Association of dietary pattern and body weight with blood pressure in Jiangsu Province, China.

BACKGROUND: To identify risk factors, associations between dietary patterns, body mass index (BMI), and hypertension in a Chinese population. METHODS: Dietary intake was assessed in 2518 adults by a 3-day 24 h recall and a food frequency questionnaire. Salt and oil intake was assessed by weighing records. Four dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis. Overweight and obesity was determined according to the Chinese cut-offs for BMI. High blood pressure was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg. Prevalence ratios (PR) were calculated using Poisson regression. RESULTS: Of the subjects, 26.7% had high blood pressure. Subjects with overweight and obesity were more likely to have high blood pressure than those with normal weight (PR, 95% CI: 1.60, 1.40-1.87; 2.45, 2.11-2.85, respectively). Subjects with a 'traditional' dietary pattern were more likely to have high blood pressure (P for trend = 0.001), whereas those with a 'macho' or 'sweet tooth' dietary pattern were less likely to have high blood pressure (P for trend = 0.004 and <0.001, respectively). More than half of the population had salt intakes > 9 g/d, and blood pressure increased with salt intake (P for trend <0.001). Subjects with a 'traditional' dietary pattern had the highest salt intake (12.3 g/d). CONCLUSION: A traditional dietary pattern is associated with high blood pressure among the population of Jiangsu Province, which may be mainly due to high salt intake. Moreover, high BMI is an important determinant of high blood pressure. Both issues need to be addressed by lifestyle interventions.

Dietary pattern and weight change in a 5-year follow-up among Chinese adults: results from the Jiangsu Nutrition Study.

The aim of the present study was to examine the association between dietary patterns and weight change prospectively. We followed up 1231 adults aged 20 years and older (mean age 49·3 years) from 2002 to 2007. Food intake was assessed at baseline by an FFQ. Factor analysis was used to identify dietary patterns. Nutrient intake was measured by food weighing plus consecutive individual 3 d food records. Body weight and height were measured. The mean 5-year weight gain among all participants was 0·8 (sd 4·7) kg. The mean weight changes across quartiles of the 'traditional' pattern (rice, fresh vegetables, pork and wheat flour) were 2·0, 0·6, 0·6 and 0·0 kg. The corresponding values were 0·4, 0·5, 0·7 and 1·6 kg across quartiles of the 'vegetable-rich' pattern. No significant association between the 'macho' dietary pattern (meat and alcohol), the 'sweet tooth' pattern (drinks and cake) and weight gain was found. In multivariate linear regression, using the first quartile as the reference, participants in the highest quartile of the 'traditional' pattern had a ß of - 2·18 (95 % CI - 2·91, - 1·45) for weight gain. However, the ß from weight change of the highest quartile of the 'vegetable-rich' pattern was 1·00 (95 % CI 0·25, 1·74). In conclusion, the 'traditional' dietary pattern was negatively and the 'vegetable-rich' pattern was positively associated with weight gain in Chinese adults.

Zinc biofortification of rice in China: a simulation of zinc intake with different dietary patterns.

A cross-sectional survey of 2819 adults aged 20 years and above was undertaken in 2002 in Jiangsu Province. Zinc intake was assessed using a consecutive 3-day 24-h dietary recall method. Insufficient and excess intake was determined according to the Chinese Dietary Recommended Intakes. Four distinct dietary patterns were identified namely "traditional", "macho", "sweet tooth", and "healthy". Intake of zinc from biofortified rice was simulated at an intermediate zinc concentration (2.7 mg/100 g) and a high zinc concentration (3.8 mg/100 g) in rice. Average total zinc intake was 12.0 ± 3.7 mg/day, and insufficiency of zinc intake was present in 15.4%. Simulated zinc intake from biofortified rice with intermediate and high zinc concentration decreased the prevalence of low zinc intake to 6.5% and 4.4%, respectively. The effect was most pronounced in the "traditional" pattern, with only 0.7% of insufficiency of zinc intake remaining in the highest quartile of the pattern. Zinc intake was inversely associated with the "sweet tooth" pattern. Zinc biofortifed rice improves dietary zinc intake and lowers risk for insufficient zinc intake, especially for subjects with a more "traditional" food pattern, but less for subjects with a "sweet tooth" food pattern.

Monosodium glutamate intake, dietary patterns and asthma in Chinese adults.

OBJECTIVES: Emerging evidence shows that diet is related to asthma. The aim of this analysis was to investigate the association between monosodium glutamate (MSG) intake, overall dietary patterns and asthma. METHODS: Data from 1486 Chinese men and women who participated in the Jiangsu Nutrition Study (JIN) were analyzed. In this study, MSG intake and dietary patterns were quantitatively assessed in 2002. Information on asthma history was collected during followed-up in 2007. RESULTS: Of the sample, 1.4% reported ever having asthma. MSG intake was not positively associated with asthma. There was a significant positive association between 'traditional' (high loadings on rice, wheat flour, and vegetable) food pattern and asthma. No association between 'macho' (rich in meat and alcohol), 'sweet tooth' (high loadings on cake, milk, and yoghurt) 'vegetable rich' (high loadings on whole grain, fruit, and vegetable) food patterns and asthma was found. Smoking and overweight were not associated with asthma in the sample. CONCLUSION: While a 'Traditional' food pattern was positively associated with asthma among Chinese adults, there was no significant association between MSG intake and asthma.

Association between dietary patterns and anaemia in adults from Jiangsu Province in Eastern China.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the association between food patterns and anaemia among Chinese adults. It was a cross-sectional household survey undertaken in 2002. The sample contained 2849 men and women aged 20 years and above, and had a response rate of 89.0 %. Factor analysis was used to identify food patterns based on a food-frequency questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to relate food patterns to anaemia. A four-factor solution explained 30.5 % of the total variance. After adjusting for socio-demographic factors and four distinct food patterns, the 'traditional' (rice, vegetable, wheat flour), 'sweet tooth' (drinks, cake) and 'healthy' (whole grains, fruits, vegetables) patterns were independently associated with anaemia. 'Traditional' and 'sweet tooth' patterns were positively associated with anaemia, whereas the association with 'healthy' food pattern was negative. No association was observed between the 'macho' pattern (meat and alcohol) and anaemia. Compared with the lowest quartile (Q1) of the 'traditional' pattern, the highest quartile (Q4) had a higher risk of anaemia (men: odds ratio (OR) 2.60, 95 % CI 1.38, 4.88; women: OR 3.40, 95 % CI 2.14, 5.39). For the 'sweet tooth' pattern, compared with the lowest quartile (Q1), the OR of the highest quartile was 2.34 (95 % CI 1.47, 3.73) for men and 2.02 (95 %CI 1.31, 3.13) for women. The fourth quartile of healthy food was associated with a lower risk of anaemia (men: OR 0.50, 95 % CI 0.31, 0.79; women: OR 0.51, 95 % CI 0.34, 0.75). Women in the north had a higher risk of anaemia (OR 2.49, 95 %CI 1.80, 3.43). Food patterns were associated with anaemia in this area with a high prevalence of anaemia.