Population Health Research Institute, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, Canadian Institutes of Health Research Strategy for Patient Oriented Research through the Ontario SPOR Support Unit, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, pharmaceutical companies (with major contributions from AstraZeneca [Canada], Sanofi Aventis [France and Canada], Boehringer Ingelheim [Germany amd Canada], Servier, and GlaxoSmithKline), Novartis and King Pharma, and national or local organisations in participating countries.

Background-Diet quality is strongly related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence, but little is known about its impact on CVD events in older people at high risk of CVD and receiving effective drugs for secondary prevention. This study assessed the association between diet quality and CVD events in a large population of subjects from 40 countries with CVD or diabetes mellitus with end-organ damage receiving proven medications. Methods and Results-Overall, 31 546 women and men 66.5Ϯ6.2 years of age enrolled in 2 randomized trials, the Ongoing Telmisartan Alone and in Combination With Ramipril Global End Point Trial (ONTARGET) and the Telmisartan Randomized Assessment Study in ACEI Intolerant Subjects With Cardiovascular Disease (TRANSCEND), were studied. We used 2 dietary indexes: the modified Alternative Healthy Eating Index and the Diet Risk Score. The association between diet quality and the primary composite outcome of CV death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or congestive heart failure was assessed with Cox proportional hazard regression with adjustment for age, sex, trial enrollment allocation, region, and other known confounders. During the 56-month follow-up, there were 5190 events. Patients in the healthier quintiles of modified Alternative Healthy Eating Index scores had a significantly lower risk of CVD (hazard ratio, 0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.71-0.87, top versus lowest quintile of modified Alternative Healthy Eating Index). The reductions in risk for CV death, myocardial infarction, and stroke were 35%, 14%, and 19%, respectively. The protective association was consistent regardless of whether patients were receiving proven drugs. Conclusions-A higher-quality diet was associated with a lower risk of recurrent CVD events among people Ն55 years of age with CVD or diabetes mellitus. Highlighting the importance of healthy eating by health professionals would substantially reduce CVD recurrence and save lives globally. Clinical Trial Registration-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00153101.

Objective To evaluate the relation between intake of ultra-processed food and risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Design Prospective cohort study. Setting 21 low, middle, and high income countries across seven geographical regions (Europe and North America, South America, Africa, Middle East, south Asia, South East Asia, and China). Participants 116 087 adults aged 35-70 years with at least one cycle of follow-up and complete baseline food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) data (country specific validated FFQs were used to document baseline dietary intake). Participants were followed prospectively at least every three years. Main outcome measures The main outcome was development of IBD, including Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Associations between ultra-processed food intake and risk of IBD were assessed using Cox proportional hazard multivariable models. Results are presented as hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals. Results Participants were enrolled in the study between 2003 and 2016. During the median follow-up of 9.7 years (interquartile range 8.9-11.2 years), 467 participants developed incident IBD (90 with Crohn’s disease and 377 with ulcerative colitis). After adjustment for potential confounding factors, higher intake of ultra-processed food was associated with a higher risk of incident IBD (hazard ratio 1.82, 95% confidence interval 1.22 to 2.72 for ≥5 servings/day and 1.67, 1.18 to 2.37 for 1-4 servings/day compared with <1 serving/day, P=0.006 for trend). Different subgroups of ultra-processed food, including soft drinks, refined sweetened foods, salty snacks, and processed meat, each were associated with higher hazard ratios for IBD. Results were consistent for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis with low heterogeneity. Intakes of white meat, red meat, dairy, starch, and fruit, vegetables, and legumes were not associated with incident IBD. Conclusions Higher intake of ultra-processed food was positively associated with risk of IBD. Further studies are needed to identify the contributory factors within ultra-processed foods. Study registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03225586 .