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Latinos form the largest ethnic population in the United States (18.5%), and the majority are Mexican Americans (61.4%). Many Mexican Americans have unique dietary behaviors, yet few food frequency questionnaires explicitly define Mexican American diets. The objective of this work was to engage with a population of rural Mexican Americans to develop a Mexican American food frequency questionnaire. Because acculturation is linked to dietary intake, we also examined acculturation by diet. We used mixed methods with three phases: (1) a qualitative phase in which a sample of rural Mexican-Americans (N = 15) identified and provided rich data about foods they ate; (2) a developmental phase in which 4 day food records were completed sequentially by two new and different samples of Mexican Americans (N = 19); and 3) a preliminary assessment phase where a new sample of Mexican Americans (N = 49) completed the final food frequency questionnaire. The final questionnaire included many traditional Mexican foods and beverages identified by study participants as part of their typical diet. Traditional Mexican foods and beverages were consumed regularly; little variation in diet was seen by level of acculturation. Respondents perceived diets containing commercial sugar-sweetened beverages as unhealthful, but not those with traditional Mexican drinks, which may represent an unappreciated source of added sugar in the diet. Future work includes studies examining dietary patterns in other urban and rural communities with traditional Mexican diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale & Objectives: A core symptom of alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a progressively increased choice of alcohol over alternative rewards despite negative consequences. Here, we investigated choice between personalized alcohol vs. natural rewards in a laboratory setting, and compared this behavior between non-treatment-seeking heavy drinkers and light social drinkers. Methods: 30 light social drinkers (15 men drinking < 15 drinks/week and 15 women drinking < 10 drinks/week) and 30 heavy, non-treatment-seeking drinkers (drinking more than these levels; 15 women). In the Concurrent Choice Alcohol Food (CCAF) task, participants chose between individually tailored images of alcohol and snack rewards and collected points towards the respective reward. To assess cost sensitivity, points associated to the images varied so that they favored alcohol or snack, or were equal, creating three relative point levels. Results: Choice preference for alcohol was strongly correlated with Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) scores, supporting the external validity of the choice procedure. Compared to light drinkers, heavy drinkers showed increased choice preference for alcohol, as indicated by a between-group difference in points of subjective equality, a metric that quantifies the relative point level at which alcohol and snacks were equally likely to be chosen. In both groups, choice preference strongly depended on the relative point level of alcohol compared to snacks, suggesting that responding for alcohol in heavy drinkers was sensitive to costs. Conclusions: Our results replicate previous findings of a relationship between self-reported alcohol use and choice preference for alcohol. We also found that choice behavior was strongly dependent on relative cost of alcohol in both groups, although price sensitivity was lower in heavy compared to light drinkers. An increased choice preference for alcohol in heavy drinkers suggests that they attribute a higher relative reinforcing value to alcohol compared to natural rewards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Indicators of socioeconomic status (SES), such as education and occupational grade, are known to be associated with alcohol use but this has not been examined among individuals with a mental health problem. This study developed latent classes of SES, their associations with alcohol use, and examined the indirect effect via social support and neighbourhood environment. Methods: A secondary analysis of the 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey was conducted among participants with a mental health problem (N = 1,436). SES classes were determined using a range of indicators. Alcohol use was measured using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. Social support and neighbourhood neighbourhood environment were measured using validated questionnaires. A latent class analysis was conducted to develop SES classes. Multinomial logistic regression examined associations of SES and alcohol use. Structural equation models tested indirect effects via social support and neighbourhood environment. Results: A four-class model of SES was best-fitting; "economically inactive,GCSE-level and lower educated,social renters", "intermediate/routine occupation,GCSE-level educated,mixed owner/renters", "retired, no formal education,homeowners", and "professional occupation,degree-level educated,homeowners". Compared to "professional occupation,degree-level educated, homeowners", SES classes were more likely to be non-drinkers; odds were highest for "economically inactive,GCSE-level and lower educated,social renters" (OR = 4.96,95%CI 3.10–7.93). "Retired, no formal education,homeowners" were less likely to be hazardous drinkers (OR = 0.35,95%CI 0.20–0.59). Associations between "economically inactive,GCSE-level and lower educated,social renters" and "retired, no formal education,homeowners" and non- and harmful drinking via social support and neighbourhood environment were significant. Conclusions: In contrast to the alcohol harms paradox, among individuals with a mental health problem, lower SES groups were more likely to be non-drinkers while no associations with harmful drinking were found. There is also a need to examine the alcohol harms paradox in the context of the area in which they live. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elevated levels of trace metals (TMs) and heavy/non-essential metals (HnMs) in commonly consumed beverages concern the public and regulatory agencies. Thus, frequent monitoring of these metals is critically important. The present study intended to assess TMs and HnMs concentrations and associated health risks in beverages. Ten metals, such as Mn, Co, Cr, Cu, and Zn (TMs) and Ni, Cd, Pb, Al, and As (HnMs), were quantified in different beverage brands categorized into two groups such as non-carbonated and carbonated beverages. Chemometric analysis such as hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), Pearson's correlation coefficient (PCC), and principal component analysis (PCA) were also performed to demonstrate the possible natural and anthropogenic sources of metal contamination. Among the TMs, the mean concentration of Zn (233.3 ± 3.3–291.7 ± 3.2 µg/L) followed by Mn (119.0 ± 2.3–146.4 ± 2.2 µg/L) was found highest in both carbonated and non-carbonated beverage samples. In the case of HnMs, the lowest mean concentration of Cd (7.4 ± 0.9–18.6 ± 1.2 µg/L) followed by Pb (4.1 ± 0.4–4.5 ± 0.4 µg/L) was observed in both types of beverage samples. The tolerable dietary intake (TDI) value for Ni and provisional tolerable monthly intake (PTMI) value for Cd were higher than the value established by the WHO and EFSA. The computed values of the hazard index (HI < 1) and the cumulative cancer risk (CCR) indicated a low risk of exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: There is a dearth of research on suicidal ideation (SI) that occurs specifically in the context of drinking alcohol. Alcohol use and binge drinking are both elevated among college students, among whom sexual and gender minority (SGM) students are at particular risk for SI. This manuscript examines alcohol use, SI, and SI specifically in the context of alcohol use among a large sample of undergraduate students and examines differences across sexual and gender minority groups. Methods: Data were drawn from ~ 300,000 students who completed the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA) between Spring 2019 and Fall 2022. Participants reported identity variables and information about drinking behaviors and suicidal ideation over the past year. Multilevel models were used for all analyses. Results: Risky drinking behaviors and higher blood alcohol content during the last episode of social drinking were associated with higher odds of SI while drinking. Rates of risky drinking behaviors, SI, and SI while drinking were elevated among SGM students with SGM men and nonbinary students reporting the highest rates across groups. Conclusion: SI while drinking, which is seldom assessed in measures of either measures of suicidal thoughts or alcohol use behavior, is an important construct for further research to improve our understanding of high risk states for suicide. Given elevated rates of alcohol use and SI among college students, providing education and resources to reduce SI while drinking is a critical target for universities, particularly to reduce risk among vulnerable SGM students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urolithiasis, a common and recurrent condition, imposes a significant global health burden. This study investigates the causal relationship between various types of fluid intake and urolithiasis using univariable and multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR) approaches. Genetic data for urolithiasis were obtained from the FinnGen Consortium (n = 400,681), while genetic measures for nine fluid types were sourced from meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The analysis revealed that genetically predicted coffee intake (OR: 0.571, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.341–0.958, p = 0.034) and ground coffee intake (OR: 0.219, 95% CI: 0.005–0.923, p = 0.038) were protective factors for upper urinary calculi. Additionally, a standard deviation (SD) increase in tea intake was associated with a 53% reduction in risk (OR: 0.473, 95% CI: 0.320–0.700, p < 0.001). Conversely, milk intake (OR: 1.072, 95% CI: 1.018–1.130) and alcohol intakefrequency (OR: 1.304, 95% CI: 1.083–1.570, p = 0.005) increased the risk of upper urinary calculi. These findings highlight the association of tea with reduced risk of urolithiasis, instead for milk and alcohol intake, in formulating prevention strategies for urolithiasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients presenting to the emergency department with recent palpitations are a diagnostic challenge when the arrhythmia and its symptoms have resolved prior to arrival. Newer smart watch technology, adept at detecting atrial fibrillation, can assist in the diagnostic evaluation of transitory palpitations. We report a case of cold drink-triggered atrial fibrillation whose diagnosis would not have been possible without the assistance of the patient's smart watch. Case presentation: A middle-aged man without cardiac history developed sudden rapid, irregular palpitations with shortness of breath while drinking a glass of cold juice. He activated his smart watch with 1-lead electrocardiography technology which detected rapid atrial fibrillation. He sought medical care, but while waiting, his symptoms—then 90 min in duration—spontaneously resolved. His initial diagnostic evaluation documented only sinus rhythm, as did several follow-up evaluations with cardiology the next several weeks. Had it not been for his smart watch, the etiology of his transitory palpitations would have remained undiagnosed. His physicians encouraged trigger avoidance. In the following months, he avoided rapid ingestion of cold drink, taking instead small sips. The atrial fibrillation has not recurred. Conclusions: The case illustrates the valuable contribution of smart watch technology in the diagnostic evaluation of patients with short-lived palpitations. The case also educates clinicians about cold drink and food as a trigger of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. This trigger, like alcohol, can be modified. Cold drink trigger avoidance has been reported by patients to reduce atrial fibrillation recurrence and is a low-risk, cost-effective strategy that is often successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive screen time and the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages are found to be independent predictors of depressive symptoms. However, the potential interaction effect of screen time and sugar-sweetened beverages, that is, whether one exposure factor strengthens the association of another with depressive symptoms, remains unclear. A large-scale adolescent health surveillance survey was conducted in 27 schools in eight regions across China. A total of 22,868 students were recruited to complete an eligible questionnaire to provide details of their screen time and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Multiplicative and additive interaction models were performed to estimate the interaction effects of screen time and sugar-sweetened beverages on depressive symptoms, and whether the relationship varied by age group was also examined. The multivariate logistic regression model showed that even if the confounding factors were controlled, screen time and sugar-sweetened beverages were still risk factors for depressive symptoms in adolescents. Interaction models indicated that screen time and sugar-sweetened beverages in combination were related to greater odds of depressive symptoms. Compared with late adolescents, early adolescents had a higher probability of depressive symptoms when exposed to the joint effects. Our study may hopefully deepen the understanding of the association between screen time and sugar-sweetened beverages and depressive symptoms. Future research should further explore how and why screen time and sugar-sweetened beverages affect individuals more profoundly in early adolescence than in late adolescence and how to mitigate this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To explore the independent associations between adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet and severity of menopausal symptoms in perimenopausal and menopausal women living in Australia. Methods: Dietary adherence was assessed using the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS), the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) was used to assess the severity of menopausal symptoms, and the 36-item short form survey instrument (SF-36) was used to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Results: A total of n = 207 participants (50.7 ± 4.3 years; BMI: 28.0 ± 7.4 kg/m2) were included in the final analyses. Participants reported low-moderate adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet (5.2 ± 1.8; range: 1–11). Adherence was not associated with severity of menopausal symptoms. However, low consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was inversely associated with joint and muscle complaints, independent of all covariates (β = -0.149; CI: -0.118, -0.022; P = 0.042). Adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet was positively associated with the physical function subscale of HRQoL (β = 0.173, CI: 0.001, 0.029; P = 0.031) and a low intake of red and processed meat was positively associated with the general health subscale (β = 0.296, CI: 0.005, 0.014; P = < 0.001). Conclusion: Diet quality may be related to severity of menopausal symptoms and HRQoL in perimenopausal and menopausal women. However, exploration of these findings using longitudinal analyses and robust clinical trials are needed to better elucidate these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Food preference is an important factor that affects one's eating behavior and dietary intake. Parent food preferences and food choices may influence children food preferences. This study is aimed to describe gender differences and time trends of Chinese adolescent food preferences and to explore the association between adolescent and their parent food preferences. Methods: The data were drawn from four waves of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) conducted between 2006 and 2015. Participants were asked to indicate their degree of preferences for five food categories (fast food, salty snack food, fruits, vegetables, and soft/sugary drinks) using a 5-point Likert scale (from "dislike very much" to "like very much"). Logistic regression was performed to determine the association of food preferences between adolescents and their parents. Results: Adolescent preferences for unhealthy foods were significantly higher than those of adults. Adolescent food preferences for fruits and vegetables decreased slightly over nine years, and there were gender differences in healthy food preferences (girls > boys, P < 0.05). Regardless of boys or girls, adolescent food preferences for healthy foods (fruits and vegetables) were significantly associated with both their fathers (OR: 3.64–4.58 for boys and 2.71–4.39 for girls) and mothers (OR: 2.13–4.11 for boys and 3.07–5.66 for girls) food preferences. For fast food and salty snack food preferences, boys appeared to be influenced greater by their fathers than girls, while girls appeared to be influenced greater by their mothers than boys. Conclusions: The present study reveals a high degree of unhealthy food preferences among Chinese adolescents and a gender-specific association of fast food and salty snack preference between Chinese adolescents and their parents. Our results may be useful for interventions to reduce adolescent unhealthy food preferences and intakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the color change (ΔE) and fluorescence (FL) of resin composites after the consumption of beverages. Materials and methods: One hundred and sixty disc-shaped specimens (6 × 2 mm) of Filtek Z350 XT (FZX) and Forma (FOR) resin composites were randomized for use in devices by five volunteers who ingested 100 ml daily of red wine (RW), beer (BE), energy drink (ED) and water (WT) over 15 days. The data were collected from digital photographs and analyzed using the CIE-Lab and RGB scales to obtain ΔE and FL and statistics via two-way ANOVA (for ΔE) and ANOVA for repeated measures (for FL), α = 0.05. Results: The highest ΔE values were obtained for FZX and FOR in the RW (ΔE = 10.5 for FZX and ΔE = 9.90 for FOR) and BE (ΔE = 6.3 for FZX and ΔE = 6.1 for FOR) drinks. For FL, there were different levels of change between the composites, with a much more significant reduction in FL intensity with RW. Conclusion: Beverages have the potential to stain the composites evaluated, especially alcoholic beverages. Clinical significance: Before carrying out an esthetic treatment with resin composites, it is ideal to investigate the types of drinks consumed by patients, for greater predictability of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel sources of population data, especially administrative and medical records, as well as the digital footprints generated through interactions with online services, present a considerable opportunity for advancing health research and policymaking. An illustrative example is shopping history records that can illuminate aspects of population health by scrutinizing extensive sets of everyday choices made in the real world. However, like any dataset, these sources possess specific limitations, including sampling biases, validity issues, and measurement errors. To enhance the applicability and potential of shopping data in health research, we advocate for the integration of individual-level shopping data with external datasets containing rich repositories of longitudinal population cohort studies. This strategic approach holds the promise of devising innovative methodologies to address inherent data limitations and biases. By meticulously documenting biases, establishing validated associations, and discerning patterns within these amalgamated records, researchers can extrapolate their findings to encompass population-wide datasets derived from national supermarket chain. The validation and linkage of population health data with real-world choices pertaining to food, beverages, and over-the-counter medications, such as pain relief, present a significant opportunity to comprehend the impact of these choices and behavioural patterns associated with them on public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In observational and prospective cohort studies, intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and pure fruit juice (PFJ) has been associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Still, the causality of the connection has not yet been determined. Our objective was to uncover the relationship between SSBs/PFJ and CVD. Methods: Genetically predicted causal associations between SSBs/PFJ (obtained in a published genome-wide association study) and six common CVDs (atrial fibrillation (AF), angina, heart failure (HF), acute myocardial infarction, hypertension, and coronary atherosclerosis) were assessed using MR analytic modeling. The primary analysis method utilized was the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method, complemented by additional methods such as the weighted median method, MR Egger regression, Cochran's Q test, MR pleiotropy residual, funnel plot, Bonferroni correction, and others for MR analysis. To ensure the robustness of the findings, F-values were calculated as a complementary test to set looser thresholds for exposing genetic instrumental variables (P < 1e−5). Results: The results of MR analysis suggested genetically causal associations between SSBs and AF (odds ratio (OR): 1.023; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.007–1.038; P = 0.0039) as well as between PFJ and angina (OR: 0.968; 95% CI, 0.943–0.993; P = 0.0138) there was genetic causality. However, MR analysis showed no causal association between SSBs/PFJ and other CVD risks. Conclusion: This study suggests that there may be a potential causal relationship between SSBs intake and AF and a causal negative association between PFJ intake and angina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to estimate the health, economic, and environmental impacts of moderate simulated interventions on dietary intake in Brazil. Methods: Data on food price and consumption were obtained from three nationwide surveys. Baseline dietary intake was estimated for 33,859 individuals aged 25 years and older. Counterfactual intakes were based on six hypothetical intervention scenarios, by changing the weekly frequency and serving size in low or high consumers of fruit and vegetables (FV), milk, whole grains, red and processed meats, and sugar-sweetened beverages. For each scenario, we estimated the attributable number of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALY), monetary cost, environmental impacts (14 midpoint indicators), and environmentally-mediated health impacts. Results: Compared with the baseline intake and cost, the most expensive intervention (+ 8.3%) was to increase FV intake (+ 125 g), resulting in a 1.2% reduction in all-cause mortality (16,307 deaths/year). The cheapest (− 9.9%) was to reduce red and processed meat intake (− 40 g), resulting in a 1.1% reduction in all-cause mortality (14,272 deaths/year). The combined intervention was, on average, 3.7% cheaper than the baseline cost, resulting in an increase in diet cost for 30% of the population (45–22% in the lower- and higher-income groups); all-cause mortality would be reduced by 3.8% (49,488 deaths/year). Interventions targeting red and processed meats would reduce emissions and resource use by 35–55%, in addition to reducing 2300 DALYs/year. Conclusion: A meaningful number of deaths can be avoided and environmental impacts reduced through moderate and potentially affordable diet modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High (free) sugar intakes can increase self-reported energy intake and are associated with unfavourable cardiometabolic health. However, sugar source may modulate the effects of sugars due to several mechanisms including the food matrix. The aim of this review was to assess the current state of evidence in relation to food source effects on the physiological responses to dietary sugars in humans relevant to cardiometabolic health. An additional aim was to review potential mechanisms by which food sources may influence such responses. Evidence from meta-analyses of controlled intervention trials was used to establish the balance of evidence relating to the addition of sugars to the diet from sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit juice, honey and whole fruit on cardiometabolic outcomes. Subsequently, studies which have directly compared whole fruit with fruit juices, or variants of fruit juices, were discussed. In summary, the sources of sugars can impact physiological responses, with differences in glycaemic control, blood pressure, inflammation, and acute appetite. Longer-term effects and mechanisms require further work, but initial evidence implicates physical structure, energy density, fibre, potassium and polyphenol content, as explanations for some of the observed responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Alcopop beverages are generally the first alcoholic beverage that young females drink which contain high levels of sugar and alcohol. The over-consumption of these drinks may encourage alcohol co-administration with methamphetamine (METH) impacting on drinking behaviour and glial function. Aims: The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of adolescent binge alcohol exposure on consumption level, anxiety-like behaviour, cross-sensitization with METH and on astrocyte expression in reward related brain regions. Methods: Adolescent female Sprague-Dawley rats had daily 1-hour oral alcohol consumption of alcopop (ALCP; with sucrose) or ethanol-only (ETOH; without sucrose), transitioned from 5 to 15% (v/v) ethanol content for 34 days. Water and sucrose groups act as controls. During alcohol withdrawal, rats were tested for anxiety on the elevated plus maze (EPM) and locomotor activity following saline or METH (1 mg/kg i.p) treatment. Brains were then collected to assess astrocyte immunofluorescence for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in reward-related brain regions. Results: Rats pretreated with 5% ALCP consumed significantly more volume and ethanol intake when compared to 5% EtOH rats. Both ALCP and EtOH groups had a higher preference ratio for 5% than 15% alcohol solutions and ALCP rats had greater ethanol intake at 15% than EtOH rats. Alcohol withdrawal showed no significant differences between groups on anxiety, METH cross-sensitization effects or GFAP intensity in the regions studied. Conclusions: Overall, the addition of sucrose to alcoholic solutions encouraged female rats to consume larger volumes and greater ethanol intake compared to ethanol-only solutions, yet did not have long lasting effects on behaviour and astrocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclic voltammetry coupled with machine learning (ML) was leveraged as a rapid analytical approach to evaluate antioxidant capacities in tea products. Characteristic voltammetric fingerprints were extracted from four tea types and transformed into ML-compatible datasets. The anodic peak currents showed excellent linear scan rate dependence indicating adsorption-controlled interfacial kinetics. Among supervised models, support vector machines demonstrated optimal accuracy of 93.5% and correlation coefficient of 0.96 to spectrophotometric assay values on validation samples. The approach reliably predicted antioxidant contents in commercial teas within 5% relative errors. Case studies on adulteration detection, shelf-life analysis and novel variant screening further proved practical utility. The salient input features were identified to be the oxidation peak regions, validating underlying electron-transfer phenomena. This work successfully demonstrated proof-of-concept for an inexpensive voltammetry-ML platform as an automated, high-throughput analytical tool for functional food testing. With appropriate re-training, it can enable rapid quality assurance to support rising nutraceutical consumer awareness. Prospects include extensive validation on diverse food commodities and field deployment. Overall, this rapid analytical strategy can facilitate point-of-use assessment of antioxidant capacity in functional foods and beverages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies examining lifestyle and cognitive decline often use healthy lifestyle indices, making it difficult to understand implications for interventions. We examined associations of 16 lifestyles with cognitive decline. Data from 32,033 cognitively-healthy adults aged 50-104 years participating in prospective cohort studies of aging from 14 European countries were used to examine associations of lifestyle with memory and fluency decline over 10 years. The reference lifestyle comprised not smoking, no-to-moderate alcohol consumption, weekly moderate-plus-vigorous physical activity, and weekly social contact. We found that memory and fluency decline was generally similar for non-smoking lifestyles. By contrast, memory scores declined up to 0.17 standard deviations (95% confidence interval= 0.08 – 0.27) and fluency scores up to 0.16 standard deviations (0.07 – 0.25) more over 10 years for those reporting smoking lifestyles compared with the reference lifestyle. We thus show that differences in cognitive decline between lifestyles were primarily dependent on smoking status. Lifestyle may contribute to cognitive ageing. Here, the authors examine lifestyles comprised of smoking, drinking, physical activity, and social contact habits to show lifestyle differences in cognitive decline primarily depended on smoking habits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the causal association between unhealthy lifestyle style factors and the risk of colorectal cancer, with the aim of preventing the occurrence of colorectal cancer by modifying unhealthy lifestyles. A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach was employed in this study, utilizing the inverse-variance weighted method as the primary research method. This MR analysis analyzed data of 3022 colorectal cancer cases and 174,006 controls from the FinnGen database. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with unhealthy lifestyle factors were selected as instrumental variables (IVs), including two obesity-related indicators, BMI (body mass index) and WHR (waist-to-hip ratio). Four phenotypes of smoking (smoking initiation, ever smoked, smoking per day, smoking cessation) and one phenotype of alcohol consumption (drinks per week). Four phenotypes of physical activity (accelerometer-based physical activity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, vigorous physical activity, strenuous sports or other exercises). All SNPs were obtained from published genome-wide association studies. The study found that the obesity-related indicator, higher WHR (OR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.12–1.70; P = 0.002) were associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, and two smoking phenotypes, cigarettes per day(OR = 1.30, 95% CI 1.01–1.68; P = 0.042)and smoking initiation (OR = 3.48, 95% CI 1.15–10.55; P = 0.028), were potentially associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. However, there was no evidence to suggest that physical activities and alcohol consumption were associated with colorectal cancer (all p > 0.05). In addition, the study detected no pleiotropy (all p > 0.05). This MR analysis indicates a causal association between a higher waist-to-hip ratio and the risk of colorectal cancer and a suggestive association between smoking and the risk of colorectal cancer among Europeans. These findings contribute to the understanding of the etiology of colorectal cancer and have potential implications for its prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human oral microbiome may alter oral and systemic disease risk. Consuming high sugar content beverages (HSB) can lead to caries development by altering the microbial composition in dental plaque, but little is known regarding HSB-specific oral microbial alterations. Therefore, we conducted a large, population-based study to examine associations of HSB intake with oral microbiome diversity and composition. Using mouthwash samples of 989 individuals in two nationwide U.S. cohorts, bacterial 16S rRNA genes were amplified, sequenced, and assigned to bacterial taxa. HSB intake was quantified from food frequency questionnaires as low (< 1 serving/week), medium (1–3 servings/week), or high (> 3 servings/week). We assessed overall bacterial diversity and presence of specific taxa with respect to HSB intake in each cohort separately and combined in a meta-analysis. Consistently in the two cohorts, we found lower species richness in high HSB consumers (> 3 cans/week) (p = 0.027), and that overall bacterial community profiles differed from those of non-consumers (PERMANOVA p = 0.040). Specifically, presence of a network of commensal bacteria (Lachnospiraceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, and Alloprevotella rava) was less common in high compared to non-consumers, as were other species including Campylobacter showae, Prevotella oulorum, and Mycoplasma faucium. Presence of acidogenic bacteria Bifodobacteriaceae and Lactobacillus rhamnosus was more common in high consumers. Abundance of Fusobacteriales and its genus Leptotrichia, Lachnoanaerobaculum sp., and Campylobacter were lower with higher HSB consumption, and their abundances were correlated. No significant interaction was found for these associations with diabetic status or with microbial markers for caries (S. mutans) and periodontitis (P. gingivalis). Our results suggest that soft drink intake may alter the salivary microbiota, with consistent results across two independent cohorts. The observed perturbations of overrepresented acidogenic bacteria and underrepresented commensal bacteria in high HSB consumers may have implications for oral and systemic disease risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observational studies have shown controversial associations between alcohol intake and radiographic osteoarthritis (OA). This study investigated whether this association was causal using a Mendelian randomization (MR) study in a population-based cohort in Korean. The study enrolled 2429 subjects (1058 men, 1371 women) from the Dong-gu Study. X-rays of the hand and knee joints were scored using a semi-quantitative grading system to calculate the total score of the hand and knee joints. ALDH2 rs671 genotyping was performed by high-resolution melting analysis. MR instrumental variable analysis and observational multivariable regression analysis were used to estimate the association between genetically predicted alcohol intake and the radiographic severity of OA. Subjects with the G/G genotype had a higher current alcohol intake than those with the G/A and A/A genotypes in both men and women (all P < 0.001). Men with the G/G genotype had higher total knee (P < 0.001) and hand scores (P = 0.042) compared to those with the G/A and A/A genotypes after adjusting for age and body mass index, but not in women. In the observational multivariable regression analysis, each alcohol drink per day in men was associated with increased knee (P = 0.001) and hand joint scores (P = 0.013) after adjustment, but not in women. In our MR analysis, utilizing ALDH2 rs671 genotypes as instrumental variables for alcohol consumption, has shown a significant link between each additional daily alcohol drink and increased radiographic joint severity in men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine associations between different types of sweet drinks consumed in early life and adult adiposity. Design: The analysis involved the secondary analysis of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children which followed children from birth to 24 years. Adiposity was measured using Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry while food frequency questionnaires and diaries monitored diet. 'Early exposure' to sweet drinks was defined as giving a sugar-sweetened beverage or 100% fruit juice (FJ), before two years of age. Results: Early exposure to cola was associated with higher fat mass, android fat mass and BMI at age 24 years; whereas early exposure to apple juice was associated with lower adult adiposity in females but not males. When age three, exposure to cola was associated with a greater intake of energy, carbohydrates, protein, fat, and less fruit and more fried foods. In contrast, early exposure to apple juice was associated with higher protein and lower fat intakes and consuming more fruits/vegetables and less fried foods. Parental education, adiposity and socio-economic status influenced whether SSB or FJ was given to a child. Conclusions: Early drinking of sugar sweetened beverages was associated with a less healthy dietary pattern, and greater adult adiposity. Early drinking of apple juice was associated with a healthier dietary pattern, and lower fat mass in adult females. The choice of drink was associated with social deprivation. As the dietary causes of adult obesity begin in early childhood, increased attention should be given to diet in the first years of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mead is a fermented alcoholic beverage produced by yeast action on a diluted solution of honey. In this study, for the frst time, sensory acceptance, purchase intention and color parameters of potentially probiotic mead with Saccharomyces boulardii were evaluated. The mead with S. boulardii presented yeast counts higher than 106 CFU/mL, being considered potentially probiotic, and tended to be yellow in color. About 160 tasters participated in the sensory evaluation, and 69.38% knew mead, but only 35.62% had tried the beverage. In terms of acceptance, the mead were within the acceptable range (above 5), and F2 (with initial soluble solids of 30° Brix and S. boulardii concentration of 0.030 g/L) was the most accepted, with an overall average of 7.63±1.42 on the nine-point hedonic scale. In addition, F2 presented the highest purchase intention. In conclusion, the mead showed a tendency towards the color yellow and good sensory acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use disorders are among the top causes of the global burden of disease, yet therapeutic interventions are limited. Reduced desire to drink in patients treated with semaglutide has raised interest regarding its potential therapeutic benefits for alcohol use disorders. In this retrospective cohort study of electronic health records of 83,825 patients with obesity, we show that semaglutide compared with other anti-obesity medications is associated with a 50%-56% lower risk for both the incidence and recurrence of alcohol use disorder for a 12-month follow-up period. Consistent reductions were seen for patients stratified by gender, age group, race and in patients with and without type 2 diabetes. Similar findings are replicated in the study population with 598,803 patients with type 2 diabetes. These findings provide evidence of the potential benefit of semaglutide in AUD in real-world populations and call for further randomized clinicl trials. Anecdotal reports from patients prescribed semaglutide describe a reduced desire to drink. Here, the authors show that semaglutide is associated with a 50%-56% reduced risk for both the incidence and recurrence of alcohol use disorder in real-world populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is the cardiac visceral fat depot proposed to play a role in the etiology of various cardiovascular disease outcomes. Little is known about EAT determinants in a general population. We examined cardiometabolic, dietary, lifestyle and socioeconomic determinants of echocardiograpghically measured EAT in early adulthood. Data on cardiometabolic, dietary, lifestyle and socioeconomic factors were collected from participants of the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS; N = 1667; age 34–49 years). EAT thickness was measured from parasternal long axis echocardiograms. Multivariable regression analysis was used to study potential EAT determinants. Possible effect modification of sex was addressed. Mean EAT thickness was 4.07 mm (95% CI 4.00–4.17). Multivariable analysis [β indicating percentage of change in EAT(mm) per one unit increase in determinant variable] indicated female sex (β = 11.0, P < 0.0001), type 2 diabetes (β = 14.0, P = 0.02), waist circumference (cm) (β = 0.38, P < 0.0001), systolic blood pressure (mmHg) (β = 0.18, P = 0.02) and red meat intake (g/day) (β = 0.02, P = 0.05) as EAT determinants. Sex-specific analysis revealed age (year) (β = 0.59, P = 0.01), alcohol intake (drinks/day) (β = 4.69, P = 0.006), heavy drinking (yes/no) (β = 30.4, P < 0.0001) as EAT determinants in women and fruit intake (g/day) (β = −1.0, P = 0.04) in men. In the YFS cohort, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure and red meat intake were directly associated with EAT among all participants. In women, age, alcohol intake, heavy drinking and type 2 diabetes associated directly with EAT, while an inverse association was observed between fruit intake and EAT in men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People consume alcohol for multiple reasons. Negative motives are often associated with alcohol-related problems. These problems might be explained by negative effects of high alcohol consumption on empathy. Past studies have associated alcohol use disorder (AUD) with reduced cognitive and affective empathy. Few studies have focused on non-clinical samples and considered behavioral empathy. We examined the links between alcohol consumption and multiple aspects of empathy, and if these links were moderated by negative drinking motives. We collected online data of 520 unselected individuals. All completed the AUD Identification Test (AUDIT) and a Drinking Motives Questionnaire. Affective and cognitive empathy were assessed using the Empathy Quotient. Behavioral empathy was assessed by asking participants how likely they would help the person in each of 24 scenarios involving pain. Helping others in pain was positively predicted by affective and cognitive empathy. Higher AUDIT scores were associated with helping others less, particularly among participants who scored higher on drinking to cope with negative affect. People who drink more and do so to cope with negative affect appear to have less behavioral empathy. This supports the view that negative drinking motives contribute to AUD risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater plays a crucial role in achieving sustainable development across various dimensions. Groundwater resources comprise of two integral aspects namely quality and quantity which are interconnected and important to comprehend and manage efficiently. The groundwater quality in the semi critical blocks of Chhattisgarh State is deteriorating, creating a health risk for the local population. In current study, ten representative groundwater samples were obtained and analyzed physiochemical parameters such as pH, EC, TDS, TH with major anions and cations for both pre and post monsoon period of 2020 for Patan block of Chhattisgarh. Fluoride and Nitrtae concertration at some location has been found beyond permissible limit of BIS. Hydrochemical evaluation of groundwater samples were carried out by Piper and Gibbs diagrams. Groundwater quality index (GWQI) and irrigation water quality index (IWQI) were prepared based on a combination of Geographical Information System (GIS) and Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP) for drinking and irrigation uses, respectively. AHP is known for handling quantitative and qualitative criteria, providing a structured framework and allowing for expert knowledge and subjective judgments. To assess maps of WQI with regards to their applicability for drinking and irrigation uses, six parameters/indices were selected and their weights were calculated using the AHP. The GWQI and IWQI maps were prepared using a weighted overlay technique in GIS. This shows that 6.11%, 85%, and 8.89% of total area falling into "good", "moderate" and "poor" classification for groundwater for drinking purposes, respectively. Similarly, the IWQI shows that 96.53% and 3.47% of the area fall into the categories of suitable and doubtful, respectively. The preponderance of groundwater within the region is drinkable and appropriate for agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular responses to alcohol consumption are dynamic, context-dependent, and arise from a complex interplay of biological and external factors. While many have studied genetic risk associated with drinking patterns, comprehensive studies identifying dynamic responses to pharmacologic and psychological/placebo effects underlying binge drinking are lacking. We investigated transcriptome-wide response to binge, medium, and placebo alcohol consumption by 17 healthy heavy social drinkers enrolled in a controlled, in-house, longitudinal study of up to 12 days. Using RNA-seq, we identified 251 and 13 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in response to binge drinking and placebo, respectively. Eleven protein-coding DEGs had very large effect sizes in response to binge drinking (Cohen's d > 1). Furthermore, binge dose significantly impacted the Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway (KEGG: hsa04060) across all experimental sequences. Placebo also impacted hsa04060, but only when administered following regular alcohol drinking sessions. Similarly, medium-dose and placebo commonly impacted KEGG pathways of Systemic lupus erythematosus, Neutrophil extracellular trap formation, and Alcoholism based on the sequence of drinking sessions. These findings together indicate the "dose-extending effects" of placebo at a molecular level. Furthermore, besides supporting alcohol dose-specific molecular changes, results suggest that the placebo effects may induce molecular responses within the same pathways regulated by alcohol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Despite more and more studies indicate that beverages play an important role in type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM), the efficacy of intaking different beverages for T2DM has not been clearly stated in one article. The meta-analysis was performed, which aims to assess the effects of beverages on mortality and cardiovascular complications in patients with type 2 diabetes and the incidence of T2DM. Method: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases were search up to March, 2023 to identify relevant studies, including studies researching beverage consumption, the incidence and mortality of T2DM and incidence of cardiovascular disease, a kind of complication of T2DM. The way to explore the source of heterogeneity is performing subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses. Funnel plots and Egger's regression test were performed to assess publication bias. The Hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used to analysis the results. Fifteen observational studies were included in our meta-analysis. Results: Fifteen eligible articles were included sugar-sweetened beverages(SSB) consumption increased the mortality and incidence of T2DM (Hazard ratio (HR), 1.20; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.05–1.38; P = 0.01 and HR, 1.15; 95% CI,1.06–1.24; P = 0.001), respectively. Artificially-sweetened beverages (ASB) consumption was not associated with the mortality and incidence of T2DM (HR,0.96;95%CI, 0.86–1.07; P = 0.464 and HR, 1.15; 95% CI,1.05–1.26; P = 0.003), respectively. Fruit juice consumption increased the incidence of T2DM (HR,1.08;95%CI,1.02–1.14, P = 0.296). Tea or coffee consumption can reduce the incidence of T2DM (HR, 0.89; 95%CI,0.81–0.98; P = 0.016). Tea or coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of mortality of T2DM (HR,0.84; 95% Cl, 0.75–0.94; P = 0.002 and HR,0.75; 95% CI, 0.65–0.87; P < 0.001), respectively. Additionally, beverage consumption was not associated with cardiovascular disease in T2DM patients (HR,1.03; 95% Cl, 0.82–1.30, P > 0.05). Conclusions: High consumption of SSBs led to a higher risk and mortality of T2DM, while high consumption of coffee or tea showed significant associations with a lower risk of the incidence and mortality of T2DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogues have been commercialized for the management of type 2 diabetes. Recent studies have underscored GLP-1's role as a modulator of alcohol-related behavior. However, the role of the GLP-1 analogue liraglutide on alcohol-withdrawal responses have not been fully elucidated. Liraglutide binds to the G-protein-coupled receptor and activates an adenylyl cyclase and the associated classic growth factor signaling pathway, which acts growth factor-like and neuroprotective properties. The underlying neurobiological mechanisms of liraglutide on alcohol withdrawal remains unknown. This study endeavored to explore the effects of liraglutide on the emotion and memory ability of alcohol-withdrawal mice, and synaptic morphology in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the hippocampus (HP), and thus affects the relapse-like drinking of alcohol-withdrawal mice. The alcohol-withdrawal group was reintroduced to a 20% v/v alcohol and water through the two-bottle choice for four consecutive days, a period referred to as alcohol re-drinking. Male C57BL/6J mice were exposed to a regimen of 20% alcohol and water for a duration of 6 weeks. This regimen established the two-bottle choice model of alcohol exposure. Learning capabilities, memory proficiency, and anxiety-like behavior were evaluated using the Morris water maze, open field, and elevated plus maze paradigms. Furthermore, synaptic morphology and the levels of synaptic transport-related proteins were assessed via Golgi staining and Western Blot analysis after a two-week alcohol deprivation period. Alcohol re-drinking of alcohol-withdrawal mice was also evaluated using a two-bottle choice paradigm. Our findings indicate that liraglutide can substantially decrease alcohol consumption and preference (p < 0.05) in the alcohol group and enhance learning and memory performance (p < 0.01), as well as alleviate anxiety-like behavior (p < 0.01) of alcohol-withdrawal mice. Alcohol consumption led to a reduction in dendritic spine density in the mPFC and HP, which was restored to normal levels by liraglutide (p < 0.001). Furthermore, liraglutide was found to augment the levels of synaptic transport-related proteins in mice subjected to alcohol withdrawal (p < 0.01). The study findings corroborate that liraglutide has the potential to mitigate alcohol consumption and ameliorate the memory impairments and anxiety induced by alcohol withdrawal. The therapeutic efficacy of liraglutide might be attributed to its role in counteracting synapse loss in the mPFC and HP regions and thus prevented relapse-like drinking in alcohol-withdrawal mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence is strong for adverse fetal effects of high level or chronic prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), but many pregnant women continue to drink at lower levels. The 'Asking Questions about Alcohol in pregnancy' prospective cohort aimed to determine the neurodevelopmental consequences at 6–8 years of age of low to moderate PAE. 1570 women from seven public antenatal clinics in Melbourne, Australia, provided information on frequency and quantity of alcohol use, and obstetric, lifestyle and socio-environmental confounders at four gestation timepoints. PAE was classified into five trajectories plus controls. At 6–8 years, 802 of 1342 eligible families took part and completed a questionnaire (60%) and 696 children completed neuropsychological assessments (52%). Multiple linear regressions examined mean outcome differences between groups using complete case and multiple imputation models. No meaningful relationships were found between any of the PAE trajectories and general cognition, academic skills, motor functioning, behaviour, social skills, social communication, and executive function. Maternal education most strongly influenced general cognition and academic skills. Parenting behaviours and financial situation were associated with academic skills, behaviour, social skills and/or executive function. The lack of association between PAE and neurodevelopment at 6–8 years may partly be explained by cumulative positive effects of socio-environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive alcohol consumption has been consistently linked to depression. This study, utilizing nationwide samples from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n = 21,440) examined the association between drinking behaviors and depressive symptoms while also exploring the influence of sleep duration on this relationship. Demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors were included as covariates in the multivariable logistic regression analysis to assess their relationships with depressive symptoms. Based on their sleep duration, the participants were divided into subgroups to explore how sleep duration affects the relationship between drinking behaviors and depressive symptoms. Moderate alcohol consumption (1–4 times a month) was associated with reduced likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms in women (p = 0.024), with a similar trend observed among men (p = 0.001). Men who started consuming alcohol before the age of 19 had a higher likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms (p = 0.048). Only women who consumed more alcohol per occasion (≥ 7 drinks) had higher odds of depressive symptoms (p = 0.001). This study revealed complex factors that influence depressive symptoms, including alcohol consumption and sleep duration. This highlights the importance of tailored interventions based on sleep duration and sociodemographic characteristics for preventing and treating depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) remains a major public health concern. The dynorphin (DYN)/κ-opioid receptor (KOP) system is involved in actions of alcohol, particularly its withdrawal-associated negative affective states. This study tested the ability of LY2444296, a selective, short-acting, KOP antagonist, to decrease alcohol self-administration in dependent male and female Wistar rats at 8 h abstinence. Animals were trained to orally self-administer 10% alcohol (30 min/day for 21 sessions) and were made dependent via chronic intermittent alcohol vapor exposure for 6 weeks or exposed to air (nondependent). After 6 weeks, the effect of LY2444296 (0, 3, and 10 mg/kg, p.o.) was tested on alcohol self-administration at 8 h of abstinence. A separate cohort of rats was prepared in parallel, and their somatic withdrawal signs and alcohol self-administration were measured after LY2444296 administration at 8 h, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks abstinence. LY2444296 at 3 and 10 mg/kg significantly reduced physical signs of withdrawal in dependent rats at 8 h abstinence, only. Furthermore, 3 and 10 mg/kg selectively decreased alcohol self-administration in dependent rats at only 8 h abstinence. These results highlight the DYN/KOP system in actions of alcohol during acute abstinence, suggesting KOP antagonism could be beneficial for mitigating acute withdrawal signs and, in turn, significantly reduce excessive alcohol consumption associated with AUD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Cue-exposure therapy (CET) consists of exposing patients to the cause of their affliction in a controlled environment and after psychological preparation. Ever since it was conceived, it has been suggested as a treatment for different types of behavioural impairments, from anxiety disorders to substance abuse. In the field of addictive behaviour, many different findings have been shown regarding the effectiveness of this therapy. Objectives: This study aims to examine the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of the effects of CET in patients with alcohol use disorder using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Methods: In a randomized, controlled study, we examined patients after inpatient detoxification as well as healthy controls. Patients underwent nine sessions of CET spaced over 3 weeks. Rs-fMRI was conducted before treatment and 3 weeks after treatment onset in patients, healthy controls received only one rs-fMRI measurement. The final participant sample with complete data included 35 patients in the CET group, 17 patients in the treatment-as-usual group, and 43 HCs. Results: Our results show differences in the Salience Network when comparing the CET group to the treatment-as-usual group (TAU). Functional connectivity between the anterior cingulate Cortex (ACC) and the insula was increased after CET, whereas it was decreased from ACC to the putamen and globus pallidus. Further, increased connectivity with the precuneus was found in the dorsal attention network after cue exposure treatment. Conclusions: These findings suggest that cue exposure therapy changes the resting-state brain connectivity with additional effects to the standard psychotherapy treatment. Hence, our study results suggest why including CET in standard therapies might improve the preparation of patients in front of daily situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Screening novel medications for alcohol use disorder (AUD) requires models that are both efficient and ecologically-valid. Ideally, such models would be associated with the outcomes of a given medication in clinical trials. Objectives: To test a novel human laboratory model in which individuals with intrinsic motivation to change their drinking engage in a "practice quit" attempt consisting of 6 days of complete abstinence from alcohol. Method: Individuals with current AUD completed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of naltrexone (50 mg), varenicline (2 mg bid), or matched placebo. Participants were titrated onto the study medication for 1 week prior to starting the 6-day practice quit attempt. During the practice quit attempt, participants completed daily interviews with research staff. All participants completed an alcohol cue-exposure paradigm before starting the study medication and after 2 weeks of study medication. Results: There were no significant medication effect on drinks per drinking day (F(2,49) = 0.66, p = 0.52) or percent days abstinent (F(2,49) = 0.14, p = 0.87) during the 6-day practice quit period. There were no medication effects on alcohol cue-reactivity (F(2,44) = 0.80, p = 0.46). Notably, participants sharply reduced their drinking during the entire 13-day medication treatment period, as compared to reducing only during the 6-day practice quit period. During the total medication period, higher levels of motivation to change was associated with higher percent days abstinent (F(1,49) = 8.12, p < 0.01). Conclusions: This study reports mostly null findings, which challenges us to decompose its nuanced design to consider model refinements. Possible changes to the model include considering the requirement for intrinsic motivation for change, including a longer practice quit period, encompassing the medication administration timeframe in the practice quit period, increasing the required sample size for signal detection, and examining a post COVID-19 pandemic cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An innovative simple, sensitive, and selective method has been developed and validated for quantification of hazardous Allura red (AR, E129) dye in beverages. Allura red (AR) is a synthetic dye that is commonly used in the food industry to give foods a bright and appealing color. The method is based on microwave-assistant nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N@CQDs) from a very cheap source with a high quantum yield equal to (36.60%). The mechanism of the reaction is based on an ion-pair association complex between AR and nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N@CQDs) at pH 3.2. The reaction between AR and N@CQDs led to a quenching effect of the fluorescence intensity of N@CQDs at 445 nm after excitation at 350 nm. Moreover, the quantum method's linearity covered the range between 0.07 and 10.0 µg mL− 1 with a regression coefficient is 0.9992. The presented work has been validated by ICH criteria. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS), Zeta potential measurements, fluorescence, UV-VIS, and FTIR spectroscopy have all been used to fully characterize of the N@CQDs. The N@CQDs were successfully utilized in different applications (beverages) with high accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This commentary explores the landscape of non-nutritive sweeteners, further delves into the historical trajectory and the contemporary surge in the consumption of non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS), along with the accompanying controversies concerning their safety. Objective: The aim is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the influences of NNS, drawn from global studies and diverse perspectives. Methods: The commentary synthesizes findings from global studies, notably the NutriNet-Santé cohort, exploring associations between specific NNS and health consequences such as cerebrovascular events and malignancies. Additionally, it examines the research on consequences of NNS on gut microbiota and explores concerns linked to gestational diabetes, fetal exposure, and health of the offspring. Results: While caution is advised during pregnancy and fetal development due to potential risks, NNS show promise in weight management and short-term dietary goals when used cautiously in lower amounts. The commentary underscores the necessity for inclusive, long-term studies to guide evidence-driven policies and guidelines. Conclusion: While the article underscores the complexities and debates surrounding non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS), it also sheds light on the positive aspects. In the Indian context, where the intake of sweeteners is relatively low and mainly limited to beverages (tea or coffee), NNS appear to be safe, but prudent use is advocated. The article emphasizes the value of public education on NNS usage and concludes that, overall, NNS are reasonably safe when consumed in moderation. Continued research is needed to elucidate their intricate effects on health and impact on global health outcomes. Implications: The article concludes with clear guidelines for using NNS in India, highlighting the need for informed decision-making and ongoing research to elucidate their broader health consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The length of telomeres located at the ends of chromosomes has attracted attention as an indicator of cellular and individual aging. Various diseases or stresses cause telomere shortening, and it has been reported that alcohol use disorder patients actually have shorter telomeres than healthy patients. However, the factors that contribute to the reduction in telomere length among alcohol use disorder patients have not been clarified in detail. Therefore, in this study, we explored the factors that reduce telomere length in alcohol use disorder patients. A questionnaire survey and a measurement of leukocyte telomere length were conducted among alcohol use disorder patients. The mean telomere length of leukocyte was measured by ∆∆Ct analysis using a real-time PCR. We compared the telomere length between alcohol use disorder patients and the control group (Japanese special health check-up examinee). Moreover, we searched for factors associated with telomere length from drinking/smoking characteristics and history of comorbidities. A total of 74 subjects had alcohol use disorder, and 68 were in the control group. Compared to the control group, alcohol use disorder patients had significantly shorter telomere lengths (p < 0.001). A multivariate analysis revealed that a longer duration of smoking resulted in a significantly shorter telomere length (p = 0.0129). In addition, a comparison of the telomere length between the groups with and without a history of suffering from each disease revealed that telomere length was significantly shorter in the group with diabetes than in the group without diabetes (p = 0.0371). This study reveals that in individuals with alcohol dependence, particularly, prolonged smoking habits and the presence of diabetes contribute to telomere shortening. Medication and support for abstinence from alcohol has been mainly provided for alcohol use disorder patients. Our findings demonstrate a potential support approach via smoking cessation programs and controlling diabetes, which may be helpful to suppress the shortening of healthy life expectancy among alcohol use disorder patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders and a leading cause of mortality worldwide. While the pathophysiology underlying AUD is relatively well known, the cognitive mechanisms of an individual's susceptibility to the development of alcohol dependence remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the theoretical claim that sensitivity to positive feedback (PF), as a stable and enduring behavioural trait, can predict individual susceptibility to the acquisition and maintenance of alcohol-seeking behaviour in rats. Methods: Trait sensitivity to PF was assessed using a series of probabilistic reversal learning tests. The escalation of alcohol intake in rats was achieved by applying a mix of intermittent free access and instrumental paradigms of alcohol drinking. The next steps included testing the influence of sensitivity to PF on the acquisition of compulsive alcohol-seeking behaviour in the seeking-taking punishment task, measuring motivation to seek alcohol, and comparing the speed of extinction and reinstatement of alcohol-seeking after a period of abstinence between rats expressing trait insensitivity and sensitivity to PF. Finally, trait differences in the level of stress hormones and in the expression of genes and proteins in several brain regions of interest were measured to identify potential physiological and neuromolecular mechanisms of the observed interactions. Results: We showed that trait sensitivity to PF in rats determines the level of motivation to seek alcohol following the experience of its negative consequences. They also revealed significant differences between animals classified as insensitive and sensitive to PF in their propensity to reinstate alcohol-seeking behaviours after a period of forced abstinence. The abovementioned effects were accompanied by differences in blood levels of stress hormones and differences in the cortical and subcortical expression of genes and proteins related to dopaminergic, serotonergic, and GABAergic neurotransmission. Conclusion: Trait sensitivity to PF can determine the trajectory of alcohol addiction in rats. This effect is, at least partially, mediated via distributed physiological and molecular changes within cortical and subcortical regions of the brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic disease is increasing in people with HIV (PWH) in South Africa, but little is known about self-perceptions of body size, health, and nutritional behavior in this population. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of individual-level data from the 2016 South Africa Demographic and Health Survey. This survey measured HIV serostatus and body mass index (BMI). We categorized participants into six BMI groups: 18.5–22 kg/m2, 22–25 kg/m2, 25–27.5 kg/m2, 27.5–30 kg/m2, 30–35 kg/m2, and ≥ 35 kg/m2 and stratified them by HIV serostatus. Our outcomes were self-reported (1) body size and (2) health status among all participants, and intake of (3) chips and (4) sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) in PWH. We described these metrics and used multivariable regression to evaluate the relationship between the nutritional behaviors and BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 in PWH only, adjusting for age, sex, educational attainment, and household wealth quintile. Of 6138 participants, 1163 (19.7%) were PWH. Among PWH, < 10% with a BMI 25–30 kg/m2, < 20% with a BMI 30–35 kg/m2 and < 50% with a BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2 self-reported as overweight or obese. PWH reported being in poor health at higher rates than those without HIV at each BMI category except ≥ 35 kg/m2. In adjusted models, SSB consumption was associated with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 (1.13 [1.01–1.25], t-statistic = 2.14, p = 0.033) in PWH. Perceptions of body size may challenge efforts to prevent weight gain in PWH in South Africa. SSB intake reduction should be further explored as a modifiable risk factor for obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Postpartum depression (PPD) has deleterious effects on both maternal and child outcomes. Poor maternal nutrition during pregnancy has been implicated in the development of PPD. This review aimed to explore the association between the overall dietary intake patterns during pregnancy and the development of PPD. Methods: A literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases for relevant randomized controlled trials, cohort and cross-sectional studies published up to 17th September 2020. Included studies assessed at least one dietary pattern during pregnancy and reported on PPD. The Newcastle Ottawa Scale and the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools were used to assess the quality of methodology. A narrative analysis was conducted. Results: Ten studies (eight cohort and two cross-sectional) were included with substantial heterogeneity in measurements of dietary intake exposures and PPD. The studies identified several types of healthy dietary patterns, including a 'healthy', 'health conscious', 'Japanese', 'high-glycemic index/glycemic load', 'Vegetable', 'Nut-Fruit', 'Seafood', and 'compliance with the Australian Dietary Guidelines'. The 'Western', 'unhealthy', 'Beverage', 'Cereal-Meat', and 'Egg' were labelled as unhealthy dietary patterns. Four of the eight studies showed an inverse association between adherence to healthy diets and risk of PPD, whereas only one of the seven studies showed that adherence to unhealthy diets was associated with increased risk of PPD. Methodological quality of the studies varied across the sample. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that adherence to a healthy diet may be beneficial for PPD. However, the relationship between unhealthy diets and PPD needs to be corroborated by more high-quality studies. Significance: What is already known about the topic? Nutrition has been implicated in the development, prevention and management of depression during pregnancy. Individual nutrients and foods do not consider the inter-relations of the combined exposures of the dietary components. Thus, overall dietary pattern that better represents the way pregnant women eat has been proposed to be linked with PPD. What this study adds? Healthy dietary patterns during pregnancy may be beneficial for PPD. However, the evidence suggests an inconclusive role of unhealthy dietary patterns and associations with PPD. Given the emerging evidence that supports a potential relationship between prenatal diet and maternal depressive symptoms, it is of utmost public health significance to continue research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Consumption of sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) is associated with childhood obesity and other negative health conditions. Feeding SSB to infants and young children (IYC) under 2 years may displace consumption of breastmilk and nutrient rich foods critical for optimal growth and development. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends avoiding added sugar (e.g. SSB) for IYC under 2 years. We sought to describe the variety of homemade and commercial SSB as well as breastmilk and beverages without added sugar fed to IYC aged 4–23 months living in a low-income, populous peri-urban area of Lima, Peru. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 181 households with IYC aged 4–23 months. A list of common local homemade and commercial beverages was used to investigate what caregivers had fed to the child in the past 24 h. Results: A total of 93.9% of caregivers reported feeding at least one beverage to their child other than breastmilk in the past 24 h. This included a variety of homemade SSB (73.5%), commercial SSB (18.2%) and homemade beverages without added sugar (70.2%). A high percentage (83.4%) of children were also breastfed. Conclusions for Practice: Our findings suggest that interventions to address feeding homemade SSB to IYC within households are needed to support WHO recommendations and complement current commercial SSB policy regulations in Peru. Significance: What is already known on this subject? sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) are widely available, nutrient-poor and contribute to childhood obesity and other negative health outcomes. Little is known about homemade SSB fed to IYC under 2 years in Peru. What this study adds? in peri-urban Peru, prevalent feeding practices include breastfeeding as well as giving a variety of homemade SSB to IYC. In addition to recent policy level interventions aimed at reducing consumption of commercial SSB in Peru and Latin America generally, household level interventions to address feeding homemade SSB to IYC are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this study, we explore the relationship between social jetlag (SJL), a parameter of circadian misalignment, and gut microbial composition, diet and cardiometabolic health in the ZOE PREDICT 1 cohort (NCT03479866). Methods: We assessed demographic, diet, cardiometabolic, stool metagenomics and postprandial metabolic measures (n = 1002). We used self-reported habitual sleep (n = 934) to calculate SJL (difference in mid-sleep time point of ≥ 1.5 h on week versus weekend days). We tested group differences (SJL vs no-SJL) in cardiometabolic markers and diet (ANCOVA) adjusting for sex, age, BMI, ethnicity, and socio-economic status. We performed comparisons of gut microbial composition using machine learning and association analyses on the species level genome bins present in at least 20% of the samples. Results: The SJL group (16%, n = 145) had a greater proportion of males (39% vs 25%), shorter sleepers (average sleep < 7 h; 5% vs 3%), and were younger (38.4 ± 11.3y vs 46.8 ± 11.7y) compared to the no-SJL group. SJL was associated with a higher relative abundance of 9 gut bacteria and lower abundance of 8 gut bacteria (q < 0.2 and absolute Cohen's effect size > 0.2), in part mediated by diet. SJL was associated with unfavourable diet quality (less healthful Plant-based Diet Index), higher intakes of potatoes and sugar-sweetened beverages, and lower intakes of fruits, and nuts, and slightly higher markers of inflammation (GlycA and IL-6) compared with no-SJL (P < 0.05 adjusted for covariates); rendered non-significant after multiple testing adjustments. Conclusions: Novel associations between SJL and a more disadvantageous gut microbiome in a cohort of predominantly adequate sleepers highlight the potential implications of SJL for health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and spectrophotometric methods were used to evaluate the antioxidant capacity (AC) in strawberry and orange juice, soluble coffee, rosemary extract, red wine, and sparkling white wine. The AC through spectrophotometric methods showed the following trend in solid foods, coffee > rosemary extract, and red wine > strawberry juice > orange juice > sparkling white wine in liquid samples. Charge measurements by DPV, presented in equivalent units of Trolox and gallic acid, showed the same trend in liquid samples; however, for solid samples, the AC of rosemary extract was greater than that of coffee. The charge expressed in equivalent units showed a high, positive, and significant correlation (p < 0.001) with total phenols (0.7919), FRAP (0.8875), and ABTS (0.8366). The proposed electrochemical technique proves to be a fast, reliable, and environmentally friendly alternative or complement to evaluate antioxidant capacity in food, which is not affected by the turbidity or color of the samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various bacteria known as lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are crucial for food fermentation and producing probiotic products. Most of the lactic acid produced by the LAB, a genus of Gram-positive, non-spore-forming cocci or rods, is responsible for the fermentation of carbohydrates. In anaerobic fermentation, yeast and bacteria break food components into other products. Fermented foods and beverages are described as having carefully controlled microbial development. Some nutrients include proteins, soluble fibre, minerals, vitamins, essential fatty acids, and some essential amino acids found in fermented foods and beverages. There are many different types of fermented foods, so it's essential to describe each one's role in terms of its nature. The bacteria employed in fermentation are typically probiotic, meaning they are good for human health. These bacteria may help us to enhance the nutrient content of food, gastrointestinal infection prevention, improve lactose digestion and cancer prevention, and lower serum cholesterol levels. Indian fermented foods are classified according to the raw materials they contain, like cereal-based, meat-based, pulse-based, vegetable and fruit-based, sweets and snacks-based fermented foods widely used in the Indian Scenario. This review article brings a complete view of traditional fermented foods of different raw materials that are significant and naturally beneficial for human health, with special mention of significant LABs in various fermented foods from India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Female rodents consume more ethanol (EtOH) than males and exhibit greater aversion-resistant drinking in some paradigms. Ovarian hormones promote EtOH drinking but the contribution of ovarian hormones to aversion-resistant drinking has not been assessed. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the role of ovarian hormones to aversion-resistant drinking in female mice in a drinking in the dark (DID) task. Methods: Female C57BL/6 J mice first underwent an ovariectomy (OVX, n = 16) or sham (SHAM, n = 16) surgery. Four weeks following surgery, mice underwent a DID paradigm where they were given access to water and 15% EtOH 3 h into the dark cycle for up to 4 h across 15 drinking sessions. To assess frontloading behavior, bottles were weighed at 30 min, 2 h, and 4 h. Aversion-resistance was tested by adding escalating concentrations of quinine (0, 100, 250, and 500 µM) to the 15% EtOH bottle on sessions 16 – 19. Results: Removal of the ovaries reduced EtOH consumption in OVX subjects. When assessing aversion-resistant EtOH drinking, mice with ovarian hormones (SHAM) reduced consumption of 250 and 500 µM quinine in EtOH, while OVX subjects exhibited aversion-resistance at all quinine concentrations. OVX mice had greater frontloading for quinine + EtOH at higher concentrations of quinine. Conclusions: These results indicate that circulating ovarian hormones may be protective against the development of aversion-resistant EtOH drinking and call for further investigation of the role of ovarian hormones in models of addictive behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combinations of lifestyle behaviors may lead to different cancer risks. This study aimed to identify the latent classes based on lifestyle behavior trajectories and to investigate the association between these latent classes and cancer risk. Participants in the 2002–2003 National Health Insurance Service general health examination were included. Data on smoking, alcohol drinking, body mass index (BMI), and physical activity measured four times between 2002 and 2009 were analyzed. Incident cancer cases were tracked from 2010 to 2018. Patterns of alcohol drinking, smoking, BMI, and physical activity and latent classes based on trajectories of smoking, alcohol drinking, BMI, and physical activity were identified. Among 2,735,110 adults (1,787,486 men and 947,624 women), 111,218 (69,089 men and 42,129 women) developed incident cancer. Six latent classes of lifestyle behavior were identified, with Class 1 (healthy class) involving only 0.2% of men and 0.5% of women. The highest risk class in males tended to be steady light drinkers and steady moderate smokers, have steady low frequency of physical activity, and be obese. This class showed a 1.47 times higher (95% CI = 1.29–1.69) risk of all cancers than did the healthy class. Among women, there was only an association between the highest risk class (tendency to be non-drinkers, light smokers) and colorectal cancer (HR = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.02–2.83). Only a small percentage of participants maintained a long-term healthy lifestyle. Identifying classes of behavior combinations and their links to cancer development is therefore critical for cancer prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use (i.e., quantity, frequency) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are common, associated with adverse outcomes, and genetically-influenced. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified genetic loci associated with both. AUD is positively genetically associated with psychopathology, while alcohol use (e.g., drinks per week) is negatively associated or NS related to psychopathology. We wanted to test if these genetic associations extended to life satisfaction, as there is an interest in understanding the associations between psychopathology-related traits and constructs that are not just the absence of psychopathology, but positive outcomes (e.g., well-being variables). Thus, we used Genomic Structural Equation Modeling (gSEM) to analyze summary-level genomic data (i.e., effects of genetic variants on constructs of interest) from large-scale GWAS of European ancestry individuals. Results suggest that the best-fitting model is a Bifactor Model, in which unique alcohol use, unique AUD, and common alcohol factors are extracted. The genetic correlation (rg) between life satisfaction-AUD specific factor was near zero, the rg with the alcohol use specific factor was positive and significant, and the rg with the common alcohol factor was negative and significant. Findings indicate that life satisfaction shares genetic etiology with typical alcohol use and life dissatisfaction shares genetic etiology with heavy alcohol use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas lifestyle-related factors are recognized as snoring risk factors, the role of genetics in snoring remains uncertain. One way to measure the impact of genetic risk is through the use of a polygenic risk score (PRS). In this study, we aimed to investigate whether genetics plays a role in snoring after adjusting for lifestyle factors. Since the effect of polygenic risks may differ across ethnic groups, we calculated the PRS for snoring from the UK Biobank and applied it to a Korean cohort. We sought to evaluate the reproducibility of the UK Biobank PRS for snoring in the Korean cohort and to investigate the interaction of lifestyle factors and genetic risk on snoring in the Korean population. In this study, we utilized a Korean cohort obtained from the Korean Genome Epidemiology Study (KoGES). We computed the snoring PRS for the Korean cohort based on the UK Biobank PRS. We investigated the relationship between polygenic risks and snoring while controlling for lifestyle factors, including sex, age, body mass index (BMI), alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, and sleep time. Additionally, we analyzed the interaction of each lifestyle factor and the genetic odds of snoring. We included 3526 snorers and 1939 nonsnorers from the KoGES cohort and found that the PRS, a polygenic risk factor, was an independent factor for snoring after adjusting for lifestyle factors. In addition, among lifestyle factors, higher BMI, male sex, and older age were the strongest lifestyle factors for snoring. In addition, the highest adjusted odds ratio for snoring was higher BMI (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.76–2.23), followed by male sex (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.28–1.86), older age (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.03–1.35), polygenic risks such as higher PRS (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.08–1.29), drinking behavior (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.03–1.35), late sleep mid-time (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.02–1.33), smoking behavior (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.82–1.19), and lower physical activity (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.85–1.00). Our study identified that the UK Biobank PRS for snoring was reproducible in the Korean cohort and that genetic risk served as an independent risk factor for snoring in the Korean population. These findings may help to develop personalized approaches to reduce snoring in individuals with high genetic risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure causes various health problems associated with an unhealthy lifestyle. However, the lifestyles of individuals exposed to SHS have not been characterized extensively. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the association between SHS exposure and lifestyle behaviors. The participants were 2379 healthy male employees at Osaka University who underwent health examinations. Physical and biochemical parameters and lifestyle behavior data were obtained from all the participants. Participants with SHS exposure had significantly higher body mass index, waist circumference, and serum levels of triglycerides and uric acid than that of those without SHS exposure. SHS exposure was significantly correlated with several lifestyle behaviors, including TV time, frequency of breakfast consumption and fried food consumption, vegetable and fruit intake, alcohol consumption frequency and daily alcohol intake, and smoking status. Thus, SHS exposure may be associated with an unhealthy lifestyle. The lifestyle behaviors of the smoke-excluded population were assessed further; however, SHS exposure was still associated with dietary and drinking habits. Since participants with SHS exposure are likely to have an unhealthy life and combined unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, the confounding effect of these factors should be considered when assessing the impact of SHS exposure on health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]