The associations suggest that replacing SFAs with PUFAs rather than MUFAs or carbohydrates prevents CHD over a wide range of intakes.

These results support a protective effect of vitamin D intake on risk of developing MS.

Background: Few epidemiologic studies of dietary fiber intake and risk of coronary heart disease have compared fiber types (cereal, fruit, and vegetable) or included sex-specific results. The purpose of this study was to conduct a pooled analysis of dietary fiber and its subtypes and risk of coronary heart disease. Methods:We analyzed the original data from 10 prospective cohort studies from the United States and Europe to estimate the association between dietary fiber intake and the risk of coronary heart disease.Results: Over 6 to 10 years of follow-up, 5249 incident total coronary cases and 2011 coronary deaths occurred among 91058 men and 245186 women. After adjustment for demographics, body mass index, and lifestyle factors, each 10-g/d increment of energy-adjusted and measure-ment error-corrected total dietary fiber was associated with a 14% (relative risk [RR], 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78-0.96) decrease in risk of all coronary events and a 27% (RR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.61-0.87) decrease in risk of coronary death. For cereal, fruit, and vegetable fiber intake (not error corrected), RRs corresponding to 10-g/d increments were 0.90 (95% CI, 0.77-1.07), 0.84 (95% CI, 0.70-0.99), and 1.00 (95% CI, 0.88-1.13), respectively, for all coronary events and 0.75 (95% CI, 0.63-0.91), 0.70 (95% CI, 0.55-0.89), and 1.00 (95% CI, 0.82-1.23), respectively, for deaths. Results were similar for men and women.Conclusion: Consumption of dietary fiber from cereals and fruits is inversely associated with risk of coronary heart disease.

Background The relation between body weight and mortality among persons with type 2 diabetes remains unresolved, with some studies suggesting decreased mortality among overweight or obese persons as compared with normal-weight persons (an “obesity paradox”). Methods We studied participants with incident diabetes from the Nurses’ Health Study (8970 participants) and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (2457 participants) who were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer at the time of a diagnosis of diabetes. Body weight shortly before diagnosis and height were used to calculate the body-mass index (BMI, the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters). Multivariable Cox models were used to estimate the hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for mortality across BMI categories. Results There were 3083 deaths during a mean period of 15.8 years of follow-up. A J-shaped association was observed across BMI categories (18.5 to 22.4, 22.5 to 24.9 [reference], 25.0 to 27.4, 27.5 to 29.9, 30.0 to 34.9, and ≥35.0) for all-cause mortality (hazard ratio, 1.29 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.05 to 1.59]; 1.00; 1.12 [95% CI, 0.98 to 1.29]; 1.09 [95% CI, 0.94 to 1.26]; 1.24 [95% CI, 1.08 to 1.42]; and 1.33 [95% CI, 1.14 to 1.55], respectively). This relationship was linear among participants who had never smoked (hazard ratios across BMI categories: 1.12, 1.00, 1.16, 1.21, 1.36, and 1.56, respectively) but was nonlinear among participants who had ever smoked (hazard ratios across BMI categories: 1.32, 1.00, 1.09, 1.04, 1.14, and 1.21) (P = 0.04 for interaction). A direct linear trend was observed among participants younger than 65 years of age at the time of a diabetes diagnosis but not among those 65 years of age or older at the time of diagnosis (P<0.001 for interaction). Conclusions We observed a J-shaped association between BMI and mortality among all participants and among those who had ever smoked and a direct linear relationship among those who had never smoked. We found no evidence of lower mortality among patients with diabetes who were overweight or obese at diagnosis, as compared with their normal-weight counterparts, or of an obesity paradox. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Diabetes Association.)

Anthocyanins and some flavone and flavan-3-ol compounds may contribute to the prevention of hypertension. These vasodilatory properties may result from specific structural similarities (including the B-ring hydroxylation and methyoxylation pattern).

To determine whether multiple sclerosis (MS) risk increases following primary infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), we conducted a nested case-control study including 305 individuals who developed MS and 610 matched controls selected among the over 8 million active-duty military personnel with serum stored in the Department of Defense Serum Repository. Time of EBV infection was determined by measuring antibody titers in serial serum samples collected before MS onset among cases, and on matched dates among controls. Ten (3.3%) cases and 32 (5.2%) controls were initially EBV negative. . All of the 10 EBV-negative cases became EBV positive before MS onset ; in contrast, only 35.7 % (10) of the 28 controls with follow-up samples seroconverted (exact p value = 0.0008). We conclude that MS risk is extremely low among individuals not infected with EBV, but it increases sharply in the same individuals following EBV infection.

Oxidative stress contributes to dopaminergic neuron degeneration in Parkinson's disease. Urate, a potent antioxidant, could be neuroprotective. To determine whether higher plasma concentrations of urate predict a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease, the authors conducted a nested case-control study among participants in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, a cohort comprising over 18,000 men who provided blood samples in 1993-1995. Eighty-four incident cases of Parkinson's disease were diagnosed through 2000, and each was randomly matched to two controls by year of birth, race, and time of blood collection. Rate ratios of Parkinson's disease according to quartile of uricemia were estimated by use of conditional logistic regression. The mean urate concentration was 5.7 mg/dl among cases and 6.1 mg/dl among controls (p = 0.01). After adjustment for age, smoking, and caffeine, the rate ratio of Parkinson's disease for the highest quartile of uricemia compared with the lowest was 0.43 (95% confidence interval: 0.18, 1.02; p(trend) = 0.017). This association was stronger in analyses excluding cases diagnosed within 4 years (median) from blood collection (rate ratio = 0.17, 95% confidence interval: 0.04, 0.69; p(trend) = 0.010). These results suggest that high plasma urate concentrations may decrease the risk of Parkinson's disease, and they raise the possibility that interventions to increase plasma urate may reduce the risk and delay the progression of Parkinson's disease.

These data support the hypothesis that exposure to pesticides may increase risk for PD. Future studies should seek to identify the specific chemicals responsible for this association.