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Aims: The Southern European Atlantic diet (SEAD) is the traditional dietary pattern of northwestern Spain and northern Portugal, but it may resemble that of central, eastern, and western European countries. The SEAD has been found associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction and mortality in older adults, but it is uncertain whether this association also exists in other European populations and if it is similar as that found in its countries of origin., Methods and Results: We conducted a prospective analysis of four cohorts with 35 917 subjects aged 18-96 years: ENRICA (Spain), HAPIEE (Czechia and Poland), and Whitehall II (United Kingdom). The SEAD comprised fresh fish, cod, red meat and pork products, dairy, legumes and vegetables, vegetable soup, potatoes, whole-grain bread, and moderate wine consumption. Associations were adjusted for sociodemographic variables, energy intake, lifestyle, and morbidity. After a median follow-up of 13.6 years (range = 0-15), we recorded 4 973 all-cause, 1 581 cardiovascular, and 1 814 cancer deaths. Higher adherence to the SEAD was associated with lower mortality in the pooled sample. Fully adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence interval per 1-standard deviation increment in the SEAD were 0.92 (0.89, 0.95), 0.91 (0.86, 0.96), and 0.94 (0.89, 0.99) for all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality, respectively. The association of the SEAD with all-cause mortality was not significantly different between countries [Spain = 0.93 (0.88, 0.99), Czechia = 0.94 (0.89,0.99), Poland = 0.89 (0.85, 0.93), United Kingdom = 0.98 (0.89, 1.07); P for interaction = 0.16]., Conclusion: The SEAD was associated with lower all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality in southern, central, eastern, and western European populations. Associations were of similar magnitude as those found for existing healthy dietary patterns., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: None declared., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: The aim of this analysis was to examine the prospective association between household availability of lard, butter, margarine and vegetable oil with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence in a general population sample in Russia., Methods: Data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey were used. 6618 adult individuals with no previous CVD who were recruited for the study in 1994 and followed-up in subsequent years were included in the analysis. Household availability of lard, butter, margarine and vegetable oil were assessed at baseline with questions on whether these food items were purchased by the participants' family. Self-reported information on heart attack or stroke (CVD) and death reported by another household member were used as outcome., Results: Over the median follow-up of 11 years, 1787 participants died or reported incident CVD. In the multivariable adjusted survival models, household availability of lard was significantly associated with the combined outcome of CVD incidence and/or death (OR in the high vs. no availability categories: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.05-1.62). The associations with butter (1.06; 0.93-1.20), margarine (1.18; 0.94-1.47) and vegetable oil (0.92; 0.80-1.06) were not statistically significant. When self-reported CVD and mortality were examined separately, the association regarding lard was particularly strong for CVD (1.52; 1.11-2.09)., Conclusion: Our results suggest that lard, a dietary fat of animal origin traditionally used in Eastern European cooking, is of a particular concern regarding CVD risk. Replacing it with plant-based oils in cooking practices is strongly recommended., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.)

Despite the rapid progress in diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD), this disease remains a major cause of mortality and morbidity. Recent progress over the last two decades in the field of molecular genetics, especially with new tools such as genome-wide association studies, has helped to identify new genes and their variants, which can be used for calculations of risk, prediction of treatment efficacy, or detection of subjects prone to drug side effects. Although the use of genetic risk scores further improves CVD prediction, the significance is not unambiguous, and some subjects at risk remain undetected. Further research directions should focus on the "second level" of genetic information, namely, regulatory molecules (miRNAs) and epigenetic changes, predominantly DNA methylation and gene-environment interactions.

Purpose: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer mortality rates in Eastern Europe are among the highest in the world. Although diet is an important risk factor, traditional eating habits in this region have not yet been explored. This analysis assessed the relationship between traditional dietary pattern and mortality from all-causes, CVD and cancer in Eastern European cohorts., Methods: Data from the Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial factors in Eastern Europe prospective cohort were used, including participants from Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic. Based on food frequency questionnaire data, we constructed an Eastern European diet score (EEDS) from nine food groups which can be considered as traditional in this region. The relationship between categorical (low, moderate, high) and continuous (range 0-18) EEDS and mortality was estimated with Cox-regression., Results: From 18,852 eligible participants, 2234 died during follow-up. In multivariable adjusted models, participants with high adherence to the traditional Eastern European diet had significantly higher risk of all-cause (HR 1.23; 95% CI 1.08-1.42) and CVD (1.34; 1.08-1.66) deaths compared to those with low adherence. The association with cancer mortality was only significant in Poland (high vs. low EEDS: 1.41; 1.00-1.98). From the specific EEDS components, high consumption of lard was significantly positively related to all three mortality outcomes, while preserved fruit and vegetable consumption showed consistent inverse associations., Conclusion: Our results suggest that traditional eating habits may contribute to the poor health status, particularly the high CVD mortality rates, of populations in Eastern Europe. Adequate public health nutritional interventions in this region are essential.

Introduction and Aim: It has been proposed that plasma concentration of bilirubin, an endogenous antioxidant, is protective against diseases mediated by increased oxidative stress, including cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cancer. To examine this hypothesis, we investigated the relationship between plasma bilirubin concentrations and bilirubin UDP-glucuronosyl transferase (UGT1A1) promoter gene variations (associated with increased bilirubin concentrations) with total/CVD and cancer mortality., Materials and Methods: A nested case-control study was conducted within the Polish arm of the HAPIEE cohort. At baseline in 2002-2005, participants were examined in detail. Mortality follow-up (median (IQR) between blood draw and death was 3.7 (2.1-5.1) years) was performed by linkage with regional and national death registers. Plasma biomarkers were analysed in all subjects who died from any cause (cases, n=447) and in a random subsample of survivors (controls, n=1423)., Results: There was a strong negative association between plasma bilirubin levels and total and cancer mortality, expressed more profoundly in men. The adjusted OR of deaths from all causes and cancer, comparing the highest vs. lowest plasma bilirubin categories were 0.61 (95% CI: 0.42-0.87) and 0.39 (0.24-0.65), respectively. There was no association of bilirubin with CVD mortality. The UGT1A1*28 allele, a genetic marker of raised bilirubin, was also negatively associated with total/cancer mortality, although the associations were not statistically significant., Discussion: Both the observational and genetic associations support the negative relationship between bilirubin and total mortality; this association appears to be driven by cancer mortality, while that with CVD mortality is not evident., (Copyright © 2019 Fundación Clínica Médica Sur, A.C. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Mediterranean-type dietary pattern has been associated with lower risk of cardiovascular (CVD) and other chronic diseases, primarily in Southern European populations. We examined whether Mediterranean diet score (MDS) is associated with total, CVD, coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke mortality in a prospective cohort study in three Eastern European populations., Methods: A total of 19,333 male and female participants of the Health Alcohol and Psychosocial factors in Eastern Europe (HAPIEE) study in the Czech Republic, Poland and the Russian Federation were included in the analysis. Diet was assessed by food frequency questionnaire, and MDS was derived from consumption of nine groups of food using absolute cut-offs. Mortality was ascertained by linkage with death registers., Results: Over the median follow-up time of 7 years, 1314 participants died. The proportion of participants with high adherence to Mediterranean diet was low (25 %). One standard deviation (SD) increase in the MDS (equivalent to 2.2 point increase in the score) was found to be inversely associated with death from all causes (HR, 95 % CI 0.93, 0.88-0.98) and CVD (0.90, 0.81-0.99) even after multivariable adjustment. Inverse but statistically not significant link was found for CHD (0.90, 0.78-1.03) and stroke (0.87, 0.71-1.07). The MDS effects were similar in each country cohort., Conclusion: Higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with reduced risk of total and CVD deaths in these large Eastern European urban populations. The application of MDS with absolute cut-offs appears suitable for non-Mediterranean populations., Competing Interests: On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Objective: To test the association between coffee consumption and risk of all-cause, CVD and cancer death in a European cohort., Design: Prospective cohort study. Cox proportional hazards models with adjustment for potential confounders to estimate multivariable hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI were used., Setting: Czech Republic, Russia and Poland., Subjects: A total of 28561 individuals followed for 6·1 years., Results: A total of 2121 deaths (43·1 % CVD and 35·7 % cancer mortality) occurred during the follow-up. Consumption of 3-4 cups coffee/d was associated with lower mortality risk in men (HR=0·83; 95 % CI 0·71, 0·99) and women (HR=0·63; 95 % CI 0·47, 0·84), while further intake showed non-significant reduced risk estimates (HR=0·71; 95 % CI 0·49, 1·04 and HR=0·51; 95 % CI 0·24, 1·10 in men and women, respectively). Decreased risk of CVD mortality was also found in men (HR=0·71; 95 % CI 0·54, 0·93) for consumption of 3-4 cups coffee/d. Stratified analysis revealed that consumption of a similar amount of coffee was associated with decreased risk of all-cause (HR=0·61; 95 % CI 0·43, 0·87) and cancer mortality (HR=0·59; 95 % CI 0·35, 0·99) in non-smoking women and decreased risk of all-cause mortality for >4 cups coffee/d in men with no/moderate alcohol intake., Conclusions: Coffee consumption was associated with decreased risk of mortality. The protective effect was even stronger when stratification by smoking status and alcohol intake was performed.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the relationships between individual-level dietary intakes of antioxidant vitamins C, E and beta-carotene with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in three Central and Eastern European (CEE) populations., Methods: Data from the Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial factors in Eastern Europe cohort study were used. At the baseline survey, between 2002 and 2005, 28,945 men and women aged 45-69 years were examined in Novosibirsk (Russia), Krakow (Poland) and seven Czech towns. Deaths in the cohorts were identified through mortality registers. Cox regression was used to estimate the association between vitamin consumption and all-cause, cardiovascular (CVD) disease and cancer mortality., Results: In multivariable-adjusted analyses, there were no clear inverse associations between antioxidant vitamin intakes and mortality, although in some groups, several hazard ratios (HRs) were significant. For example, in men, compared with the lowest quintile of vitamin C intake, all-cause mortality in the third and fourth quintiles was lower by 28 % (HR 0.72; 95 % CI 0.61-0.85) and by 20 % (HR 0.80; 95 % CI 0.68-0.95), respectively. CVD mortality was lower by 35 % (HR 0.65; 95 % CI 0.50-0.84) and by 23 % (HR 0.77; 95 % CI 0.59-0.99) in third and fourth quintile of vitamin C intake, respectively. In women, the third and fourth quintiles of dietary intake of vitamin E were associated with reduced risk of all-cause death by 33 % (HR 0.67; 95 % CI 0.53-0.84) and by 23 % (HR 0.77; 95 % CI 0.61-0.97), respectively. Consumption of vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene was not related to CVD mortality in women and to cancer mortality in either gender., Conclusion: This large prospective cohort study in CEE populations with low prevalence of vitamin supplementation did not find a strong, dose-response evidence for protective effects of antioxidant vitamin intake.

Background/objectives: Unhealthy diet has been proposed as one of the main reasons for the high mortality in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the former Soviet Union (FSU) but individual-level effects of dietary habits on health in the region are sparse. We examined the associations between the healthy diet indicator (HDI) and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in three CEE/FSU populations., Subjects/methods: Dietary intakes of foods and nutrients, assessed by food frequency questionnaire in the Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial Factors in Eastern Europe (HAPIEE) cohort study, were used to construct the HDI, which follows the WHO 2003 dietary recommendations. Among 18 559 eligible adult participants (age range: 45-69 years) without a history of major chronic diseases at baseline, 1209 deaths occurred over a mean follow-up of 7 years. The association between HDI and mortality was estimated by Cox regression., Results: After adjusting for covariates, HDI was inversely and statistically significantly associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality, but not with other cause-specific and all-cause mortality in the pooled sample. Hazard ratios per one standard deviation (s.d.) increase in HDI score were 0.95 (95% confidence interval=0.89-1.00, P=0.068), 0.90 (0.81-0.99, P=0.030) and 0.85 (0.74-0.97, P=0.018) for all-cause, CVD and CHD mortality, respectively. Population attributable risk fractions for low HDI were 2.9% for all-cause, 14.2% for CVD and 10.7% for CHD mortality., Conclusions: These findings support the hypothesis that unhealthy diet has had a role in the high CVD mortality in Eastern Europe.