No previous study has investigated dietary pattern in association with obesity risk in a middle-aged Chinese population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of obesity in the city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, east China. In this cross-sectional study of 2560 subjects aged 45–60 years, dietary intakes were evaluated using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). All anthropometric measurements were obtained using standardized procedures. The partial correlation analysis was performed to assess the associations between dietary patterns and body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist to hip ratio (WHR). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the associations between dietary patterns and obesity, with adjustment for potential confounders. Four major dietary patterns were extracted by means of factor analysis: animal food, traditional Chinese, western fast-food, and high-salt patterns. The animal food pattern was positively associated with BMI (r = 0.082, 0.144, respectively, p < 0.05) and WC (r = 0.102, 0.132, respectively, p < 0.01), and the traditional Chinese pattern was inversely associated with BMI (r = −0.047, −0.116, respectively, p < 0.05) and WC (r = −0.067, −0.113, respectively, p < 0.05) in both genders. After controlling for potential confounders, subjects in the highest quartile of animal food pattern scores had a greater odds ratio for abdominal obesity (odds ratio (OR) = 1.67; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.188–2.340; p < 0.01), in comparison to those from the lowest quartile. Compared with the lowest quartile of the traditional Chinese pattern, the highest quartile had a lower odds ratio for abdominal obesity (OR = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.441–0.901, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings indicated that the animal food pattern was associated with a higher risk of abdominal obesity, while the traditional Chinese pattern was associated with a lower risk of abdominal obesity. Further prospective studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

The analysis of dietary patterns has recently drawn considerable attention as a method of investigating the association between the overall whole diet and the risk of colorectal cancer. However, the results have yielded conflicting findings. Here, we carried out a meta-analysis to identify the association between dietary patterns and the risk of colorectal cancer. A total of 40 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in this meta-analysis. The highest category of 'healthy' dietary pattern compared with the lowest category was apparently associated with a decreased risk for colorectal cancer [odds ratio (OR)=0.75; confidence interval (CI): 0.68-0.83; P<0.00001]. An increased risk of colorectal cancer was shown for the highest compared with the lowest category of a 'western-style' dietary pattern (OR=1.40; CI: 1.26-1.56; P<0.00001). There was an increased risk of colorectal cancer in the highest compared with the lowest category of 'alcohol-consumption' pattern (OR=1.44; CI: 1.13-1.82; P=0.003). The results of this meta-analysis indicate that a 'healthy' dietary pattern may decrease the risk of colorectal cancer, whereas 'western-style' and 'alcohol-consumption' patterns may increase the risk of colorectal cancer.

Epidemiological studies of different dietary patterns and the risk of hypertension among a middle-aged Chinese population remain extremely scare. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify dietary patterns and investigate the relationship between dietary patterns and the risk of hypertension among Chinese adults aged 45–60 years. The present cross-sectional study includes 2560 participants who reported their dietary intake using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Dietary patterns were identified using factor analysis. Anthropometric measurements were obtained using standardized procedures. We used log-binomial regression analysis to examine the associations between dietary patterns and hypertension risk. Four major dietary patterns were identified and labeled as traditional Chinese, animal food, western fast-food, and high-salt patterns. After adjusting for potential confounders, participants in the highest quartile of animal food pattern scores had a greater prevalence ratio (PR) for hypertension (PR = 1.26; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.064–1.727; p < 0.05) in comparison to those from the lowest quartile. Compared with the lowest quartile of high-salt pattern, the highest quartile had a higher prevalence ratio for hypertension (PR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.013–1.635; p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings indicated that animal food and high-salt patterns were associated with increased risk of hypertension, while traditional Chinese and western fast-food patterns were not associated with the risk of hypertension. Further prospective studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

Investigation of the relationship between dietary patterns and some chronic noncommunicable diseases has become appealing in nutritional epidemiology. Some studies have reported potential associations between dietary patterns and the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; however, the results remain conflicting. Thus, we conducted this meta-analysis to pool the results of studies to clarify the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A literature search of MEDLINE and EBSCO databases was performed to identify relevant studies published from January 1990 up to June 2015. A total of 13 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this meta-analysis. The highest category of healthy/prudent dietary patterns when compared with the lowest category was apparently associated with a decreased risk (OR = 0.55; CI: 0.46, 0.66; P < 0.0001). An increase in the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was shown for the highest compared with the lowest categories of "unhealthy/western-style" dietary patterns (OR = 2.12; CI: 1.64, 2.74; P < (0.0001). The results of this meta-analysis indicate that different dietary pattern may be associated with the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Previous studies reported the potential associations between dietary patterns and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in adulthood, however a consistent perspective has not been established to date. Herein, we carried out this meta-analysis to evaluate the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of CHD. MEDLINE and EBSCO were searched for relevant articles published up to April 2015. A total of 35 articles (reporting 37 original studies) met the inclusion criteria and were included in the present meta-analysis. The decreased risk of CHD was shown for the highest compared with the lowest categories of healthy/prudent dietary patterns (odds ratio (OR) = 0.67; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.60, 0.75; p < 0.00001) and alcohol consumption (OR = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.59, 0.78; p < 0.00001). There was evidence of an increased risk of CHD in the highest compared with the lowest categories of the unhealthy/Western-type dietary patterns (OR = 1.45; 95% CI: 1.05, 2.01; p = 0.02). The results of this meta-analysis indicate that different dietary patterns may be associated with the risk of CHD.