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Seaweeds have numerous biologically active ingredients, such as polysaccharides, polyphenols and carotenoids, that are beneficial to human health. Although these benefits might be related to the synthesis, secretion or reabsorption of uric acid, no studies have explored the relationship between seaweeds consumption and hyperuricaemia (HUA) in the general population. The aim of this study was to investigate whether seaweeds consumption is related to HUA in a large-scale adult population. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 32 365 adults (17 328 men and 15 037 women) in Tianjin, People's Republic of China. Frequency of seaweeds consumption was assessed by a validated self-administered FFQ. HUA was defined as serum uric acid levels >420 μmol/L in men and >350 μmol/L in women. The association between seaweeds consumption and HUA was assessed by multiple logistic regression analysis. Restricted cubic spline functions were used for non-linearity tests. The prevalence of HUA in men and women was 21·17 % and 5·93 %, respectively. After adjustments for potential confounding factors, the OR (95 % CI) for HUA across seaweed consumption (g/1000 kcal per d) were 1·00 (reference) for level 1, 0·91 (95 % CI 0·81, 1·02) for level 2; 0·90 (95 % CI 0·81, 1·01) for level 3; 0·86 (95 % CI 0·78, 0·97) for level 4 in men and 0·90 (95 % CI 0·73, 1·10) for level 2; 0·82 (95 % CI 0·67, 1·00) for level 3; 0·84 (95 % CI 0·68, 1·03) for level 4 in women, respectively. A negative correlation between seaweeds consumption and HUA in males but not in females was observed. Further studies are needed to explore the causal relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome. Recent evidence has suggested the protective effects of honey consumption against the metabolic syndrome, but the association between honey intake and NAFLD is still unclear. We investigated how the consumption frequency of honey was associated with NAFLD in the general population. This was a cross-sectional study of 21 979 adults aged 20–90 years. NAFLD was diagnosed based on the ultrasound-diagnosed fatty liver without significant alcohol intake and other liver diseases. Diet information, including consumption frequency of honey, was assessed by a validated 100-item FFQ. OR with 95 % CI were calculated by the binary logistic regression model, adjusting for confounding factors identified by the directed acyclic graph. Overall, 6513 adults (29·6 %) had NAFLD. Compared with participants consuming ≤1 time/week of honey, the multivariable OR of NAFLD were 0·86 (95 % CI 0·77, 0·97) for 2–6 times/week and 1·10 (95 % CI 0·95, 1·27) for ≥1 times/d (Pfor trend = 0·90). The results were generally similar in subgroups of BMI at a cut-point of 24·0 kg/m2 (Pfor interaction = 0·10). In this large-scale study, consuming honey 2–6 times/week was inversely associated with NAFLD, whereas consuming honey ≥1 times/d had no association with NAFLD. These results need replication in other large-scale prospective studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal studies have suggested that mushroom intake can alleviate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, the association between mushroom intake and NAFLD is unknown in humans. We aimed to investigate the association of mushroom intake with NAFLD among Chinese adults. This is a cross-sectional study of 24 236 adults (mean (standard deviation) age: 40·7 (sd 11·9) years; 11 394 men (47·0 %)). Mushroom intake was assessed via a validated FFQ. Newly diagnosed NAFLD was identified based on the results of annual health examinations, including ultrasound findings and a self-reported history of the disease. Multiple logistic models were used to examine the association between mushroom intake and NAFLD. The prevalence of newly diagnosed NAFLD was 19·0 %. Compared with those consuming mushrooms less frequently (≤1 time/week), the fully adjusted OR of newly diagnosed NAFLD were 0·95 (95 % CI 0·86, 1·05) for those consuming 2–3 times/week and 0·76 (95 % CI 0·63, 0·92) for those consuming ≥4 times/week (P for trend = 0·01). The inverse association was consistent in subgroups defined by age, sex and BMI. In conclusion, higher mushroom intake was significantly associated with lower prevalence of NAFLD among Chinese adults. Future research is required to understand the causal association between mushroom intake and NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The health benefits of dietary fibre (DF) intake on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are controversial. Thus, this large cross-sectional study aimed to determine the associations between DF intake and the prevalence of newly-diagnosed NAFLD in a large general population. Methods: A total of 23,529 participants were enrolled in the analyses. Newly-diagnosed NAFLD was diagnosed according to liver ultrasonography and history of alcohol intake. DF intake was assessed using a validated self-administered food frequency questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was applied to estimate the associations between DF intake and NAFLD. Results: In total, 18.81% (n = 4426) of the participants were newly diagnosed with NAFLD. Compared with the participants in the lowest quartile of DF intake, the ORs (95% CI) for the participants in the highest quartile were 0.81 (0.67, 0.97), 0.78 (0.62, 0.99), and 0.85 (0.62, 1.17) for all participants, men, and women, respectively. Compared with the participants in the lowest quartile of insoluble DF intake, the ORs (95% CI) for the participants in the highest quartile were 0.70 (0.58, 0.85), 0.60 (0.47, 0.76), and 0.95 (0.68, 1.32) in all participants, men, and women, respectively. No association was observed between soluble DF intake and NAFLD. DF from whole grain, soy foods, vegetables, and nuts but not fruits were negatively associated with NAFLD. Conclusions: A higher intake of insoluble DF is associated with lower prevalence of newly-diagnosed NAFLD in men. Moreover, intake DF from whole grain, soy foods, vegetables, and nuts, but not fruits have favorable effect on the prevalence of newly diagnosed NAFLD. Further cohort studies and randomized controlled trials are needed to validate this finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many components in diet have regulated oxidative stress, inflammatory reaction and even balance oestrogen levels. Because these factors are closely associated with depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women, it is considered that dietary factors are able to prevent and control depressive symptoms. On the other hand, a dietary pattern that considers the correlations and synergies between foods and nutrients is expected to have a greater impact on disease risk. The aim of the present study is to evaluate whether dietary patterns are associated with depressive symptoms in Chinese postmenopausal women. A cross-sectional study of 2051 postmenopausal women (mean age: 58·8 (sd 7·4) years) was conducted in Tianjin, China. Dietary consumption was assessed by a valid self-administered FFQ. Principal component analysis was used to derive three major dietary patterns: 'healthy', 'sweets' and 'traditional Tianjin' from eighty-eight food items. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, and cut-off point of 48 indicating serious depressive symptoms. The association between quartile of dietary patterns and depressive symptoms was assessed using multiple logistic regression analysis. The multivariable-adjusted OR of having depressive symptoms for increasing quartile of dietary patterns were as follows: healthy, 1·00, 0·79 (95 % CI 0·49, 1·28), 0·62 (95 % CI 0·37, 1·04) and 0·57 (95 % CI 0·33, 0·97); sweets, 1·00, 0·75 (95 % CI 0·42, 1·3), 1·08 (95 % CI 0·64, 1·81) and 1·66 (95 % CI 1·03, 2·71); and traditional Tianjin, 1·00, 1·02 (95 % CI 0·58, 1·79), 0·96 (95 % CI 0·54, 1·71) and 2·53 (95 % CI 1·58, 4·16), respectively. The present study demonstrated that a healthy dietary pattern was inversely associated with depressive symptoms. On the contrary, greater adherence to sweets and traditional Tianjin dietary patterns was associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) was related with increased risk of mortality and adverse cardiovascular outcomes. However, it is uncertain whether RDW is related to the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in Asian population. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between RDW and AF in a large Chinese population. Methods: We performed a cross‐sectional study to examine the relationship between RDW and AF among 106 998 subjects who were from the Tianjin Chronic Low‐grade Systemic Inflammation and Health Cohort Study. AF was diagnosed using electrocardiography, and RDW was measured using an automated hematology analyzer. Multiple logistic regression models were conducted to examine the relation between tertiles of RDW and AF. Results: The overall prevalence of AF was 0.1% (129/106 998). After adjustments for potential confounding factors, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of AF across increasing tertiles of RDW were 1.00 (reference), 1.08 (0.69, 1.67), and 2.65 (1.75, 4.07) (P for trend < .0001), respectively. Conclusions: The study demonstrated that elevated RDW is significantly related to higher prevalence of AF in a general Chinese population. Large prospective studies are needed to confirm this finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Quercetin is one of potential antidiabetic substances because of its powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions. The purpose of this study is to estimate daily quercetin intake and assess the relationship between dietary quercetin intake and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a Chinese population. Methods: Dietary intake was investigated by a validated 100-item food frequency questionnaire. Daily intakes of quercetin and nutrients were calculated accordingly. T2DM was diagnosed based on the criteria of the American Diabetes Association. Adjusted logistic regression models were used to analyze the relationship between the quartiles of quercetin intake and the prevalence of T2DM. Results: The prevalences of T2DM were 8.35% in men and 4.68% in women. The main food sources of quercetin were apple, orange, and green tea. Daily intake of quercetin was 20.9 ± 2.32 mg/day (mean ± SD). After adjusting for potentially confounding factors, the odds ratios (95% CI) for T2DM across the ascending quartiles of quercetin intake were: 1.00 (reference), 0.75 (0.60–0.95), 0.76 (0.59–0.99), and 0.63 (0.51–0.94). Conclusions: The results of the present study showed that quercetin intake was inversely related to the prevalence of T2DM in the Chinese population, suggesting a protective effect of quercetin in the development of T2DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Epidemiological studies directly examining the association between habitual yoghurt consumption and mental health remain scarce. The aim of this study is to investigate the association of yoghurt consumption with depressive symptoms in adults.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 19,596 Chinese adults (mean age 41.2, standard deviation 11.8 years; males, 54.3%). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). Dietary intake was obtained through a valid food frequency questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between yoghurt consumption and depressive symptoms. A number of potential confounders were adjusted in the model.Results: The prevalence of elevated depressive symptoms was 17.1% (SDS ≥45). The multivariable adjusted odds ratios (95% CI) of having elevated depressive symptoms by increasing levels of yoghurt consumption (1-3 times/week, 4-7 times/week, and  ≥twice/day) were 1.05 (0.96, 1.15), 1.02 (0.91, 1.15), and 2.10 (1.61, 2.73) in comparison with lowest consumption group (

Purpose: Excessive consumption of soft drinks is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, the association between soft drinks consumption and NAFLD is unclear in non-Caucasian adults with relatively low soft drinks consumption. The aim of this study was to assess the association between soft drinks consumption and NAFLD in Chinese adults.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 26,790 adults living in Tianjin, China. NAFLD (with elevated alanine aminotransferase [ALT]) was diagnosed by the liver ultrasonography and serum ALT concentrations. Soft drinks consumption was assessed using a validated self-administered food frequency questionnaire, and it was summarized as three categories for analysis: almost never (reference), <1 cup/week, and ≥1 cups/week. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) was defined according to the criteria of the American Heart Association scientific statements of 2009. The association between soft drinks consumption and NAFLD was assessed by multiple logistic regression analysis.Results: The prevalence of NAFLD and NAFLD with elevated ALT was 27.1 and 6.5%, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounding variables (including MetS), the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for NAFLD or NAFLD with elevated ALT across soft drinks consumption were 1.00 (reference) for almost never, 1.14 (1.02-1.27) or 1.16 (0.98-1.37) for <1 cup/week, and 1.26 (1.14-1.40) or 1.32 (1.13-1.53) for ≥1 cups/week (both P for trend <0.001), respectively.Conclusions: This is the first study to demonstrate that soft drinks consumption is associated with NAFLD independent of MetS in Chinese adults with relatively low soft drinks consumption. These results suggest that reducing soft drinks consumption might be beneficial to the prevention of NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have supported the theory that there is a positive association between ferritin and carotid atherosclerosis in Western people. Diet plays an important role in determining serum ferritin concentration. Asian dietary patterns are different from Western dietary patterns, implying that there may be a difference in the association of ferritin with carotid atherosclerosis between Asian and Western people. However, few studies focus on the association between ferritin and carotid atherosclerosis among Asians. The aim of this study was to investigate how serum ferritin levels are associated with carotid atherosclerosis in an Asian adult population. A cross-sectional assessment was performed in 8302 adults in Tianjin, China. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaques were assessed using ultrasonography, and serum ferritin was measured using the protein chip-chemiluminescence method. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between quartiles of serum ferritin concentration and carotid atherosclerosis. In the present study, the overall prevalence of IMT and carotid plaques in participants is 29·2 and 22·7 %, respectively. In women, after adjustments for potentially confounding factors, the OR of IMT and carotid plaques by increasing serum ferritin quartiles were 1·00, 1·39 (95 % CI 0·98–1·99), 1·39 (95 % CI 0·99–1·97), 1·81 (95 % CI 1·30–2·55) (Pfor trend<0·001) and 1·00, 1·24 (95 % CI 0·89–1·73), 1·18 (95 % CI 0·85–1·65), 1·59 (95 % CI 1·15–2·20) (Pfor trend<0·01), respectively. However, no association was found between serum ferritin and carotid atherosclerosis in men. The study demonstrated that increased serum ferritin levels are independently associated with IMT and carotid plaques in Asian women but not in Asian men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Banana contains many kinds of substances that are beneficial to depressive symptoms. However, there are no epidemiological researches directly to explore the association between banana consumption and depressive symptoms. This study aimed to investigate whether the banana consumption is related to depressive symptoms in a general adult population.Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in 24,673 adults in Tianjin. Banana consumption was evaluated via a validated food frequency questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were assessed by using Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). The association between banana consumption and depressive symptoms was analyzed by multiple logistic regression analysis.Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 16.1% in males and 18.4% in females (SDS ≥ 45), respectively. In males, comparing to the reference group (almost never), the multivariable adjusted odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence intervals) of depressive symptoms across banana consumption were 0.86 (0.74, 0.99) for <1 time/week, 0.76 (0.66, 0.88) for 1-3 times/week and 0.97 (0.82, 1.16) for ≥4 times/week. By contrast, the multivariable adjusted ORs (95% confidence intervals) were 1.11 (0.94, 1.32) for <1 time/week, 0.99 (0.85, 1.16) for 1-3 times/week and 1.22 (1.02, 1.46) for ≥4 times/week in females. Similar association was observed when other cut-offs (SDS ≥ 48 and 50) were used to define depressive symptoms.Limitation: This is a cross-sectional study, causality remains unknown.Conclusion: Findings from this study suggested a negative association between moderate banana consumption and depressive symptoms in males. In females, high banana consumption is positively related to depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myricetin is a natural plant-derived inhibitor for α-glucosidase and α-amylase and possesses strong antioxidant activity. Myricetin is reported to be effective in treating many symptoms that are associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), therefore, we hypothesized that myricetin plays a preventive role in the development of T2DM. To test this hypothesis, we designed a cross-sectional population study, which included 24 138 subjects, with 1357 of them diagnosed with T2DM. A validated 100-item food frequency questionnaire was used to collect dietary information. Daily intakes of myricetin and nutrients were calculated, based on the Chinese food composition tables. Multiple logistic regression analysis models were used to analyze the relationship between the quartiles of myricetin intake and the prevalence of T2DM. We found that, in this Chinese population, the daily intake of myricetin was 120.5 ± 95.7 mg, with apple, peach, orange, pineapple, and sweet potato being the main food sources. Significant inverse trends were observed between intakes of myricetin and prevalence of T2DM in multivariable models (all p -trend <0.0001). The odds ratios (95% CI) for T2DM across the ascending quartiles of myricetin intake were: 1.00 (reference), 0.73 (0.61, 0.87), 0.61 (0.50, 0.75), and 0.51 (0.40, 0.64). This study showed that myricetin intake was inversely related to the prevalence of T2DM in this Chinese population, suggesting a protective effect of myricetin in the development of T2DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]