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Aim The purpose of the present study was to determine the association of unhealthy dietary food items with cardiometabolic risk factors with and without sociodemographic factors. Methods This cross-sectional study used data available to the public from the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) 2009-2010 where unhealthy food consumption was based on responses to the Dietary Screener Questionnaire (unique to this NHANES cycle), and cardiometabolic risk factors were based on laboratory results, anthropometric measures, interview and examination questions for 2045 adults aged 20-69 and belonging to four racial/ethnic groups: 473 Mexican Americans (MA); 267 Other Hispanics (OH); 389, non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB) and 916 non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) (characterised by NHANES). Results A higher percent of MA, followed by OH and NHB, consumed soft drinks as compared to NHW. Consumption of fried potatoes was over 75% across groups and was associated with higher odds dyslipidaemia (high non-HDL cholesterol) in the reduced model: OR = 1.38 (1.10, 1.73), P = 0.009 and full model: OR = 1.50 (1.15, 1.96), P = 0.005. All unhealthy foods measured were consumed more often by males as compared to females. Conclusions Dyslipidaemia was associated with fried potato consumption and marginally with processed meats. Dietary interventions, tailored to specific populations, are needed to determine if substituting healthy foods in place of unhealthy ones will improve cardiometabolic outcomes.

This cross sectional study examines the association between caffeine intake and type 2 diabetes (T2D) markers in three ethnicities: Haitian Americans (HA), African Americans (AA) and Cuban Americans (CA) with or without T2D. Subjects (CA=349, HA=257 HA and AA=249) with a mean age of 58.47 years were recruited at various community centers in South Florida. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C) and insulin levels were measured from blood samples following an overnight fast. Homeostasis Model Assessment 2 (HOMA-2) was used to estimate beta cell function (HOMA2-β) and insulin resistance (HOMA2-IR). Caffeine intake was collected using the semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) developed by Walter Willett. Statistical analysis included t-test, chi-square and linear regression controlling for age, gender and waist circumference. Results indicated that as caffeine intake increased, CA with diabetes and AA without diabetes had significantly higher A1C levels (p=0.001 and p=0.042...

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between pulse pressure (systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) differences), and blood triglyceride levels in a young multi-ethnic group living in South Florida. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 77 young adults, males (n=40) and females (n=37), ages 18-36 years recruited from Florida International University campus. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D and triglyceride were measured by ELISA method. SBP and DBP were measured by an automated monitor. Alcohol consumption and tobacco use were calculated from a demographic questionnaire. A multi-linear regression model was run, adjusting for age, body mass index, serum vitamin D level, alcohol consumption and tobacco use. Results: Pulse pressure was positively associated with triglycerides (P=0.002), while 25(OH)D was negatively associated (P=0.047). This association remained significant after controlling for covariates (B=2.541, P=0.002 for pulse pressure, B=-2.049, P...

Background: Intestinal bacterial products such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) are a marker of microbial translocation which causes chronic immune activation associated with HIV disease progression. Ex...

Objective: In a cross-sectional study we examined total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TC/HDL) ratio and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL/HDL) ratio in 66 Foreign-born Af...

The study examined relationships between physical activity (PA) and Metabolic Syndrome (METS) in Jamaican adolescents. A descriptive, cross-sectional survey examined 276 students from 10 Jamaican h...

This cross sectional study examined the relationship between pulse pressure and microalbuminuria (MA) in Haitian Americans with type 2 diabetes. Subjects (n=133) were recruited from multiple sources from South Florida. Blood pressure was measured twice and averaged to calculate pulse pressure. Pulse pressure was calculated by systolic blood pressure minus diastolic blood pressure. Glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C) levels were measured from fasting blood samples with the Roche Tina-Quant method. MA was determined in urine samples by a semiquantitative assay (ImmunoDip). Statistical analysis included t-test, chi-square and logistic regression, controlling for age, gender, BMI, A1C and hypertension medications. MA was present in 35% of Haitian Americans with type 2 diabetes. A significantly higher percentage of Haitian Americans with MA had abnormal pulse pressure (>60 mmHg) as compared to those without MA (P=0.005). Logistic regression analysis showed that after controlling for covariates, subjects with abnorma...

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D, total cholesterol and blood pressure (BP) among young multi-ethnic participants living in So...

Objective: Observational studies have found serum vitamin D levels less than 30 ng/ml were associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes mellitus, and all-cause mortality. Diabetes, race/ethnicity, and body mass index (BMI) are independent risk factors of vitamin D deficiency. Methods: The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Florida International University. Participants were recruited by a purchased mailing list of individuals with type 2 diabetes. The final sample size was N= 372 (110 Cuban-, 134 Haitian-, and 128 African- Americans). BMI was calculated from height and weight (kg/m2) measured in the Human Nutrition Laboratory. Serum vitamin D was determined from fasted blood using enzyme-immunoassay kit by absorbance. Reduced and adjusted general linear models were conducted to test BMI with serum vitamin D. Vitamin D insufficiency by ethnicity and BMI was assessed by logistic regression analysis. Results: The proportion of vitamin D deficiency was high across ethnicities ...

This cross sectional study investigated the relationship between dietary patterns measured with Healthy Eating Index 2005 (HEI-05) and Self-Rated Health (SRH) in African Americans (AA) with (n=129) and without (n=120) type 2 diabetes (T2D). Recruitment was by community outreach in South Florida. Socio-demographic information and SRH were collected using questionnaires or self-report. Dietary variables were collected using the Willett’s food frequency questionnaire, and then HEI-05 scores were calculated. Reported SRH of individuals with T2D was lower (33.9%, p=.001) than SRH of those without T2D for excellent/very good category. HEI-05 scores between T2D (41.10±11.62) and without T2D (44.01±13.54) groups were only marginally significant (p=.088). Linear regression model showed an association between SRH and HEI-05 (p=.038, B=-2.758) after controlling for covariates. ANCOVA analysis showed that after controlling for covariates the mean HEI-05 scores of “excellent/very good” SRH group (46.53 ± 1.81) were si...

Background: Increased serum levels of triglycerides may dysregulate metabolic processes. We investigated the associations of triglyceride levels with Hemoglobin A1C (A1C) and adiponectin in Haitian...

The study examined the associations of serum cotinine (a biomarker of smoke exposure) and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] with blood pressure and serum lipids in Turkish immigrants with type 2 diabetes (T2D). A total of 110 participants, physician-diagnosed with T2D, aged 30 years and older were recruited from multiple sources from The Hague, Netherlands in a cross-sectional design. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured using automated office blood pressure equipment. Serum cotinine levels were measured with a solid-phase competitive chemiluminescent immunoassay. Serum 25(OH)D was determined by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Serum lipids were determined by enzymatic assay and included total cholesterol (CHOL), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides (TG). Total cholesterol to HDL ratio (CHOL:HDL) and atherosclerosis-index (AI) were calculated. High cotinine levels (蠅 25 ng/mL) were associated with high...