Source-specific nitrate and nitrite intakes and associations with sociodemographic factors in the Danish Diet Cancer and Health cohort.

Background: The dietary source and intake levels of nitrate and nitrite may govern its deleterious versus beneficial effects on human health. Existing evidence on detailed source-specific intake is limited. The objectives of this study were to assess nitrate and nitrite intakes from different dietary sources (plant-based foods, animal-based foods, and water), characterize the background diets of participants with low and high intakes, and investigate how sociodemographic and lifestyle factors associate with intake levels. Methods: In the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health Cohort, sociodemographic and lifestyle information was obtained from participants at enrolment (1993-1997). Source-dependent nitrate and nitrite intakes were calculated using comprehensive food composition databases, with tap water nitrate intakes estimated via the national drinking water quality monitoring database linked with participants' residential addresses from 1978 to 2016. Underlying dietary patterns were examined using radar plots comparing high to low consumers while sociodemographic predictors of source-dependent nitrate intakes were investigated using linear regression models. Results: In a Danish cohort of 55,754 participants aged 50-65 at enrolment, the median [IQR] intakes of dietary nitrate and nitrite were 58.13 [44.27-74.90] mg/d and 1.79 [1.43-2.21] mg/d, respectively. Plant-based foods accounted for ~76% of nitrate intake, animal-based foods ~10%, and water ~5%. Nitrite intake was sourced roughly equally from plants and animals. Higher plant-sourced nitrate intake was associated with healthier lifestyles, better dietary patterns, more physical activity, higher education, lower age and lower BMI. Females and participants who had never smoked also had significantly higher plant-sourced nitrate intakes. Higher water-sourced nitrate intake was linked to sociodemographic risk factors (smoking, obesity, lower education). Patterns for animal-sourced nitrate were less clear. Conclusion: Participants with higher plant-sourced nitrate intakes tend to be healthier while participants with higher water-sourced nitrate intakes tended to be unhealthier than their low consuming counterparts. Future research in this cohort should account for the sociodemographic and dietary predictors of source-specific nitrate intake we have identified.

Physical Work Demands of Childcare Workers in Denmark: Device-Based Measurements and Workplace Observations Among 199 Childcare Workers from 16 Day Nurseries.

OBJECTIVES: Childcare workers in Denmark have high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain (MSP) and sickness absence, but the existing knowledge of their physical work demands is limited, hampering preventive initiatives. This study aimed to assess the physical work demands with accelerometers and workplace observations of childcare workers handling children age 0-3. METHODS: Data collection consisted of an electronic survey, anthropometric measurements, accelerometer measurements providing information of physical activity types and postures with Acti4 software from five consecutive workdays, as well as 4-h visual workplace observation per childcare worker from 16 Danish nurseries. RESULTS: In total, 199 childcare workers were enrolled in the study. A total of 4181 working hours of accelerometer measurements and 722 h of workplace observations were carried out. Accelerometer measurements showed that they spent about half of the working day (44.8%) in sedentary postures, and the rest standing (22.8%), moving (13.0%), walking (14.6%), running (0.1%), and climbing stairs (0.7%), with 4.1% in knee straining postures (kneeling and squatting) and 4.3% forward trunk inclination >60°. Workplace observations showed that they carried children 1.8% of the working hours. CONCLUSIONS: Physical work demands of Danish childcare workers are characterized by about half of the workday being sedentary, and the remaining of the workday being quite evenly distributed between standing and dynamic activities, with low exposures to carrying children. Their exposure to forward bending of the trunk and knee straining postures could impose a risk for MSP and sickness absence, and preventive initiatives should be considered.

Light-intensity physical activity derived from count or activity types is differently associated with adiposity markers.

AIM: The aim of this study was to compare the association between count- and activity type-based definitions of light-intensity physical activity (LIPA) and adiposity markers. METHODS: A total of 516 Danish workers participated in 1-4 days of hip- and thigh-based accelerometer measurements. Three definitions of average daily time spent in LIPA were derived: LIPA (1) time spent between 100 and 2029 CPM, LIPA (2) time spent moving and slow walking, and LIPA (3) time spent moving, walking slow, and standing. Adiposity markers were body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, and waist circumference. The cross-sectional association between the three LIPA definitions and adiposity markers was analyzed and interpreted using compositional regression models followed by reallocation of time between LIPA, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and sedentary behavior (SB), respectively. RESULTS: The geometric means of daily time (min/day) spent in LIPA 1, LIPA 2, and LIPA 3 were 326, 102, and 274, respectively. We found the direction and strength of the association between the relative importance of daily time spent in LIPA and the adiposity markers to depend on the LIPA definition. For example, reallocating 30 minutes from MVPA to LIPA 1, LIPA 2 and LIPA 3 were associated with a 2.97 (95% CI: 0.68; 5.27), -0.71 (95% CI: -1.43; 0.02), and -0.45 (95% CI: -1.01; 0.11) difference in BMI, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the need for caution when comparing results from studies using different definitions of LIPA.