British Journal of Nutrition最新文献

This parallel randomised controlled trial examined the effect of a 4-week, high dose (Lf-High, 600mg/d) or low dose (Lf-Low, 200mg/d) oral lactoferrin (Lf) intervention versus placebo, on immune cell responses to respiratory virus, circulating immune cell subsets, and systemic inflammation. In healthy older adults (n=103, ≥50 years old), ex vivo cytokine release of interferon (IFN)-α2, IFN-γ, interleukin (IL)-6, and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α from isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) stimulated with rhinovirus A-16 (RV-16) or influenza A virus (H1N1), circulating immune cell subsets, and plasma IL-6, C-reactive protein (CRP) and TNF-α were assessed at baseline and 4 weeks. Ninety-seven participants completed the intervention (Lf-High n=32, Lf-Low n=31, placebo n=34, withdrawals n=6). There was no difference in RV-16 or H1N1-induced IFN-γ release between groups. At 4-weeks, RV-16-induced IL-6 was lower in Lf-High compared to placebo (P=0.001), and RV-16-induced IFN-α2 was higher in Lf-High compared to Lf-Low (P=0.04). Lf-High increased total T cells (P=0.03) and CD4+ T cells (P=0.03) compared to placebo. Lf-Low reduced neutrophil (P=0.04), natural killer cell (P=0.045), activated CD8+ T cell (P=0.03), and γδ T cell (P=0.03) frequency compared to placebo. Plasma IL-6 (P=0.004) and CRP (P=0.03) were lower following Lf-High compared to Lf-Low, but not placebo. Both high and low dose lactoferrin altered ex vivo immune cell responses after 4 weeks. High dose lactoferrin increased T-cell subsets, promoting adaptive immunity, and reduced systemic inflammation, while low dose lactoferrin reduced proinflammatory and cytotoxic immune cells. High and low dose lactoferrin supplements may have immunoceutical benefits in older adults.

No existing dietary metric simultaneously captures key dimensions of sustainable healthy diets: dietary variety; intake of animal products; and extent of food processing. This methods and construct development study aimed to identify indicators of a sustainable healthy diet that can be used to inform a multidimensional diet quality score. A modified Delphi was used to gain expert consensus regarding development of a sustainable healthy diet score. Three iterative surveys were conducted between November 2022 and May 2023. Surveys asked participants' opinion regarding measurement of the three dimensions of sustainable healthy diets (Dimension 1: variety of unprocessed and minimally processed foods; Dimension 2: intake of animal products and; Dimension 3: intake of ultra-processed foods (UPF)) and weighting and aggregation of a score that assesses these three dimensions. Thirteen international experts completed all three surveys. Consensus from experts led to the identification of food-based indicators of sustainable healthy diets. Experts agreed that Dimension 1 should be comprised of 12 food groups, with food groups and scoring ranges informed by the Global Diet Quality Score; Dimension 2 comprised of five food groups with scoring ranges informed by the EAT-Lancet planetary health diet; and Dimension 3 as one food group measured as a cut-off value of ≤10% energy from UPF. There was consensus that each dimension should be equally weighted. Outcomes from this work have been used to inform the development and validation of a multidimensional diet quality score to assess the healthfulness and environmental sustainability of diets among healthy adult populations.

Maternal obesity delays mammary gland maturation, influencing milk composition and neonatal growth. This study investigated whether supplementation of obese rats with resveratrol (Res) improves mammary gland differentiation, milk composition, and offspring development. Female Wistar rats were fed either a high-fat diet, to induce maternal obesity (MO) or standard chow as control (C). One month before mating, and throughout gestation, half the rats received 20 mg/kg/day Res orally creating 2 additional experimental groups (CRes and MORes). Milk nutrients and fatty acids were analyzed at postnatal day 21 (PND21); maternal body composition, mammary gland weight, and fat pad weight were also obtained. Mammary gland morphology and indices of apoptosis were determined. Offspring metabolic parameters were studied at PND36. MO dams had increased adiposity, mammary gland weight and showed elevated glucose, triglycerides, and cholesterol levels compared to controls. MORes reduced all these parameters except mammary gland weight. Mammary gland development was delayed, and apoptosis increased in MO vs C. Resveratrol improved mammary gland development in obese dams. Milk protein/fat ratio, milk, protein and DHA intake decreased in the MO group compared to C; whereas, fat, saturated fat, monosaturated fat and ω-6 fatty acid was increased in MO. Reveratrol treatment restored these parametes in obese dams and significantly reduced adiposity in their offspring. Triglycerides, insulin and HOMA-IR increased in MO offspring but was prevented by Res, which also increased milk intake in controls. Conclusion, preconceptional Resvertrol supplementation protects against the negative effects of maternal obesity on mammary gland differentiation, milk composition and offspring metabolism.

International studies show that school food programs (SFPs) can improve children's diets but evidence from Canada is nascent. We examined whether SFPs are linked to better dietary intake and diet quality among Canadian elementary schoolchildren. This cross-sectional study surveyed 2,366 grade 4-8 students (age 9-14 years; 48.9% girls) from 32 schools in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in Alberta and Ontario, Canada. Students completed a 24-hour diet recall, recording foods and beverages consumed during school hours (breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack), and their source (school, other). Multivariable linear models examined the association of accessing SFPs (≥1 meal/snack provided by school) with student daily intakes of vegetables and fruit, grains and grain products, milk and alternatives, meat and alternatives, free sugars, sodium, and diet quality, adjusting for relevant confounders. Only 293 (12.4%) students accessed SFPs. Overall, accessing SFPs was associated with higher intake of vegetables and fruit (β=0.4, 95% CI=0.1; 0.7) and better diet quality score (β=1.8, 95% CI=0.7; 3.0). Specifically, morning snacks provided by schools were associated with lower intake of free sugars (β=-8.9, 95% CI=-16.5; -1.4), while school-provided lunches were associated with higher intake of milk and alternatives (β=0.5, 95% CI=0.2; 0.8). Further, school-provided afternoon snacks were associated with higher intake of vegetables and fruit (β=1.1, 95% CI=0.6; 1.6), lower sodium intake (β=-258.4, 95% CI=-506.7; -10.0), and better diet quality (β=3.1, 95% CI=1.1; 5.1). One in eight elementary schoolchildren accessed SFPs. Students who accessed SFPs had better diets, highlighting the potential of SFPs (particularly snacks) in improving children's diets.

Vitamin B6 is implicated in multiple mental disorders, and accumulating evidence suggests an inverse relationship with depression; however, important aspects of the underlying dose-response patterns and the roles of individual circulating vitamin B6 metabolites remain incompletely understood. We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2010. Depression was defined as a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score ≥10. Vitamin B6 status was assessed using serum pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), the biologically active coenzyme form, and 4-pyridoxic acid (PA), the principal catabolic and urinary excretion product of vitamin B6. Among 12,620 participants, 1,070 (8.5%) met criteria for depression. After adjusting for relevant covariates, multiple logistic regression revealed that individuals in higher quartiles of serum PLP and PA (Q2-Q4) had significantly lower odds of depression compared to those in the lowest quartile (Q1). Restricted cubic spline analyses identified nonlinear relationships: L-shaped for PLP (P-nonlinearity=0.001) and U-shaped for PA (P-nonlinearity=0.017). Below the inflection points (90.7 nmol/L for PLP; 73.9 nmol/L for PA), both metabolites showed significant inverse associations with depression (PLP: OR=0.992, 95%CI: 0.988-0.996, P<0.001; PA: OR=0.994, 95%CI: 0.993-0.996, P<0.001). Above these thresholds, the association became non-significant for PLP (P=0.353), while PA demonstrated a positive association with depression (OR=1.008, 95%CI: 1.002-1.013, P<0.01). Subgroup analyses confirmed the robustness of these inverse associations across demographic categories. Serum vitamin B6 metabolites, PLP and its excretion product PA, exhibit non-linear associations with depression, with distinct threshold effects and metabolite-specific patterns that likely reflect both vitamin B6 availability and turnover.

Childhood undernutrition is a global public health challenge, affecting children unevenly within the same household. This study assessed the behavioural and genetic correlates of malnutrition among children aged 1-3 years in a district of the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. A cross-sectional study involving 262 child-caregiver pairs was conducted. Children were classified as wasted, stunted or healthy based on anthropometric indices. Feeding behaviours - including appetite, food refusal, force-feeding, and maternal feeding anxiety were assessed using the International Complementary Feeding Evaluation Tool. Saliva samples were used to genotype nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with appetite and energy regulation, and a polygenic risk score (PGRS) was generated. Wasted children had significantly lower appetite z-scores (Mean difference MD (Confidence interval CI)): -0.37 (-0.65, -0.09) and higher z-scores for food refusal (0.30 (0.03, 0.58)) and caregiver feeding anxiety (0.67 (0.39, 0.94)) compared to healthy children. Maternal feeding anxiety attenuated the association between appetite and WHZ while remaining a strong independent predictor. No associations were found between feeding behaviour and stunting. Although force-feeding was common (33% of children), it did not differ by nutritional status. The SNP rs2274333, showed a higher frequency of homozygosity for the AA genotype in wasted children. The PGRS was significantly associated with low appetite (p=0.046) but not with food refusal or nutritional status. Children with wasting had a lower appetite and a higher food refusal. This is associated with high levels of maternal feeding anxiety, but does not seem to have a strong genetic basis.

Exhaustive physical exercise can impact intestinal health, affecting permeability, inflammation and the production of SCFA. Dietary modifications, such as the consumption of whey protein concentrate (WPC) and curcumin (CCM), can modulate these effects due to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. This study evaluated the impact of WPC + CCM and CCM in Wistar rats submitted to exhaustive exercise (EE). Forty-eight male Wistar rats (age: 12 weeks) were randomly divided into 6 groups (n 8). After 4 weeks on diet, rats from EE groups were submitted to an exhaustive swimming test. Twenty-four hours later, animals from all experimental groups were euthanised and had feces collected from the caecum. The colon was dissected for interest analysis. SCFA, oxidative stress, real-time PCR and histomorphometry analyses were performed. The results showed that the SCFA content remained stable, malondialdehyde levels did not vary, but the WPC + CCM group showed higher carbonylated protein concentration. Nitric oxide decreased in the treated groups, while antioxidant enzymes increased in the WPC + CCM and CCM groups, except for glutathione, which decreased. The expression of Nrf2, NF-κB and occludin was maintained, and the expression of claudin increased after physical stress with the consumption of WPC + CCM. CCM increased mucosal thickness and preserved goblet cells. In conclusion, WPC + CCM prevented increased oxidative stress and inflammation and preserved the production of SCFA, antioxidant activity and intestinal integrity of rats after exhaustive exercise.

Integrating metabolic syndrome (MetS) screening procedures into routine care remains challenging. Traditional anthropometric and body composition assessments, while useful, have drawbacks that limit their application. However, automated anthropometrics produced from smartphone scanning applications may offer a solution. This study aimed to determine whether smartphone-derived anthropometrics could effectively predict both MetS and its severity. A total of 281 participants underwent a MetS screening assessment to determine fasting blood pressure, lipids, glucose and waist circumference and completed a smartphone scanning assessment (MeThreeSixty^®) to collect digital anthropometrics. Actual MetS classification and MetS severity (MetS_index), a continuous estimate of MetS progression, were determined using MetS screening data. Then, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression was used to develop a new MetS_index prediction equation in a subset of participants (n 226), which was subsequently tested in the remaining participants (n 55), and MetS classification was predicted from the retained variables using logistic regression. The following equation was produced: Smartphone-predicted MetS _index : -0·8880 + 0·1493(medication use = 1; 0 = no medication use) + 0·0089(weight) + 0·0079(bust circumf.) + 0·0140 (thigh circumf.) - 0·6247(appendage-to-trunk circumf. index), where medication use includes medications for hypertension, dyslipidaemia or hyperglycaemia. The newly developed MetS_index prediction model demonstrated equivalence with actual MetS_index and revealed acceptable agreement (R²:0·72; root mean squared error: 0·42; se of the estimate: 0·22) when evaluated in the testing sample (n 55), although proportional bias was observed (P < 0·001). Smartphone-predicted MetS classification demonstrated acceptable diagnostic performance with an accuracy of 92·7 % and an AUC of 0·89. Smartphone scanning applications can accurately assess MetS prevalence and severity, presenting new possibilities for health screening beyond clinical environments.

This study investigated the association between dietary flavonoid intake and hearing impairment in older adults aged ≥ 70 years, using cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2010 and 2017-2018. Flavonoid intake was estimated from two 24-h dietary recalls and categorised as low or high based on the median intake (85·4 mg/d). Hearing impairment was defined using a pure-tone average > 25 dB in one or both ears. Among the 1492 participants, 55·7 % had bilateral hearing impairment, 15·6 % had unilateral hearing impairment and 28·7 % had normal hearing. These categories were mutually exclusive, based on the presence of hearing impairment in one or both ears. After adjusting for sociodemographic, behavioural and dietary covariates, low flavonoid intake was associated with a 45 % greater odds of bilateral hearing impairment (adjusted OR = 1·45; 95 % CI 1·03, 2·04; P = 0·034), but not associated with unilateral impairment. Marginal associations were also observed for specific flavonoid subclasses, including flavan-3-ols and catechins. A significant interaction with age was observed, whereas no significant interactions were detected with race or sex. These findings suggest that low flavonoid intake may be a modifiable dietary factor associated with age-related bilateral hearing loss. Increasing dietary flavonoid consumption may be associated with benefits for sensory health and could play a modest role in reducing the risk of hearing impairment in older adults, though further research is needed to confirm these findings.