Development of a diet quality score and adherence to the Swiss dietary recommendations for vegans.

BACKGROUND: Vegan diets have recently gained popularity in Switzerland as well as globally. The aim of the present study was to develop a diet quality score for vegans (DQS-V) based on the Swiss dietary recommendations for vegans. METHODS: The dataset included 52 healthy vegan adults. Dietary intake data were assessed by three-day weighed food records. Body weight and height were measured, and a venous blood sample for the analysis of vitamin and mineral status was collected. Spearman rank correlation coefficients were used due to not-normally distributed data. Dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis (PCA). RESULTS: The DQS-V score (mean ± SD) was 48.9 ± 14.7. Most vegans adhered to the recommended portions of vegetables, vitamin C-rich vegetables, fruits, omega-3-rich nuts, fats and oils, and iodized salt. However, the intake of green leafy vegetables, vitamin C-rich fruits, wholegrains, legumes, nuts and seeds, selenium-rich nuts, zero caloric liquid, and calcium-fortified foods was suboptimal. The sample overconsumed sweet-, salty-, fried foods, and alcohol. The DQS-V had a significantly positive correlation with intakes of fibre, polyunsaturated fatty acids, potassium, zinc, and phosphorus intakes (p's < 0.05) but was negatively correlated with vitamin B12 and niacin intakes (p's < 0.05). Two dietary patterns were derived from PCA: 1) refined grains and sweets and 2) wholegrains and nuts. The correlation between the DQS-V and the first dietary pattern was negative (- 0.41, p = 0.004) and positive for the second dietary pattern (0.37, p = 0.01). The refined grains and sweets dietary pattern was inversely correlated with beta-carotene status (- 0.41, p = 0.004) and vitamin C status (r = - 0.51, p = 0.0002). CONCLUSION: The newly developed DQS-V provides a single score for estimating diet quality among vegan adults. Further validation studies examining the DQS-V in relation to an independent dietary assessment method and to biomarkers of nutritional intake and status are still needed before the general application of the DQS-V.

Clinical Validation of the Intermediate-risk Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer Scoring System and Substratification Model Proposed by the International Bladder Cancer Group: A Multicenter Young Academic Urologists Urothelial Working Group Collaboration.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Intermediate-risk (IR) non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) encompasses a broad spectrum of disease, with heterogeneous outcomes in terms of disease recurrence and progression. The International Bladder Cancer Group (IBCG) recently proposed an updated scoring model for IR substratification that is based on five key risk factors. Our aim was to provide a clinical validation of the IBCG scoring system and substratification model for IR NMIBC. METHODS: This was an international multicenter retrospective study. Patients diagnosed with IR NMIBC between 2012 and 2022 and treated with transurethral resection of the bladder and adjuvant intravesical chemotherapy were included. According to the presence or absence of risk factors, patients with IR NMIBC were further categorized in IR-low (no risk factors), IR-intermediate (1-2 risk factors), and IR-high (≥3 risk factors) groups. The 1-yr and 3-yr rates for recurrence-free survival (RFS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated for each subgroup. Cox regression analyses were used to compare oncological outcomes between the groups. KEY FINDINGS AND LIMITATIONS: Of the 677 patients with IR NMIBC included in the study, 231 (34%), 364 (54%), and 82 (12%) were categorized in the IR-low, IR-intermediate, and IR-high groups, respectively. There were significant differences in RFS and PFS rates between these groups. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: We provide the first clinical validation of the IBCG scoring system and model for substratification of IR NMIBC. PATIENT SUMMARY: Our study demonstrates that patients with intermediate-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer can be correctly classified into three distinct subgroups according to their risk of both disease recurrence and progression. Our results support use of this scoring system in clinical practice.