Search

Aging is a risk factor for several pathologies, restricting one’s health span, and promoting chronic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases), as well as cancer. Telomeres are regions of repetitive DNA located at chromosomal ends. Telomere length has been inversely associated with chronological age and has been considered, for a long time, a good biomarker of aging. Several lifestyle factors have been linked with telomere shortening or maintenance. However, the consistency of results is hampered by some methodological issues, including study design, sample size, measurement approaches, and population characteristics, among others. Therefore, we aimed to systematically review the current literature on the effects of three relevant lifestyle factors on telomere length in human adults: physical activity, smoking, and sleep. We conducted a qualitative systematic review of observational and intervention studies using the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The systematic literature search covered articles published in MEDLINE and EMBASE databases (from 2010 to 2020). A total of 1400 studies were identified; 83 were included after quality control. Although fewer sedentary activities, optimal sleep habits, and non- or ex-smoker status have been associated with less telomere shortening, several methodological issues were detected, including the need for more targeted interventions and standardized protocols to better understand how physical activity and sleep can impact telomere length and aging. We discuss the main findings and current limitations to gain more insights into the influence of these lifestyle factors on the healthy aging process.

OBJECTIVES: Understanding individual-level drivers of food intake is critical when personalizing dietary guidance. One likely driver is taste perception; yet, limited data relate perception of all 5 tastes (sweet, salt, sour, bitter, umami) to dietary patterns (DPs). Our aim was to determine whether a multivariable measure of taste perception, taste perception profiles, was associated with adherence to empirically derived DPs. METHODS: Participants were 367 community-dwelling adults with metabolic syndrome from PREDIMED-Plus, Valencia (55–75 years; 55% female). Six taste perception profiles were derived from 5 taste perception scores via a data-driven clustering approach: Low All (23%), High Bitter (16%), High Umami (17%), Low Bitter & Umami (20%), High All But Bitter (13%) and High All But Umami (11%). DPs were derived via principal component analysis using food groupings tabulated from food frequency questionnaires. Generalized linear models were used to examine relations between taste perception profiles and DP adherence, adjusting for confounders. RESULTS: Three DPs were identified, explaining 25% of total variance: a high fruit, vegetable and whole grain DP (Fruit/Veg), a high fat, sugar and refined grain DP (Fat/Sug) and a high alcohol, salt and processed meat DP (Alch/Salt). Adherence to the DPs differed by profile. Across all profiles, High Bitter and Low All individuals were most likely to follow the Alch/Salt DP (44% and 39% in highest tertial of adherence, respectively; P = 0.03), while those with High All But Bitter and High Umami tended to follow the Fat/Sug DP (42% and 39% in highest tertial, respectively; P = 0.08). Compared to Low All individuals, after adjusting for age, sex, physical activity, diabetes and BMI, those with Low Bitter & Umami adhered less to the Alch/Salt DP (β [95% CI] = −0.3 [−0.6, −0.03]) while those with High Umami adhered more to the Fat/Sug DP (0.4 [0.1, 0.8]). CONCLUSIONS: Among older adults with metabolic syndrome, taste perception profiles were differentially associated with adherence to empirically derived DPs, suggesting the benefit of using taste perception profiles when customizing risk reduction dietary guidance. FUNDING SOURCES: ARS/USDA, HNRCA Cassidy Student Research Award, Spanish Ministry of Health (Instituto de Salud Carlos III; SAF2016–80532-R), CIBEROBN (06/03/0035) and Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO 17/2017).

OBJECTIVES: Diet regulates gene expression and methylation profiles by several mechanisms. However, studies analyzing the simultaneous effect of specific foods on gene-expression and DNA methylation at the genome-wide level are very scarce. Therefore our aims were: To study the short-term transcriptomics and epigenomcis effects at the genome-wide level of the Iberian ham intake compared with orange intake in the same subjects. METHODS: We carried out a cross-over randomized trial (registered at ISRCTN17906849) in 33 healhty volunteers (aged 18–50 years and 50% females) of European ancestry. After 12h fasting, participants were randomly allocated to eat 67.5 g of Iberian ham (100% pure iberian breed and 100% acorn fed) or 500 g of peeled oranges (Citrus reticulata) depening on the intervention group. After a washout period, subjects were crossed over to the alternate treatment arm. Blood samples were taken at 0-h and at 4-h to isolate DNA and RNA from leukocytes. A random sample of 16 participants was selected for omics analyses (gene expression with the. GeneChip Human Gene 2.0 ST Array, and the EPIC-Illumina array (850K) for methylation). Eight arrays (2 times and 2 treatments per 2 omics) were obtained for each participant. Differences in gene expression and methylation (4 h vs baseline) were analyzed for Iberian ham, oranges and combined. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) was used for pathway enrichment analysis. RESULTS: The top-ranked genes differentially expressed P

Continuous climb operation is an operational concept that allows airlines to perform an optimal departing trajectory avoiding air traffic control segregation requirements. This concept implies the design and integration of air traffic flows for the sake of safety performance. This paper designs a new conflict-detection air traffic control tool based on the blocking-area concept, characterises the conflict probability between air traffic flows and assesses the impact of continuous climb operation integration in a terminal manoeuvring area. In this paper, a conflict is set out by the infringement of vertical and longitudinal separation minima and coincides with the probability of air traffic control tool usage. Moreover, this research discusses two different approaches for the conflict-detection air traffic control tool: a static approach considering nominal continuous climb operations and landing trajectories, and a dynamic approach that assesses 105 continuous climb operations and landing trajectories. Finally, the air traffic control tool is implemented using Palma TMA data and proves that out of 11 intersections (between departing and landing routes), solely 4 generate vertical separation infringements. The conflict probability between continuous climb operations and arrivals is less than 10−5. Except for one intersection, that is roughly 10−2, similar to current air traffic control intervention designed levels. Therefore, results conclude the viability of the conflict-detection air traffic control tool and continuous climb operations integration.

Air traffic networks are highly dependent on airport arrival processes, which are common triggers for capacity constraints and delay propagation. Arrival Manager tools aim to improve arrival flows at airports. To do so they need reliable, accurate assessments of potential congestion and delay issues. This paper sets out a methodology for predicting and evaluating the operational state of the airport arrival system. This methodology is structured in two steps: the prediction stage and the reliability stage. The prediction model is based on a Bayesian Network approach, which reflects the stochastic and time-varying nature of airport operations. It also provides insights into the interdependencies between factors contributing to airport performance. The reliability model uses a Multi-State System structure, as the airport arrival system has a large number of performance levels. It is developed via a Markov process technique. By combining these prediction and reliability models we can assess the characteristics of the airport arrival system: stationary state, availability, performance and degradation. The methodology is applied to a case study at a busy European airport, using real data from peak traffic months. Results for the scenarios analyzed show that the factors that have a greatest impact on delay and congestion are the level of saturation at arrival processes, the time frame of the day (which determines the arrival declared capacity) and the meteorological conditions. Moreover, arrival states of congestion reduce the airport’s ability to maintain optimal performance rates. The model represents an evolution from the traditional corrective and binary vision of performance analysis towards a predictive and multi-state approach. The results can be applied to derive operational strategies and draw conclusions regarding arrival performance and management.

Objective: Evidence suggests perception of sweet, salt, sour, bitter, and umami tastes may be independently related to food preferences and intake. Our objective was to determine whether a collective measure of taste perception for all 5 tastes—“taste perception profiles”—was related to adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MedD). Methods: Participants were 367 older adults (55-75 years; 55% female) with metabolic syndrome from PREDIMED-Plus, Valencia. A data-driven clustering approach identified six taste perception profiles from baseline taste perception scores: Low All ( n = 85), High Bitter ( n = 41), High Umami ( n = 61), Low Bitter & Umami ( n = 59), High All But Bitter ( n = 72) and High All But Umami ( n = 49). A MedD adherence score was tabulated from a questionnaire which captured adherence to 17 pre-determined MedD criteria (range = 0-17; 1 point per criteria met). Generalized linear models were used to determine the relations between taste perception profiles and MedD adherence scores, with confounder adjustment. Results: Across profiles, there were no significant differences in MedD adherence scores (unadjusted mean range = 8.1-8.6; ANOVA, p = 0.97); however, there were significant differences in the criteria met by each profile. For High All But Bitter and Low All profiles, 71% vs. 42% of individuals, respectively, met criteria for adequate vegetable intake (chi square = 12.8, p = 0.03); and for High All But Umami and High All But Bitter profiles, 95% vs. 65% of individuals, respectively, reported preferring lean over red meat (chi square = 12.5, p = 0.03). After adjusting for age, sex, physical activity, smoking status, diabetes, medication use and energy intake, compared to individuals with Low All (reference), those with High All But Bitter were more likely to meet criteria for adequate vegetable (OR [95% CI] = 2.9 [1.3, 6.6]), adequate sofrito (2.4 [1.1, 5.4]) and moderate wine (4.1 [1.5, 11.3]) intakes, and less likely to meet criteria for low non-whole grain pasta/rice (0.3 [0.1, 0.8]), white bread (0.3 [0.1, 0.6]) and red/processed meat (0.3 [0.2, 0.7]) intakes, and to report preferring lean over red meat (0.3 [0.1, 0.8]) and using extra virgin olive oil as a main cooking fat (0.4 [0.2, 0.95]); individuals with High Bitter were more likely to meet criteria for adequate fruit (2.7 [1.3, 5.5]) and less likely to meet criteria for low sugar-sweetened beverage (0.4 [0.2, 0.8]) intakes, while those with High Umami were more likely to meet criterion for adequate vegetable intake (2.2 [1.1, 4.5]). Neither Low Bitter & Umami nor High All But Umami were significantly associated with MedD adherence. Conclusions: Among older adults with metabolic syndrome, taste perception profiles were associated with differential patterns of adherence to a MedD, supporting the use of taste perception profiles when developing individualized dietary modification strategies to improve cardiometabolic risk factors.

[Background and aims]: The aim of this study was to ascertain the association between the consumption of different categories of edible olive oils (virgin olive oils and olive oil) and olive pomace oil and ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI) in participants in the PREDIMED-Plus study, a trial of lifestyle modification for weight and cardiovascular event reduction in individuals with overweight/obesity harboring the metabolic syndrome., [Methods]: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the PREDIMED-Plus trial. Consumption of any category of olive oil and olive pomace oil was assessed through a validated food-frequency questionnaire. Multivariable linear regression models were fitted to assess associations between olive oil consumption and ABI. Additionally, ABI ≤1 was considered as the outcome in logistic models with different categories of olive oil and olive pomace oil as exposure., [Results]: Among 4330 participants, the highest quintile of total olive oil consumption (sum of all categories of olive oil and olive pomace oil) was associated with higher mean values of ABI (beta coefficient: 0.014, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.002, 0.027) (p for trend = 0.010). Logistic models comparing the consumption of different categories of olive oils, olive pomace oil and ABI ≤1 values revealed an inverse association between virgin olive oils consumption and the likelihood of a low ABI (odds ratio [OR] 0.73, 95% CI [0.56, 0.97]), while consumption of olive pomace oil was positively associated with a low ABI (OR 1.22 95% CI [1.00, 1.48])., [Conclusions]: In a Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk, total olive oil consumption was associated with a higher mean ABI. These results suggest that olive oil consumption may be beneficial for peripheral artery disease prevention, but longitudinal studies are needed., The authors especially thank the PREDIMED-Plus participants for their enthusiastic collaboration, the PREDIMED-Plus personnel for outstanding support, and the personnel of all associated primary care centres for their exceptional effort. CIBEROBN, CIBERESP and CIBERDEM are initiatives of Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain.

OBJECTIVES: Glycine is a novel circulating marker for metabolic diseases associated with lower type-2 diabetes and protection against obesity in some studies. Circulating glycine levels are genetically determined under the control of several loci. The locus most strongly associated is the carbamoyl-phosphate synthase I (CPS1). Interestingly, some sex-specific genome-wide association studies (GWAS) showed differences in the effect of the main single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in this locus on glycine levels (significant sex * CPS1 interactions). However, the potential mechanisms explaining this sex-heterogeneity are unknown. Therefore, our aims were: 1) to analyze whether the sex * CPS1 interaction for serum glycine is present in subjects from a Mediterranean population, and 2) to test, in another population, the glycine sex-specific associations with obesity, using a Mendelian randomization approach. METHODS: We studied 426 subjects (aged 55–75 y) with metabolic syndrome from the PREDIMED Plus-Valencia Study. Serum glycine was determined by NMR spectroscopy. We screened the CPS1 gene for SNP associations. In another Mediterranean population (PREDIMED-Valencia participants, n = 1009) we analyzed the sex-specific associations between the genetically determined glycine (CPS1-SNP) and obesity, using Mendelian randomization. RESULTS: In the PREDIMED Plus-Valencia subjects, serum glycine levels were higher in women than in men (280 vs 240 micromol/L, respectively; P = 1.4 × 1E15). The CPS1-rs7684 (3’-UTR) SNPs was strongly associated with glycine levels in women but not in men (P for sex * CPS1 interaction = 0.004), replicating previous findings. The minor allele was associated with lower serum glycine. In the Mendelian randomization study in the population with unmeasured glycine levels, the CPS1-rs7684 SNPs presented a sex-specific interaction for obesity (P

Several studies have shown that a low magnesium (Mg) intake in the diet is associated with greater cardiovascular risk and greater risk of diabetes. However, the results are not consistent in all populations. To minimize the biases derived from diet measurement, more objective biomarkers of magnesium status have been proposed. Although there is still no ideal biomarker for Mg, several studies have shown that plasma Mg concentrations could be a relatively acceptable biomarker for cardiovascular risk assessment. However, further studies are required to better characterize this marker in different populations. Our aim was to analyze the association between plasma Mg concentrations (measured through inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)) methods, and cardiovascular risk factors in individuals from a general Mediterranean population (aged 18&ndash, 80 years). The influence of demographic and lifestyle variables, including adherence to the Mediterranean diet, on plasma Mg concentrations was analyzed. The mean Mg level of the population studied was 0.77 &plusmn, 0.08 mmol/L, the prevalence of hypomagnesemia (&lt, 0.70 mmol/L) being 18.6%. We did not find any statistically significant differences between plasma Mg concentrations and sex, age, tobacco smoking and total adherence to the Mediterranean diet (p &gt, 0.05). We found a statistically significant association between plasma Mg concentrations and the prevalence of type-2 diabetes (0.77 &plusmn, 0.08 mmol/L in non-diabetics versus 0.73 &plusmn, 0.13 mmol/L in diabetics, p = 0.009). Despite the low prevalence of type-2 diabetes in this population (11.24% in subjects with hypomagnesemia versus 3.91%, in normomagnesemia, p = 0.005), hypomagnesemia was associated with greater odds of being diabetic in comparison with normomagnesemia (OR = 3.36, p = 0.016, even after adjustment for sex, age, obesity, and medications). On the other hand, no statistically significant association of plasma Mg concentrations with obesity, hypertension, fasting triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol or uric acid was found. However, in contrast to what was initially expected, a statistically significant association was found between plasma Mg concentrations (basically in the highest quartile) and greater total cholesterol (p &lt, 0.05) and LDL-cholesterol concentrations (p &lt, 0.05). In conclusion, our results contribute to increasing the evidence gathered by numerous studies on the inverse association between hypomagnesemia and type-2 diabetes, as well as to the observation, previously reported in some studies, of a direct association with hypercholesterolemia. This paradoxical link should be deeply investigated in further studies.

Dietary polyphenol intake is associated with improvement of metabolic disturbances. The aims of the present study are to describe dietary polyphenol intake in a population with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and to examine the association between polyphenol intake and the components of MetS. This cross-sectional analysis involved 6633 men and women included in the PREDIMED (PREvenci&oacute, n con DIeta MEDiterranea-Plus) study. The polyphenol content of foods was estimated from the Phenol-Explorer 3.6 database. The mean of total polyphenol intake was 846 &plusmn, 318 mg/day. Except for stilbenes, women had higher polyphenol intake than men. Total polyphenol intake was higher in older participants (&gt, 70 years of age) compared to their younger counterparts. Participants with body mass index (BMI) &gt, 35 kg/m2 reported lower total polyphenol, flavonoid, and stilbene intake than those with lower BMI. Total polyphenol intake was not associated with a better profile concerning MetS components, except for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), although stilbenes, lignans, and other polyphenols showed an inverse association with blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, and triglycerides. A direct association with HDL-c was found for all subclasses except lignans and phenolic acids. To conclude, in participants with MetS, higher intake of several polyphenol subclasses was associated with a better profile of MetS components, especially HDL-c.

[Background]: Overall quality of dietary carbohydrate intake rather than total carbohydrate intake may determine the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)., [Objective]: We examined 6- and 12-mo changes in carbohydrate quality index (CQI) and concurrent changes in several CVD risk factors in a multicenter, randomized, primary-prevention trial (PREDIMED-Plus) based on an intensive weight-loss lifestyle intervention program., [Methods]: Prospective analysis of 5373 overweight/obese Spanish adults (aged 55–75 y) with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Dietary intake information obtained from a validated 143-item semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire was used to calculate 6- and 12-mo changes in CQI (categorized in quintiles), based on 4 criteria (total dietary fiber intake, glycemic index, whole grain/total grain ratio, and solid carbohydrate/total carbohydrate ratio). The outcomes were changes in intermediate markers of CVD., [Results]: During the 12-mo follow-up, the majority of participants improved their CQI by increasing their consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish, and nuts and decreasing their consumption of refined cereals, added sugars, and sugar-sweetened beverages. After 6 mo, body weight, waist circumference (WC), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), triglyceride levels, triglycerides and glucose (TyG) index, and TyG-WC decreased across successive quintiles of improvement in the CQI. After 12 mo, improvements were additionally observed for HDL cholesterol and for the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol. Favorable improvements (expressed in common units of SD and 95% CI) for quintile 5 compared with quintile 1 of CQI change were observed for most risk factors, including TyG-WC (SD −0.20; 95% CI −0.26, −0.15), HbA1c (SD −0.16; 95% CI −0.23, −0.10), weight (SD −0.12; 95% CI −0.14, −0.09), systolic BP (SD −0.11; 95% CI −0.19, −0.02) and diastolic BP (SD −0.11; 95% CI −0.19, −0.04)., [Conclusions]: Improvements in CQI were strongly associated with concurrent favorable CVD risk factor changes maintained over time in overweight/obese adults with MetS. This trial was registered as ISRCTN 89898870., The PREDIMED-Plus trial was supported by the European Research Council (advanced research grant 2013–2018, 340918 to MAM-G as PI) and by the official Spanish Institutions for funding scientific biomedical research, CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), through the Fondo de Investigación en Salud (FIS), which is cofunded by the European Regional Development Fund (4 coordinated FIS projects), the Especial Action Project entitled Implementación y evaluación de una intervención intensiva sobre la actividad física Cohorte PREDIMED-Plus grant, the Recercaixa grant (2013ACUP00194), grants from the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía, a grant from the Generalitat Valenciana, a SEMERGEN grant, and funds from the European Regional Development Fund (CB06/03)

Many early studies presented beneficial effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on cardiovascular risk factors and disease. However, results from recent meta-analyses indicate that this effect would be very low or nil. One of the factors that may contribute to the inconsistency of the results is that, in most studies, genetic factors have not been taken into consideration. It is known that fatty acid desaturase (FADS) gene cluster in chromosome 11 is a very important determinant of plasma PUFA, and that the prevalence of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) varies greatly between populations and may constitute a bias in meta-analyses. Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been carried out in other populations and none of them have investigated sex and Mediterranean dietary pattern interactions at the genome-wide level. Our aims were to undertake a GWAS to discover the genes most associated with serum PUFA concentrations (omega-3, omega-6, and some fatty acids) in a scarcely studied Mediterranean population with metabolic syndrome, and to explore sex and adherence to Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) interactions at the genome-wide level. Serum PUFA were determined by NMR spectroscopy. We found strong robust associations between various SNPs in the FADS cluster and omega-3 concentrations (top-ranked in the adjusted model: FADS1-rs174547, p = 3.34 &times, 10&minus, 14, FADS1-rs174550, p = 5.35 &times, FADS2-rs1535, p = 5.85 &times, FADS1-rs174546, p = 6.72 &times, FADS2-rs174546, p = 9.75 &times, FADS2- rs174576, p = 1.17 &times, 13, FADS2-rs174577, p = 1.12 &times, 12, among others). We also detected a genome-wide significant association with other genes in chromosome 11: MYRF (myelin regulatory factor)-rs174535, p = 1.49 &times, 12, TMEM258 (transmembrane protein 258)-rs102275, p = 2.43 &times, FEN1 (flap structure-specific endonuclease 1)-rs174538, p = 1.96 &times, 11). Similar genome-wide statistically significant results were found for docosahexaenoic fatty acid (DHA). However, no such associations were detected for omega-6 PUFAs or linoleic acid (LA). For total PUFA, we observed a consistent gene*sex interaction with the DNTTIP2 (deoxynucleotidyl transferase terminal interacting protein 2)-rs3747965 p = 1.36 &times, 8. For adherence to MedDiet, we obtained a relevant interaction with the ME1 (malic enzyme 1) gene (a gene strongly regulated by fat) in determining serum omega-3. The top-ranked SNP for this interaction was ME1-rs3798890 (p = 2.15 &times, 7). In the regional-wide association study, specifically focused on the FADS1/FASD2/FADS3 and ELOVL (fatty acid elongase) 2/ELOVL 5 regions, we detected several statistically significant associations at p &lt, 0.05. In conclusion, our results confirm a robust role of the FADS cluster on serum PUFA in this population, but the associations vary depending on the PUFA. Moreover, the detection of some sex and diet interactions underlines the need for these associations/interactions to be studied in all specific populations so as to better understand the complex metabolism of PUFA.

Introduction and objectives The ankle-brachial index (ABI) is an indicator of peripheral artery disease (PAD). The aim of this study was to assess the association between PAD, measured with the ABI, and cognitive function in persons with overweight or obesity and metabolic syndrome . Methods Cross-sectional study conducted with baseline data from the PREDIMED-Plus study, which included 4898 participants (after exclusion of those without ABI measurements) aged between 55 and 75 years, and with overweight or obesity and metabolic syndrome. At the baseline assessment, we measured the ABI with a standardized protocol and assessed the presence of other cardiovascular risk factors (eg, diabetes, dyslipidemia , hypertension). Cognitive function was evaluated using several tests validated for the Spanish population (mini-mental state examination [MMSE], phonological and semantic verbal fluency test, WAIS-III working memory index [WMI], parts A and B of the trail making test (TMT), and clock drawing test). Generalized linear models were used to assess the association between the ABI and cognitive function. Results Among the participants, 3.4% had PAD defined as ABI ≤ 0.9, and 3.3% had arterial calcification defined as ABI ≥ 1.4. PAD was associated with age, systolic blood pressure and obesity indicators, while arterial calcification was also associated with obesity and diabetes. No significant associations were observed between cognitive function and ABI or PAD. Conclusions In our sample, the presence of PAD increased with age, blood pressure, and obesity. No significant association was observed between ABI, PAD, or cognitive function.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between taste perception for sweet, salt, sour, bitter and umami and food category intakes. We hypothesized that greater taste perception will be inversely associated with the amount consumed. METHODS: A cross-sectional baseline analysis was performed on community-dwelling overweight adults with metabolic syndrome (N = 367, 55–75y) from the PREDIMED-PLUS Trial, University of Valencia Center, Spain. Taste perception was determined by challenging subjects with standard solutions of sweet, salt, sour, bitter and umami (400 mM sucrose, 200 mM NaCl, 34 mM citric acid, 5.6 mM phenylthiocarbamide (PTC), 200 mM monopotassium glutamate, respectively) and evaluated on a 0–5 scale. Outcomes included intake (servings/week) of food categories derived from a validated food frequency questionnaire: fruit (citrus/non-citrus/nuts), vegetables (cruciferous/non-cruciferous), protein (eggs/fish[fresh/shell/canned]/meat[processed/unprocessed]), grains (legumes/refined/whole), dairy (regular/low- & no-fat) and oils (extra virgin olive (EVOO)/olive/vegetable). Multivariable linear regression models were used to assess associations of perception for each taste and consumption of each food category (untransformed or transformed, for normality). RESULTS: After controlling for age, sex, diabetes, smoking, physical activity and energy intake, sweet was inversely associated with vegetables (β = −1.1; 95% CI = [−2.0, −0.2]), particularly non-cruciferous (β = −1.0; P = 0.02), and citrus fruit (β = −0.5; P

Background and aims: The prevalence of hyperuricemia has increased substantially in recent decades. It has been suggested that it is an independent risk factor for weight gain, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, metabolic syndrome (MetS), and cardiovascular disease. Results from epidemiological studies conducted in different study populations have suggested that high consumption of dairy products is associated with a lower risk of developing hyperuricemia. However, this association is still unclear. The aim of the present study is to explore the association of the consumption of total dairy products and their subtypes with the risk of hyperuricemia in an elderly Mediterranean population with MetS. Methods and results: Baseline cross-sectional analyses were conducted on 6329 men/women (mean age 65 years) with overweight/obesity and MetS from the PREDIMED-Plus cohort. Dairy consumption was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Multivariable-adjusted Cox regressions were fitted to analyze the association of quartiles of consumption of total dairy products and their subtypes with the prevalence of hyperuricemia. Participants in the upper quartile of the consumption of total dairy products (multiadjusted prevalence ratio (PR) = 0.84; 95% CI: 0.75-0.94; P-trend 0.02), low-fat dairy products (PR = 0.79; 95% CI: 0.70-0.89; P-trend

Introduction: Emerging evidence suggests that differences in the ability to perceive individual tastes; sweet, salt, sour, bitter and umami, may influence food intake - amount and variety, thereby influencing diet quality, energy balance and cardiometabolic disorders. Objective: To explore the relationship between perception of each taste and intake of different categories of fruits and vegetables. We hypothesized that greater perception of each taste will be inversely associated with amount consumed. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was performed on baseline data from participants (N=379) in the University of Valencia center of the PREDIMED-PLUS Clinical Trial; a multi-center weight-loss primary prevention trial of cardiovascular disease, among community-dwelling adults in Spain aged 55-75y diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. Taste perception was determined by challenging subjects with solutions of standard tastants representing sweet, salt, sour, bitter, and umami (400 mM sucrose, 200 mM NaCl, 34 mM citric acid, 5.6 mM phenylthiocarbamide [PTC], 200 mM monopotassium glutamate, respectively). Taste perception intensities were evaluated on a 0-5 scale. Food intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Outcomes included fruit and vegetable intake (servings/week), total and sub-groups (citrus and non-citrus fruits; cruciferous and non-cruciferous vegetables). Multivariable linear regression models were used to assess relationships between perception of each tastant and number of servings/week consumed, for total and square root-transformed sub-groups. Results: In the fully-adjusted models, controlling for sex, age, diabetes, smoking status, daily physical activity and weekly energy intake, there were inverse associations between sweet perception and intake of citrus fruit (β=-0.5; p Conclusion: This marks the first exploration of taste perception as a determinant of fruit and vegetable intake among community-dwelling adults. Perception for each tastant differentially affected the amount and type of fruits and vegetables consumed, with sweet, salt, sour and umami perception emerging as significant predictors. These findings support a role of taste perception in guiding the amount and type of foods consumed, albeit in a more complex manner than originally hypothesized.

[Background]: Inflammation is known to be related to the leading causes of death including cardiovascular disease, several types of cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression-suicide and other chronic diseases. In the context of whole dietary patterns, the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®) was developed to appraise the inflammatory potential of the diet. [Objective]: We prospectively assessed the association between DII scores and all-cause mortality in two large Spanish cohorts and valuated the consistency of findings across these two cohorts and results published based on other cohorts., [Design]: We assessed 18,566 participants in the “Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra” (SUN) cohort followed-up during 188,891 person-years and 6790 participants in the “PREvencion con DIeta MEDiterránea” (PREDIMED) randomized trial representing 30,233 person-years of follow-up. DII scores were calculated in both cohorts from validated FFQs. Higher DII scores corresponded to more proinflammatory diets. A total of 230 and 302 deaths occurred in SUN and PREDIMED, respectively. In a random-effect meta-analysis we included 12 prospective studies (SUN, PREDIMED and 10 additional studies) that assessed the association between DII scores and all-cause mortality., [Results]: After adjusting for a wide array of potential confounders, the comparison between extreme quartiles of the DII showed a positive and significant association with all-cause mortality in both the SUN (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.85; 95% CI: 1.15, 2.98; P-trend = 0.004) and the PREDIMED cohort (HR = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.02; P-trend = 0.009). In the meta-analysis of 12 cohorts, the DII was significantly associated with an increase of 23% in all-cause mortality (95% CI: 16%–32%, for the highest vs lowest category of DII)., [Conclusion]: Our results provide strong and consistent support for the hypothesis that a pro-inflammatory diet is associated with increased all-cause mortality. The SUN cohort and PREDIMED trial were registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02669602 and at isrctn.com as ISRCTN35739639, respectively., Supported by the official funding agency for biomedical research of the Spanish Government, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), through grants provided to research networks specifically developed for the trial (RTIC G03/140, to R.E.; RTIC RD 06/0045, to Miguel A. Martínez-González) and through Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), and by grants from Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC 06/2007), Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria–Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (Proyecto de Investigación (PI) 04-2239, PI 05/2584, CP06/00100, PI07/0240, PI07/1138, PI07/0954, PI 07/0473, PI10/01407, PI10/02658, PI11/01647, P11/02505, PI13/00462, PI13/00615, PI13/01090, PI14/01668, PI14/01798, PI14/01764), Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Recursos y teconologia agroalimentarias(AGL)-2009-13906-C02 and AGL2010-22319-C03 and AGL2013-49083-C3-1- R), Fundación Mapfre 2010, the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (PI0105/2007), the Public Health Division of the Department of Health of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, Generalitat Valenciana (Generalitat Valenciana Ayuda Complementaria (GVACOMP) 06109, GVACOMP2010-181, GVACOMP2011-151), Conselleria de Sanitat y, PI14/01764 AP; Atención Primaria (CS) 2010-AP-111, and CS2011-AP-042), and Regional Government of Navarra (P27/2011).). Drs. Shivappa and Hébert were supported by grant number R44DK103377 from the United States National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Although, for decades, increased serum bilirubin concentrations were considered a threatening sign of underlying liver disease and had been associated with neonatal jaundice, data from recent years show that bilirubin is a powerful antioxidant and suggest that slightly increased serum bilirubin concentrations are protective against oxidative stress-related diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, a better understanding of the gene-diet interactions in determining serum bilirubin concentrations is needed. None of the previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on bilirubin concentrations has been stratified by sex. Therefore, considering the increasing interest in incorporating the gender perspective into nutritional genomics, our main aim was to carry out a GWAS on total serum bilirubin concentrations in a Mediterranean population with metabolic syndrome, stratified by sex. Our secondary aim was to explore, as a pilot study, the presence of gene-diet interactions at the GWAS level. We included 430 participants (188 men and 242 women, aged 55&ndash, 75 years, and with metabolic syndrome) in the PREDIMED Plus-Valencia study. Global and sex-specific GWAS were undertaken to analyze associations and gene-diet interaction on total serum bilirubin. Adherence (low and high) to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) was analyzed as the dietary modulator. In the GWAS, we detected more than 55 SNPs associated with serum bilirubin at p &lt, 5 &times, 10&minus, 8 (GWAS level). The top-ranked were four SNPs (rs4148325 (p = 9.25 &times, 24), rs4148324 (p = 9.48 &times, 24), rs6742078 (p = 1.29 &times, 23), rs887829 (p = 1.39 &times, 23), and the rs4148324 (p = 9.48 &times, 24)) in the UGT1A1 (UDP glucuronosyltransferase family 1 member A1) gene, which replicated previous findings revealing the UGT1A1 as the major locus. In the sex-specific GWAS, the top-ranked SNPs at the GWAS level were similar in men and women (the lead SNP was the rs4148324-UGT1A1 in both men (p = 4.77 &times, 11) and women (p = 2.15 &times, 14), which shows homogeneous genetic results for the major locus. There was more sex-specific heterogeneity for other minor genes associated at the suggestive level of GWAS significance (p &lt, 1 &times, 5). We did not detect any gene-MedDiet interaction at p &lt, 5 for the major genetic locus, but we detected some gene-MedDiet interactions with other genes at p &lt, 5, and even at the GWAS level for the IL17B gene (p = 3.14 &times, 8). These interaction results, however, should be interpreted with caution due to our small sample size. In conclusion, our study provides new data, with a gender perspective, on genes associated with total serum bilirubin concentrations in men and women, and suggests possible additional modulations by adherence to MedDiet.

The authors especially thank the PREDIMED-Plus participants for their enthusiastic collaboration, the PREDIMED-Plus personnel for their outstanding support, and the personnel of all associated primary care centers for their exceptional effort. Centros de Investigación Biomédica en Red: Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Centros de Investigación Biomédica en Red: Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP) and Centros de Investigación Biomédica en Red: Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas asociadas (CIBERDEM) are initiatives of Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain. We thank the PREDIMED-Plus Biobank Network, part of the National Biobank Platform of ISCIII for storing and managing biological samples. Food companies, Hojiblanca and Patrimonio Comunal Olivarero, donated extra-virgin olive oil and Almond Board of California, American Pistachio Growers and Paramount Farms donated nuts., The PREDIMED-Plus trial was supported by the official funding agency for biomedical research of the Spanish government, ISCIII through the Fondo de Investigación para la Salud (FIS), which is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (four coordinated FIS projects led by Jordi Salas-Salvadó and Josep Vidal, including the following projects: PI13/00673, PI13/00492, PI13/00272, PI13/01123, PI13/00462, PI13/00233, PI13/02184, PI13/00728, PI13/01090, PI13/01056, PI14/01722, PI14/00636, PI14/00618, PI14/00696, PI14/01206, PI14/01919, PI14/00853, PI14/01374, PI16/00473, PI16/00662, PI16/01873, PI16/01094, PI16/00501, PI16/00533, PI16/00381, PI16/00366, PI16/01522, PI16/01120, PI17/00764, PI17/01183, PI17/00855, PI17/01347, PI17/00525, PI17/01827, PI17/00532, PI17/00215, PI17/01441, PI17/00508, PI17/01732, PI17/00926, the Especial Action Project entitled: Implementación y evaluación de una intervención intensives obre la actividad física Cohorte PREDIMED-PLUS grant to Jordi Salas-Salvadó, the European Research Council (Advanced Research Grant 2013-2018; 340918) grant to Miguel Ángel Martínez-Gonzalez, the Recercaixa grant to Jordi Salas-Salvadó (2013ACUP00194), the grant from the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (PI0458/2013; PS0358/2016), grants from the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (PI0458/2013; PS0358/2016; PI0137/2018), the PROMETEO/2017/017 grant from the Generalitat Valenciana, the SEMERGEN grant and FEDER funds (CB06/03), Olga Castaner is granted by the JR17/00022, ISCIII. Christopher Papandreou is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship granted by the Autonomous Government of Catalonia (PERIS 2016-2020 Incorporació de Científics I Tecnòlegs, SLT002/0016/00428). Jadwiga Konieczna is supported by the "FOLIUM" program within the FUTURMed project. Talent for the medicine within the future from the Fundació Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Illes Balears. This call is co-financed at 50% with charge to the Operational Program FSE 2014-2020 of the Balearic Islands. José C. Fernández-García is supported by a research contract from Servicio Andaluz de Salud (SAS) (B-0003-2017). None of the funding sources took part in the design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, or in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. The corresponding authors had full access to all the data in the study and had final responsibility to submit for publication., The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to national data regulations and for ethical reasons, including the possibility that some information might compromise research participants’ consent because our participants only gave their consent for the use of their data by the original team of investigators. However, these data can be requested by signing a data sharing agreement as approved by the relevant research ethics committees and the steering committee of the PREDIMED-Plus study., Research examining associations between objectively-measured napping time and type 2 diabetes (T2D) is lacking. This study aimed to evaluate daytime napping in relation to T2D and adiposity measures in elderly individuals from the Mediterranean region. A cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from 2190 elderly participants with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome, in the PREDIMED-Plus trial, was carried out. Accelerometer-derived napping was measured. Prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for T2D were obtained using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression with constant time. Linear regression models were fitted to examine associations of napping with body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Participants napping ≥90 min had a higher prevalence of T2D (PR 1.37 (1.06, 1.78)) compared with those napping 5 to, Fondo de Investigación para la Salud (FIS), which is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (four coordinated FIS projects led by Jordi Salas-Salvadó and Josep Vidal, including the following projects: PI13/00673, PI13/00492, PI13/00272, PI13/01123, PI13/00462, PI13/00233, PI13/02184, PI13/00728, PI13/01090, PI13/01056, PI14/01722, PI14/00636, PI14/00618, PI14/00696, PI14/01206, PI14/01919, PI14/00853, PI14/01374, PI16/00473, PI16/00662, PI16/01873, PI16/01094, PI16/00501, PI16/00533, PI16/00381, PI16/00366, PI16/01522, PI16/01120, PI17/00764, PI17/01183, PI17/00855, PI17/01347, PI17/00525, PI17/01827, PI17/00532, PI17/00215, PI17/01441, PI17/00508, PI17/01732, PI17/00926, Especial Action Project entitled: Implementación y evaluación de una intervención intensives obre la actividad física Cohorte PREDIMED-PLUS grant to Jordi Salas-Salvadó, the European Research Council (Advanced Research Grant 2013-2018; 340918), Grant to Jordi Salas-Salvadó (2013ACUP00194), the grant from the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (PI0458/2013; PS0358/2016), grants from the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (PI0458/2013; PS0358/2016; PI0137/2018), the PROMETEO/2017/017 grant from the Generalitat Valenciana, the SEMERGEN grant and FEDER funds (CB06/03), Olga Castaner is granted by the JR17/00022, ISCIII, Autonomous Government of Catalonia (PERIS 2016-2020 Incorporació de Científics I Tecnòlegs, SLT002/0016/00428)