Association of Dietary Nutrient Intake with Early Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Japanese-Americans

Lifestyle factors may be associated with the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in addition to demographic and genetic factors. The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to elucidate the association between nutrient intake and AMD in the Japanese-American population living in Los Angeles. We conducted a medical survey of Japanese immigrants and their descendants living in Los Angeles, including interviews on dietary habits, fundus photography, and physical examinations. Participants were classified into early AMD and control groups on the basis of fundus photographic findings. Consequently, among the 555 participants, 111 (20.0%) were diagnosed with early AMD. There were no late-stage AMD participants. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the intake of animal fat and saturated fatty acids (SFA) was positively associated with early AMD (p for trend = 0.01 for animal fat, p for trend = 0.02 for SFA), and the intake of vegetable fat, total carbohydrate, simple carbohydrate, sugar, and fructose was inversely associated with early AMD (p for trend = 0.04 for vegetable fat, p for trend = 0.046 for carbohydrate, p for trend = 0.03 for simple carbohydrate, p for trend = 0.046 for sugar, p for trend = 0.02). Our findings suggest that excessive animal fat and SFA intake increases the risk for early AMD in Japanese-Americans whose lifestyles have been westernized.

El queso tradicional ranchero Jarocho: un estudio multidisciplinario aplicando un enfoque de la tipicidad

The objective was to integrate the information of the local milk production system, physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of the milk; elaboration process, and physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory characteristics of cheese to establish its typicity. The manufacturing of the cheese in most of the dairies studied has registered the operation of three generations of families. Variability in their chemical composition, microbiological, colour, texture and sensory was related with time and number of turns during the pressing, amount of added salt and vegetal fat. Cheeses with less pressing time had higher moisture content and less protein and fat content. The bacterial counts were related to milk quality tests, training courses and material of containers. These factors also affected the hardness of the cheese. Those with added vegetable fat and with high salt content had the highest hardness. The Hue angle (h°) of the cheeses indicated a tonality close to yellow (90°). Difference in chromaticity (C*) can be related to the use of vegetable fat. Cheeses with higher moisture content were brighter (L*) and had less color saturation. The sensory evaluation showed that the most typical cheeses were perceived in the attributes as salty, milk aroma, and serum and milking smell. Applying sanitation measures of milk collection, good cheese manufacturing practices and avoiding the addition of vegetable fat, it could be possibly getting a legal-commercial protection of the ranchero Jarocho cheese.

Correlation between estimated plasma remnant-like particle cholesterol and vegetable fat intake in Uku town, Japan

Background Remnant-like particle cholesterol (RLP-C) is highly atherogenic, which is associated with atherosclerosis. However, RLP-C has not been routinely measured in the clinical practice. We estimated RLP-C levels using conventional lipid profiles and examined the association between estimated RLP-C and related factors including nutrient intake. Methods This study was performed in Uku town, Nagasaki prefecture, Japan in 2019. A total of 225 subjects were enrolled and directly measured RLP-C levels. Estimated RLP-C levels were defined as the following formula [total cholesterol − (LDL-cholesterol) − (HDL-cholesterol)]. Multivariate analyses were used to assess the relationship between estimated RLP-C and atherogenic factors. We calculated cut-off values on dichotomized RLP-C (< 7.5 mg/dL vs. ≥ 7.5 mg/dL) by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results The mean values of directly measured RLP-C levels and estimated RLP-C were 4.0 mg/dL and 16.4 mg/dL, respectively. In the multiple stepwise linear regression analysis, directly measured and estimated RLP-C levels were independently and commonly associated with apolipoprotein E, triglycerides, and vegetable fat intake (inversely). Using ROC curves, we found the cut-off value of estimated RLP-C was 22.0 mg/dL. Conclusion We demonstrated that the estimated RLP-C levels using conventional lipid profiles may substitute for directly measured RLP-C and these levels were independently and inversely associated with vegetable fat intake in the community-dwelling Japanese population.

Body development and serum parameters of sprague-dawley rats fed a diet enriched with hydrogenated vegetable fat and sugar in English in bold left aligned

Hypercaloric and hyperlipidic diets are often used in obesity research to induce excess weight and dyslipidemia in rats. In this experiment, Sprague-Dawley rats received a hypercaloric diet that was enriched with hydrogenated vegetable fat and sugar but hypoproteic and nutrient deficient. The rats’ body development and serum parameters were evaluated. Nine rats were fed a standard diet, while 27 rats were fed a hypercaloric diet prepared by substituting 15% of the standard diet with hydrogenated vegetable fat and 10% with sugar. Feed and water were provided ad libitum for 63 days. Between 35 and 98 days of age, the rats’ naso-anal length, body weight, and Lee index were measured weekly. At the end of the experimental period, blood samples were obtained to determine the serum levels of total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, and glucose. It was observed that the rats fed the hypercaloric diet containing hydrogenated vegetable fat and sugar exhibited less body development and did not develop either dyslipidemia or obesity although they exhibited increased serum glucose concentration.

Dietary fat in relation to overall and progression-free survival among patients (pts) with advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC): Data from CALGB 80405 (Alliance).

3588 Background: Growing data suggest dietary factors are associated with survival among pts with non-metastatic CRC. However, data on diet and survival among pts with advanced or metastatic disease are very limited. Methods: We prospectively examined dietary fat intake assessed at initiation of treatment for advanced or metastatic CRC in relation to OS and PFS. This analysis was conducted among 1,149 pts in the CALGB 80405 randomized controlled trial who completed a validated food frequency questionnaire. We examined intakes of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated (total n-3, long-chain n-3, and total n-6) fats as well as animal and vegetable fats. Based on data from non-metastatic CRC and other cancers, we hypothesized that higher intakes of long-chain n-3 fatty acids and vegetable fats would be associated with longer OS and PFS and higher intakes of saturated fat and animal fat would be associated with shorter OS and PFS. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Over a median follow-up of 6.1 years [y; interquartile range (IQR): 5.3, 7.2 y], we observed 974 deaths and 103 events of progression without death during follow-up. Participants in this analysis had a median age of 59 y (IQR: 51 to 67 y); 41% were female and 86% identified as white. We observed no statistically significant associations between any type of dietary fat and OS. However, vegetable fat was non-linearly associated with longer PFS (HR comparing 4th to 1st quartile: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.64, 0.96; p-trend: 0.10). We also observed a linear association between continuous saturated fat and PFS (HR per 5% kcal/d: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.42; p-value: 0.02), perhaps driven by pts with high saturated fat intake. Conclusions: We observed no statistically significant associations between types of dietary fat and OS among pts with advanced or metastatic CRC. However, a healthy diet that includes vegetable fat and is modest in saturated fat may be associated with longer PFS. Future studies to replicate these findings and examine diet in relation to cancer survival in racially/ethnically diverse populations are needed. Support: K07CA197077, U10CA180821, U10CA180882, https://acknowledgments.alliancefound.org . Clinical trial information: NCT00265850.