Grain Subtype and the Combination of Grains Consumed Are Associated with the Risk of Metabolic Syndrome: Analysis of a Community-Based Prospective Cohort.

BACKGROUND: Evidence on the prospective association between grain consumption and metabolic syndrome (MetS) is lacking. OBJECTIVE: This study explored the association between grain intake by subtype or various combinations of grain intake and the risk of developing MetS in South Korean adults using data from a community-based prospective cohort study. METHODS: A total of 5717 participants (2984 men and 2733 women) aged 40-69 y without MetS were followed up for 10 y (2001-2012). Grain consumption was assessed using a semiquantitative FFQ at baseline (2001-2002) and a follow-up examination (2005-2006). A multivariate Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine the risk of incident MetS and its components according to grain consumption (<1, 1 to <3, or ≥3 servings/d) by sex. RESULTS: In total, 2218 participants (38.8%) developed MetS. Frequent consumers of whole grains (≥3 servings/d) had a lower risk of incident MetS (men-HR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.41, 0.63; P  = 0.0001; women-HR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.60, 0.90; P = 0.0029), whereas frequent consumers of refined grains had a higher risk of incident MetS (men-HR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.31, 2.03; P < 0.0001; women-HR: 2.25; 95% CI: 1.82, 2.78; P < 0.0001) compared with rare consumers (<1 serving/d). The combination of low whole grains (<2 servings/d) and high refined grains (≥2 servings/d) was associated with a higher risk of MetS than the combination of high whole grains and low refined grains (men-HR: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.41; P = 0.012; women-HR: 1.43; 95% CI: 1.23, 1.66; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Higher consumption of whole grains was associated with lower risk of incident MetS, whereas higher refined-grain consumption was associated with a higher risk in a middle-aged and older Korean population.

Egg consumption is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes in middle-aged and older men.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This prospective study examined gender-specific associations between egg intake and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes using data from a large-scale cohort study. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 7,002 Korean adults (40-69 years) without type 2 diabetes at baseline were analyzed. Dietary intake was evaluated by a food frequency questionnaire administered at baseline (2001-2002) and the second follow-up examination (2005-2006). Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed as a fasting glucose concentration ≥ 126 mg/dL or current use of glucose-lowering medications or insulin injection. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident type 2 diabetes according to egg consumption or cholesterol intake. RESULTS: During a 14-year follow up period, 857 subjects developed type 2 diabetes. In men, frequent egg intake (2- < 4 servings/week) was associated with a 40% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than infrequent egg intake (0- < 1 serving/week) (HR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.37-0.97), whereas no association between egg intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes was observed in women (HR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.27-1.37). There was no association between cholesterol intake and risk of incident type 2 diabetes in either men or women. CONCLUSIONS: Egg consumption was inversely related to the risk of incident type 2 diabetes in men, but not in women, suggesting gender differences in the relationship between diet and disease risk.

Association between Dietary Pattern and Incidence of Cholesterolemia in Korean Adults: The Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study.

We examined the gender-specific association between dietary pattern and risk of developing cholesterolemia based on the data from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology study. A total of 7515 individuals aged 40-69 years participated in this study between 2005 and 2010. Dietary intake was assessed by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Low HDL cholesterolemia was defined as a plasma HDL-C level <1.04 mmol/L (men) or <1.30 mmol/L (women), and high LDL cholesterolemia was defined as a plasma LDL-C level >3.37 mmol/L. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the risk for incident cholesterolemia according to dietary pattern score. Four dietary patterns were derived by gender using factor analysis: prudent pattern; coffee, fat, and sweet pattern; whole grain (men) or white rice and noodle (women) pattern; and westernized pattern. A prudent pattern was inversely associated with risk of low HDL cholesterolemia in both men (Hazard ratio (HR) = 0.76, p for trend = 0.0098) and women (HR = 0.78, p for trend = 0.0324), whereas the coffee, fat, and sweet pattern was positively associated with risk of high LDL cholesterolemia in men only (HR = 1.26, p for trend = 0.0254) after adjustment for potential confounders. Specific dietary patterns were associated with risk of developing cholesterolemia suggesting gender differences.