Depression has frequently been reported to be associated with other physical diseases and changes in the cytokine system. We aimed to investigate associations between a medical history of depression, its comorbidities and cytokine plasma levels in the Bavarian Nutrition Survey II (BVS II) study sample and in patients suffering from an acute depressive episode. The BVS II is a representative study of the Bavarian population aged 13-80years. The disease history of its 1050 participants was assessed through face-to-face interviews. A sub-sample of 568 subjects and 62 additional acutely depressed inpatients of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry participated in anthropometric measurements and blood sampling. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and soluble TNF receptor (sTNF-R) p55 and sTNF-R p75 plasma levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. A history of depression was associated with a higher incidence of high blood pressure, peptic ulcer, dyslipoproteinemia, osteoporosis, allergic skin rash, atopic eczema and thyroid disease. Within the BVS II sample, participants with a history of depression differed from subjects who had never had depression with regard to sTNF-R p55 and sTNF-R p75 levels even when controlling for age, BMI and smoking status. Acutely depressed inpatients showed even higher levels of sTNF-R p55 and sTNF-R p75 than subjects in the normal population. TNF-alpha levels were also significantly elevated in acutely depressed patients. These results confirm earlier studies regarding the comorbidities of depression and support the hypothesis that activation of the TNF-alpha system may contribute to the development of a depressive disorder.
Objective: Due to inconsistent results based on dietary intake data, unsaturated fatty acids in red blood cell (RBC) membranes and diet were used to investigate their association with allergic sensitisation and allergic rhinitis. Design: Cross-sectional, population-based study. Setting: Bavarian Nutrition Survey II (2002-03), Germany. Subjects: A total of 568 adult participants, 325 women and 243 men. Methods: By means of logistic regression models, the relation of fatty acids to (i) allergic sensitisation as defined by means of specific serum immunoglobulin E analysis (CAPSX1 class Z2), and (ii) self-reported allergic rhinitis was examined. Results: A high cell membrane level of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5 n-3) was inversely associated with allergic sensitisation, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were 0.52 (0.30-0.90) for the highest (vs lowest) quartile. A similar effect was observed for allergic rhinitis with an OR (95% CI) of 0.50 (0.24-1.03; P ¼ 0.027 for trend). A higher dietary intake of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3 n-3) was associated with a decreased risk of allergic sensitisation and allergic rhinitis with ORs (95% CIs) of 0.51 (0.28-0.93) and 0.43 (0.20-0.93), respectively, in the highest quartiles. No other dietary or cell membrane unsaturated fatty acid was significantly associated with the outcome variables, nor was the n-6/n-3 ratio. The strongest effects were observed among subjects under the age of 40 y. Conclusions: In this cross-sectional study among adults, a high content of n-3 fatty acids in RBC membranes (EPA) or in the diet (ALA) is associated with a decreased risk of allergic sensitisation and allergic rhinitis. Sponsorship: The study was supported by funds of the Kurt-Eberhard-Bode-Stiftung and the Bavarian Ministry of Environment, Health and Consumer Protection.
Although there are indications for modulatory effects of PUFA on associations between SNP and obesity risk, scientific evidence in human subjects is still scarce. The present analyses investigated interaction effects between SNP in candidate genes for obesity and PUFA in erythrocyte membranes on obesity risk. Within the second Bavarian Food Consumption Survey (cross-sectional, population-based), 568 adults provided blood samples. Fatty acid composition of erythrocyte membranes was analysed by means of GC. Genotyping was performed for twenty-one genes, including cytokines, adipokines, neurotransmitters and transcription factors. In addition, plasma IL-6 concentrations were analysed. For the statistical analysis, a logistic regression model assuming additive genetic effects was chosen. About 20 % of the study participants were classified as obese (BMI $30 kg/m 2 ). Several significant gene -PUFA interactions were found, indicating regulatory effects of PUFA by gene variants of IL-2, IL-6, IL-18, TNF receptor family member 1B and 21, leptin receptor and adiponectin on obesity risk. After stratification by genotype, the strongest effects were found for rs2069779 (IL-2) and all tested PUFA as well as for rs1800795 (IL-6) and linoleic or arachidonic acid. The obesity risk of minor allele carriers significantly decreased with increasing fatty acid content. The genetic PUFA -IL-6 interaction was also reflected in plasma IL-6 concentrations. If replicated in a prospective study with sufficient statistical power, the results would indicate a beneficial effect of high PUFA supply for a substantial proportion of the population with respect to obesity risk.Key words: Obesity: Gene -PUFA interactions: Nutritional biomarkers: Bavarian Food Consumption Survey II Obesity is a multifactorial disorder reflecting complex interactions of genes, environment and lifestyle (1) . Industrialisation and modernisation encourage a sedentary lifestyle with concomitantly increased energy intake, resulting in an imbalance of energy intake and expenditure (2) and consequently in gaining surplus weight. About 40 -70 % of the variance in the BMI is accounted for by genetic factors as several studies of twins, adoptees and families have shown (3 -5) . Screenings of candidate regions as well as genome-wide scans have helped to identify SNP that increase the risk of becoming overweight or obese (6) .There is considerable evidence that not all fatty acids are obesogenic (7) . Approximately 6·2-7·4 % of our average daily energy intake is accounted for by PUFA (n-3 PUFA 0·7-0·9 %; n-6 PUFA 5·5-6·5 %) (8) . PUFA exert their influence on cardiovascular function, insulin action, plasma lipid levels (9) , neuronal development and the immune system inter alia through modulation of eicosanoid (PG and leukotrine) synthesis, activation of orphan nuclear receptor and T-lymphocyte signalling (9,10) . They also regulate the transcription and activation of multiple genes (11 -13) . Hence, PUFA affect several metabolic pathways, and thus may have an impac...
Background: Adequate physical activity (PA) is considered as a key factor in the fight against the obesity epidemic. Therefore, detailed description of the actual PA and its components in the population is necessary. Additionally, this study aims to investigate the association between PA and obesity risk in a representative population sample in Bavaria, Germany.
So far attempts to identify plant compounds contributing to the inverse association between vegetable and fruit intake and breast cancer risk in women largely failed. Flavonoids and phenolic acids are among the possible candidate substances found in plantderived foodstuff. The association between the dietary intake of different flavonoids and phenolic acids and breast cancer risk was evaluated in the frame of a population-based case-control study in Southern Germany including breast cancer cases diagnosed by age 50. Dietary information was collected from 278 premenopausal cases and 666 matched controls using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Published analytical data on the content of flavonoids and phenolic acids in food were used for intake calculations. Relative risk estimates were obtained by conditional logistic regression models. Significant inverse associations between the dietary intake of some of the tested flavonoids (kaempferol, luteolin) and phenolic acids (vanillic acid, ellagic acid, sum of hydroxybenzoic acids) and premenopausal breast cancer risk were found. However, stratification for smoking status demonstrated that the observed effects were limited to never-/ex-smokers. A high dietary intake of representatives of flavonols (kaempferol, myricetin), catechins (catechin, epicatechin), flavones (apigenin, luteolin), and most hydroxybenzoic acids was associated with a significantly decreased breast cancer risk in non-smoking premenopausal women. The strongest risk reduction was found for total hydroxybenzoic acid intake with an odds ratio (95%CI) of 0.42 (0.23-0.75; 4th versus 1st quartile). Dietary intake of anthocyanidines, flavanones and hydroxycinnamic acids did not affect cancer risk. A diet high in several polyphenolic compounds originating from plant-based food was found to decrease the risk of premenopausal breast cancer. However, this benefit was limited to non-smoking women. In contrast to the association between body mass index (BMI) and incidence of cardiovascular diseases, the association between BMI and all-cause as well as cause-specific mortality is not clear. After exclusion of early mortality, U-shaped, positive, and even inverse associations have been reported. None of these studies has addressed the possible interaction of BMI with psychological factors.We conducted a population-based cohort study of 5114 men and women aged 40 to 65 years recruited in Heidelberg and surrounding communities between 1992 and 1995. The baseline questionnaire included information on psychological and life-style factors, comorbidity, and self reported height and weight. In 2002, the 10-year follow-up was performed using a mailed questionnaire. Vital status in non-respondents was assessed through population registries. Cause of death was determined through death certificates and coded by two physicians according to ICD-10. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards models to estimate relative risks (RR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause and cause-specific mortality. At b...
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