Nutrition Research and Practice最新文献

Background/objectives: Prior studies, mostly conducted in Western countries, have suggested that the low cost of energy-dense foods is associated with an increased risk of obesity. This study aimed to investigate the association between food costs and obesity risk among Koreans who may have different food cost and dietary patterns than those of Western populations.

Subjects/methods: We used baseline data from a cohort of 45,193 men and 83,172 women aged 40-79 years (in 2006-2013). Dietary intake information was collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Prudent and Western dietary patterns extracted via principal component analysis. Food cost was calculated based on Korean government data and market prices. Logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the association of daily total, prudent, and Western food cost per calorie with obesity.

Results: Men in the highest total food cost quintile had 15% higher odds of obesity, after adjusting for demographic characteristics and lifestyle factors (adjusted odds ratio, 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.22; P-trend < 0.001); however, this association was not clear in women (P-trend = 0.765). While both men and women showed positive associations between prudent food cost and obesity (P-trends < 0.001), the association between Western food cost and obesity was only significant in men (P-trend < 0.001).

Conclusions: In countries in which consumption of Western foods is associated with higher food costs, higher food costs are associated with an increased risk of obesity; however, this association differs between men and women.

Background/objectives: Maintaining total muscle mass in the older adults with swallowing difficulty (dysphagia) is important for preserving swallowing function. Increasing protein intake can help sustain lean body mass in the older adults. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of various high-protein texture-modified foods (HPTMFs) on muscle mass and perform dietary assessment in ≥ 65-yrs-old patients with dysphagia.

Subjects/methods: Participants (n = 10) received the newly developed HPTMFs (average 595.23 ± 66.75 kcal/day of energy, 54.22 ± 6.32 g/day of protein) for 10 days. Relative hand-grip strength (RHS), mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), body composition, mini nutritional assessment (MNA), mini dietary assessment (MDA), and Euro Quality-of-Life questionnaire 5-dimensional classification (EQ-5D) were assessed.

Results: After 10 days, an increase in MUAC (26.36 ± 2.35 cm to 28.50 ± 3.17 cm, P = 0.013) and RHS (0.38 ± 0.24 kg/kg body weight to 0.42 ± 0.22 kg/kg body weight, P = 0.046) was observed. Although MNA, MDA, EQ-5D, subjective health status, muscle mass, and calf circumference showed a tendency to increase after intervention, no significant differences were found.

Conclusions: These results suggest that the HPTMFs can be used for improving the nutritional and health status in patients with dysphagia.

Background/objectives: Mitochondrial DNA leakage leads to inflammatory responses via endosome activation. This study aims to evaluate whether the perennial grass water extract (Pogonatherum panicum) ameliorate mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) leakage.

Materials/methods: The major bioactive constituents of P. paniceum (PPW) were investigated by high-performance liquid chromatography, after which their antioxidant activities were assessed. In addition, RAW 264.7 macrophages were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide, resulting in mitochondrial damage. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to examine the gene expression and cytokines.

Results: Our results showed that PPW extract-treated activated cells significantly decrease reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide levels by reducing the p22^phox and iNOS expression and lowering cytokine-encoding genes, including IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, PG-E2 and IFN-γ relative to the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated macrophages. Furthermore, we observed that LPS enhanced the mtDNA leaked into the cytoplasm, increasing the transcription of Tlr9 and signaling both MyD88/Irf7-dependent interferon and MyD88/NF-κb p65-dependent inflammatory cytokine mRNA expression but which was alleviated in the presence of PPW extract.

Conclusions: Our data show that PPW extract has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities by facilitating mtDNA leakage and lowering the Tlr9 expression and signaling activation.

Background/objectives: As peanuts germinate, the content of the components beneficial to health, such as resveratrol, increases within the peanut sprout. This study examined whether the ethanol extract of peanut sprout tea (PSTE) inhibits breast cancer growth and metastasis.

Materials/methods: After orthotopically injecting 4T1 cells into BALB/c mice to induce breast cancer, 0, 30, or 60 mg/kg body weight/day of PSTE was administered orally. Angiogenesis-related protein expression in the tumors and the degree of metastasis were analyzed. 4T1 and RAW 264.7 cells were co-cultured, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was performed to measure the crosstalk between breast cancer cells and macrophages.

Results: PSTE reduced tumor growth and lung metastasis. In particular, PSTE decreased matrix metalloproteinase-9, platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1, vascular endothelial growth factor-A, F4/80, CD11c, macrophage mannose receptor, macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 expression in the tumors. Moreover, PSTE prevented 4T1 cell migration, invasion, and macrophage activity in RAW 264.7 cells. PSTE inhibited the crosstalk between 4T1 cells and RAW 264.7 cells and promoted the macrophage M1 subtype while inhibiting the M2 subtype.

Conclusions: These results suggest that PSTE blocks breast cancer growth and metastasis to the lungs. This may be because the PSTE treatment inhibits the crosstalk between mammary cancer cells and macrophages and inhibits the differentiation of macrophages into the M2 subtype.

Background/objectives: This study aimed to examine whether the tailored home-delivered meal (HDM) services included nutrition counseling impacts alleviating self-rated frailty among low-income older adults in Korea.

Subjects/methods: Pre- and post-test were implemented on May 27 and on November 25 in 2019 during 3 weeks, respectively, before and after the 6 months intervention program. Participants completed a questionnaire measuring frailty, malnutrition, food security, depression, and underlying diseases. Initially, 136 older adults were selected as participants for this study, they were recipients of a free meal program from 2 senior welfare centers in Seoul, the final sample size of those who completed the intervention program was 117 (female 70.9%, male 29.1%). Statistical analyses were conducted with IBM SPSS package program, paired t-test and χ² test to validate the test.

Results: There were statistically significant differences in the score of the Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI) before and after receiving the tailored HDM services (pre-test 9.46, post-test 2.8, P < 0.01). The differences in the score of TFI by 3 risk groups at the pre-test decreased as a result of receiving these services.

Conclusions: The tailored HDM services alleviated the self-rated frailty of low-income older adults with limited mobility in a community setting. Based on the positive outcomes this study could be applied to developing social services for aging in place.

Background/objectives: Few studies have provided evidence of the association between diet quality and dental caries. This study aimed to examine the association between diet quality and untreated dental caries in a Korean representative population.

Subjects/methods: The study population included a sample of 13,815 participants, aged ≥ 19 from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey during 2013-2015. The explanatory variable was diet quality and the outcome variable was untreated dental caries. Untreated dental caries were defined by the number of decayed teeth recorded according to the criteria established by the World Health Organization. Diet quality was defined by using the Korean Healthy Eating Index (KHEI) through the 24-h recall methods. We assessed the association between diet quality and untreated dental caries while adjusting for age, sex, education, income, smoking status, dental visits, toothbrushing frequencies, obesity, and diabetes mellitus.

Results: The mean overall KHEI scores in the untreated dental caries group were significantly lower than those in the group without untreated dental caries. Significant differences were observed in the untreated dental caries group based on the KHEI quartiles (P < 0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, the quartiles of KHEI scores showed an association with untreated dental caries, demonstrating a dose-effect trend (odds ratio [OR], 1.57; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.35-1.84 for 1st quartile; OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.19-1.59 for 2nd quartile; OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.14-1.53 for 3rd quartile; reference quartile highest]).

Conclusions: The findings indicated an inverse association between diet quality and untreated dental caries in Korean adults. Healthcare providers should take into account the significant role of diet quality in preventing and managing oral health.

Background/objectives: Habitual coffee consumption was inversely associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and hyperglycemia in observational studies, but the causality of the association remains uncertain. This study tested a causal association of genetically predicted coffee consumption with T2D using the Mendelian randomization (MR) method.

Subjects/methods: We used five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as instrumental variables (IVs) associated with habitual coffee consumption in a previous genome-wide association study among Koreans. We analyzed the associations between IVs and T2D, fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2h-postprandial glucose (2h-PG), and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1C) levels. The MR results were further evaluated by standard sensitivity tests for possible pleiotropism.

Results: MR analysis revealed that increased genetically predicted coffee consumption was associated with a reduced prevalence of T2D; ORs per one-unit increment of log-transformed cup per day of coffee consumption ranged from 0.75 (0.62-0.90) for the weighted mode-based method to 0.79 (0.62-0.99) for Wald ratio estimator. We also used the inverse-variance-weighted method, weighted median-based method, MR-Egger method, and MR-PRESSO method. Similarly, genetically predicted coffee consumption was inversely associated with FBG and 2h-PG levels but not with HbA1c. Sensitivity measures gave similar results without evidence of pleiotropy.

Conclusions: A genetic predisposition to habitual coffee consumption was inversely associated with T2D prevalence and lower levels of FBG and 2h-PG profiles. Our study warrants further exploration.

Background/objectives: Metabolic syndrome is closely associated with lifestyle factors, including diet and nutritional intake. Modern trends show a shift in food consumption from healthy home-cooked meals to processed and instant foods. Therefore, this study analyzed the association between ultra-processed food intake and the development of metabolic syndrome in Korean adults based on the data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2013-2018.

Subjects/methods: The subjects of this study were 17,414 adults aged 19-80 years who participated in the 6th-7th KNHANES. Processed food was classified into four categories, NOVA1 to NOVA4, using 24-h recall data. The higher the NOVA category, the more processed the food. Statistical analysis was conducted using logistic regression to investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to the consumption of ultra-processed foods.

Results: Among the diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome, hypertension (odds ratio [OR], 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62-0.85; Q4 vs. Q1, P-trend < 0.001) and high triglycerides (OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.72-0.94; Q4 vs. Q1, P-trend < 0.001) showed a correlation with the percentages of energy consumed from ultra-processed foods. The OR for metabolic syndrome, according to the percentages of energy consumed from ultra-processed foods, is shown only for men. The OR showed that the percentages of energy consumed from ultra-processed foods were associated with increased metabolic syndrome.

Conclusions: This study suggests that consumption of ultra-processed foods raises the risk of metabolic syndrome especially among men. To prevent metabolic syndrome, it is necessary to prepare appropriate dietary guidelines for Korean adults.

[This corrects the article on p. 529 in vol. 17, PMID: 37266119.].

Background/objectives: Nutrition knowledge has been reported to have a weak positive effect on healthy eating behavior. This study aimed to determine if there was a difference in nutrition knowledge depending on the choice of science subject in high school and whether that affected the actual eating habits of college students in Japan.

Subjects/methods: The subjects were 514 college students, the majority first-year students, in 3 cities in Japan. A questionnaire survey was conducted on elective subjects in science in high school, diet (11 items), lifestyle (5 items), and nutrition knowledge (34 questions). The preliminary survey was conducted on 47 students in the fall of 2019, and the full-scale survey was conducted in May-June and October-November 2021 at the end of lectures for the first-year students.

Results: The students in the high-score group (24-31 points, n = 180) had a higher intake of vegetables (odds ratio [OR], 1.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12-2.82; P = 0.015) and breakfast (OR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.03-2.60; P = 0.035), and a reduced intake of fast food (OR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.14-0.51; P < 0.001) than those in the low-score group (6-19 points, n = 150). Only the biology and chemistry students had significantly higher nutrition scores than the other groups (all: P < 0.001), but no significant difference was found between the other groups. Understanding nutrition learned in elementary and junior high school is appropriate, while molecular structure, recommended amount, and food poisoning were insufficient.

Conclusions: Knowledge of nutrition appears to have a positive effect on the actual eating habits of college students. Although biology and chemistry in high school may help students understand the foundations of good nutrition, specialized food education may be required to make informed dietary choices.