scholarly journals Risk-Benefit Assessment of Cereal-Based Foods Consumed by Portuguese Children Aged 6 to 36 Months—A Case Study under the RiskBenefit4EU Project

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 3127
Author(s):  
Ricardo Assunção ◽  
Géraldine Boué ◽  
Paula Alvito ◽  
Roberto Brazão ◽  
Paulo Carmona ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Impact ◽  
Benefit Assessment ◽  
Free Sugars ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Healthy Life Years ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Risk Benefit Assessment ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
Alternative Scenarios

Cereal-based foods, including breakfast (BC) and infant cereals (IC), are among the first solid foods introduced to infants. BC and IC are sources of macro and micronutrients that have beneficial effects on health, but can also be sources of harmful chemical and microbiological contaminants and nutrients that may lead to adverse health effects at high consumption levels. This study was performed under the RiskBenefit4EU project with the aim of assessing the health impact associated with consumption of BC and IC by Portuguese children under 35 months. Adverse effects associated with the presence of aflatoxins, Bacillus cereus, sodium and free sugars were assessed against the benefits of fiber intake. We applied a risk–benefit assessment approach, and quantified the health impact of changes in consumption of BC and IC from current to various alternative consumption scenarios. Health impact was assessed in terms of disability-adjusted life years. Results showed that moving from the current consumption scenario to considered alternative scenarios results in a gain of healthy life years. Portuguese children can benefit from exchanging intake of IC to BC, if the BC consumed has an adequate nutritional profile in terms of fiber, sodium and free sugars, with levels of aflatoxins reduced as much as possible.

Quantitative risk-benefit assessment of Portuguese fish and other seafood species consumption scenarios

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Catarina Carvalho ◽  
Daniela Correia ◽  
Milton Severo ◽  
Cláudia Afonso ◽  
Narcisa M. Bandarra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Benefit Assessment ◽  
Seafood Consumption ◽  
Portuguese Population ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Risk Benefit Assessment ◽  
Alternative Scenarios ◽  
Predatory Fishes

Abstract Portugal has high fish/seafood consumption, which may have both risks and benefits. This study aims to quantify the net health impact of hypothetical scenarios of fish/seafood consumption in the Portuguese population using a risk-benefit assessment methodology. Consumption data from the National Food, Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2015-2016 (n=5811) was used to estimate the mean exposure to methylmercury and EPA+DHA in the current and the alternative scenarios considered. Alternative scenarios (alt) were modelled using probabilistic approaches to reflect substitutions from the current consumption in the type of fish/seafood (alt1: excluding predatory fishes; alt2: including only methylmercury low-level fishes) or in the frequency of weekly fish/seafood consumption (alt3 to alt6: 1,3,5 or 7 times a week, replacing fish/seafood meals with meat or others). The overall health impact of these scenarios was quantified using Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). In the Portuguese population, about 11450 DALYs could be prevented each year if the fish/seafood consumption increased to a daily basis. However, such a scenario would result in 1398 extra DALYs considering the consumption by pregnant women and the respective risk on foetal neurodevelopment. Our findings support a recommendation to increase fish/seafood consumption up to 7 times/week. However, for pregnant women and children, special considerations must be proposed to avoid potential risks on foetal neurodevelopment due to methylmercury exposure.

scholarly journals 1243Quantitative risk-benefit assessment of fish and seafood consumption scenarios to support recommendations

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina Carvalho ◽  
Daniela Correia ◽  
Milton Severo ◽  
Cláudia Afonso ◽  
Narcisa M. Bandarra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Health Gain ◽  
Benefit Assessment ◽  
Mercury Species ◽  
Seafood Consumption ◽  
Tolerable Weekly Intake ◽  
Health Gains ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Risk Benefit Assessment ◽  
Alternative Scenarios

Abstract Background Fish/seafood consumption has health benefits, namely due to its omega-3 fatty acids levels and risks due to methylmercury contamination. This study aims to quantify the health impact of hypothetical scenarios of fish/seafood consumption through a risk-benefit assessment and provide support for recommendations, using Portuguese food consumption data. Methods We used data from the National Food, Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2015-2016 (n = 5811) to estimate the mean exposure to methylmercury and EPA+DHA in the current and alternative scenarios. Alternative scenarios were modelled using probabilistic approaches to reflect substitutions from the current consumption in the type of fish/seafood (predatory vs low-mercury species) or its frequency (1-7x/week). The overall scenarios’ impact was quantified using Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). Results About 14% of the Portuguese population exceeds the methylmercury tolerable weekly intake, and this prevalence is higher among small children (36.6%). Nevertheless, if the fish/seafood consumption increased to once a day, ≈11450 DALYs could be prevented each year. However, such a scenario would result in higher risk for pregnant women (1398 extra DALYs). Moreover, excluding predatory species consumption resulted in small but significant health gains (-1078 DALYs). Conclusions For the general population, the maximum health gains are obtained by consuming fish/seafood up to 7x/week, but among children and pregnant women, the frequency should be limited to 3-5x/week. All population should preferably choose non-predatory species. Key messages Daily fish consumption results in the highest overall populational health gain, but children and pregnant women need to limit it to 3-5x/week, due to methylmercury exposure.

scholarly journals Risk–Benefit Assessment of Consumption of Rice for Adult Men in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiqin Fang ◽  
Quantao Zhang ◽  
Shengjie Zhang ◽  
Tongwei Zhang ◽  
Feng Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Effects ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Benefit Assessment ◽  
Baseline Scenario ◽  
Adult Men ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Risk Benefit Assessment ◽  
Rice Consumption ◽  
The Mean

Objective: To evaluate the health impact of current and alternative patterns of rice consumption in Chinese adult men (40–79 years of age).Methods: We applied a risk–benefit assessment (RBA) model that took into account the health effects of selenium (Se), cadmium (Cd), and inorganic arsenic (i-As). The health effects included the prevention of prostate cancer associated with exposure to Se, and an increased risk of lung, bladder, and skin cancer for i-As and chronic kidney disease (CKD) for Cd. We defined the baseline scenario (BS) as the current individual mean daily consumption of rice in the population of interest and two alternative scenarios (AS): AS1 = 50 g/day and AS2 = 200 g/day. We estimated the health impact for different age groups in terms of change in Disability-Adjusted Life Years (ΔDALY).Results: The BS of rice consumption was 71.5–105.4 g/day in different age groups of adult men in China. We estimated that for AS1, the mean ΔDALY was −2.76 to 46.2/100,000 adult men of 40–79 years old. For AS2, the mean ΔDALY was 41.3 to 130.8/100,000 individuals in this population group.Conclusion: Our results showed that, based on associated exposure to selenium, cadmium, and i-As in rice, the current consumption of rice does not pose a risk to adult men in China. Also, a lower (50 g/day) or higher (200 g/day) rice consumption will not bring larger beneficial effects.

scholarly journals Approaches for Health Effect Characterization in Risk-Benefit Assessment of Foods: A Comparative Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofie Theresa Thomsen ◽  
Maarten Nauta ◽  
Lea Sletting Jakobsen ◽  
Marianne Uhre Jakobsen ◽  
Heddie Mejborn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dose Response ◽  
Health Effect ◽  
Brown Rice ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Benefit Assessment ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Food Component ◽  
Risk Benefit Assessment ◽  
The Impact

One of the challenges in quantitative risk-benefit assessment (RBA) of foods is the choice of approach for health effect characterization to estimate the health impact of dietary changes. The purpose of health effect characterization is to describe an association between intake of a food or food component and a health effect in terms of a dose-response relationship. We assessed the impact of the choice of approach for health effect characterization in RBA in two case studies based on substitution of (i) white rice by brown rice and (ii) unprocessed red meat by vegetables. We explored this by comparing the dose-response relations linking a health effect with (i) a food component present in the food, (ii) a food based on non-specified substitution analyses, and (iii) a food based on specified substitution analyses. We found that the choice of approach for health effect characterization in RBA may largely impact the results of the health impact estimates. Conducting the calculations only for a food component may neglect potential effects of the food matrix and of the whole food on the diet-disease association. Furthermore, calculations based on associations for non-specified substitutions include underlying food substitutions without specifying these. Data on relevant specified substitutions, which could reduce this type of bias, are unfortunately rarely available. Assumptions and limitations of the health effect characterization approaches taken in RBA should be documented and discussed, and scenario analysis is encouraged when multiple options are available.

scholarly journals Public health risk-benefit assessment of red meat in France: Current consumption and alternative scenarios

2021 ◽  
Vol 149 ◽  
pp. 111994
Author(s):  
Juliana De Oliveira Mota ◽  
Sandrine Guillou ◽  
Fabrice Pierre ◽  
Jeanne-Marie Membré
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Red Meat ◽  
Benefit Assessment ◽  
Public Health Risk ◽  
Current Consumption ◽  
Risk Benefit Assessment ◽  
Alternative Scenarios

scholarly journals Communicating Food Risk-Benefit Assessments: Edible Insects as Red Meat Replacers

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Boehm ◽  
Dan Borzekowski ◽  
Ermolaos Ververis ◽  
Mark Lohmann ◽  
Gaby-Fleur Böl
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Red Meat ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Benefit Assessment ◽  
Dual Nature ◽  
Novel Foods ◽  
Dietary Choices ◽  
Risk Benefit Assessment ◽  
Insects As Food

Risk-benefit Assessment (RBA) is an emerging methodology in the area of Food and Nutrition that offers a simultaneous evaluation of both risks and benefits linked to dietary choices. Communication of such research to consumers may present a challenge due to the dual nature of RBA. We present a case study of a communication strategy developed for the NovRBA-project. The NovRBA-project (Novel foods as red meat replacers—an insight using Risk Benefit Assessment methods) performed a risk-benefit assessment to evaluate the overall health impact of substituting red meat (beef) by a novel food (house cricket), considering the microbial, toxicological and nutritional characteristics of the respective dietary choices. A literature review of risk perceptions and acceptance of beef and insects as food formed the basis of the communication strategy for the study's results, drawing on environmental and emotional as well as health-related motivations to consume or avoid either food and considering the sociodemographic characteristics of likely consumers. Challenges and future directions for consumer protection organizations communicating findings of risk-benefit analyses on food safety are discussed.

scholarly journals Potential impact of reduced tobacco use on life and health expectancies in Belgium

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Otavova ◽  
Herman Van Oyen ◽  
Renata T. C. Yokota ◽  
Rana Charafeddine ◽  
Luk Joossens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tobacco Use ◽  
Smoking Initiation ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Healthy Life ◽  
Healthy Life Years ◽  
Total Life Expectancy ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Business As Usual

Abstract Objectives We investigated the potential impact of reduced tobacco use scenarios on total life expectancy and health expectancies, i.e., healthy life years and unhealthy life years. Methods Data from the Belgian Health Interview Survey 2013 were used to estimate smoking and disability prevalence. Disability was based on the Global Activity Limitation Indicator. We used DYNAMO-HIA to quantify the impacts of risk factor changes and to compare the “business-as-usual” with alternative scenarios. Results The “business-as-usual” scenario estimated that in 2028 the 15-year-old men/women would live additional 50/52 years without disability and 14/17 years with disability. The “smoking-free population” scenario added 3.4/2.8 healthy life years and reduced unhealthy life years by 0.79/1.9. Scenarios combining the prevention of smoking initiation with smoking cessation programs are the most effective, yielding the largest increase in healthy life years (1.9/1.7) and the largest decrease in unhealthy life years (− 0.80/− 1.47). Conclusions Health impact assessment tools provide different scenarios for evidence-informed public health actions. New anti-smoking strategies or stricter enforcement of existing policies potentially gain more healthy life years and reduce unhealthy life years in Belgium.

scholarly journals Differences between the European Union and United States of America in Drug Regulatory Affairs Affect Global Patient Safety Standards and Public Health Awareness: The Case of Deferasirox and Other Iron Chelating Drugs

Medicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
George J. Kontoghiorghes
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Generic Drugs ◽  
Benefit Assessment ◽  
Regulatory Control ◽  
Pharmaceutical Companies ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Regulatory Policies ◽  
Regulatory Affairs ◽  
Risk Benefit Assessment ◽  
The Eu

Regulatory policies on drugs have a major impact on patient safety and survival. Some pharmaceutical companies employ all possible methods to achieve maximum sales in relation to the monopoly of their patented drugs, leading sometimes to irregularities and illegal activities. Misinformation on the orphan drug deferasirox has reached the stage of criminal investigations and fines exceeding USD 100 million. Additional lawsuits of USD 3.5 billion for damages and civil fines were also filed by the FBI of the USA involving deferasirox and mycophenolic acid, which were later settled with an additional fine of USD 390 million. Furthermore, a USD 345 million fine was also settled for bribes and other illegal overseas operations including an EU country. However, no similar fines for illegal practises or regulatory control violations have been issued in the EU. Misconceptions and a lack of clear guidelines for the use of deferasirox in comparison to deferiprone and deferoxamine appear to reduce the effective treatment prospects and to increase the toxicity risks for thalassaemia and other iron loaded patients. Similar issues have been raised for the activities of other pharmaceutical companies promoting the use of new patented versus generic drugs. Treatments for different categories of patients using new patented drugs are mostly market driven with no clear safeguards or guidelines for risk/benefit assessment indications or for individualised effective and safe optimum therapies. There is a need for the establishment of an international organisation, which can monitor and assess the risk/benefit assessment and marketing of drugs in the EU and globally for the benefit of patients. The pivotal role of the regulatory drug authorities and the prescribing physicians for identifying individualised optimum therapies is essential for improving the survival and safety of millions of patients worldwide.

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