts of alcohol did not reach statistical significance.