Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered the most common liver disease in the world. Dietary habits have a significant impact on the biological and physical profile of patients and increase the risk of NAFLD. The overall pattern of diet intake is more associated with health outcomes than nutrients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional profile and the dietary patterns of Lebanese NAFLD patients and compare it with controls. During this study; 112 NAFLD Lebanese adult patients (55 men and 57 women); and 110 controls (44 men and 66 women) were recruited. Dietary intake was evaluated by two 24-h recalls and a semi-quantitative 90-item food frequency questionnaire. Dietary patterns were determined by factor analysis. Results from the study demonstrated that 40% of cases belonged to the high fruit group as compared to 30% following a high meat; fast food dietary pattern. Both groups increased the odds of NAFLD by four-fold (p < 0.05). The traditional diet decreases the odds by 33% after adjustment with the covariables. The high fruit diet group was, as with the high meat, fast food dietary pattern, the main potential risk factor for NAFLD in Lebanese patients.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a frequent neurodegenerative disease among elderly people. Genetic and underlying environmental factors seem to be involved in the pathogenesis of PD related to degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the striatum. In previous experimental researches oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, homocysteine, and neuroinflammation have been reported as potential mechanisms. Among environmental factors, nutrition is one of the most investigated areas as it is a potentially modifiable factor. The purpose of this review is to provide current knowledge regarding the relation between diet and PD risk. We performed a comprehensive review including the most relevant studies from the year 2000 onwards including prospective studies, nested case-control studies, and meta-analysis. Among dietary factors we focused on specific nutrients and food groups, alcoholic beverages, uric acid, and dietary patterns. Furthermore, we included studies on microbiota as recent findings have shown a possible impact on neurodegeneration. As a conclusion, there are still many controversies regarding the relationship between PD and diet which, beside methodological differences among studies, may be due to underlying genetic and gender-specific factors. However, some evidence exists regarding a potential protective effect of uric acid, poly-unsaturated fatty acids, coffee, and tea but mainly in men, whereas dairy products, particularly milk, might increase PD risk through contaminant mediated effect.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this cross‐sectional study was to investigate the association between sociodemographic factors, health‐related characteristics, functional status and oral health‐related quality of life (OHRQoL) among a representative sample of the community‐dwelling Lebanese elderly.MethodsThe study sample included 905 randomly selected community‐dwelling elderly Lebanese aged 65 or older living in Greater Beirut. The sample was selected through multi‐stage cluster sampling. Participants completed a comprehensive multi‐component questionnaire, administrated by trained interviewers, including sociodemographic factors, health characteristics, eating behaviours and functional characteristics. OHRQoL was assessed through the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) questionnaire.ResultsAmong the participants, 51.6% reported poor OHRQoL. The following variables were significantly associated with poor OHRQoL: lack of health insurance (OR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.05‐2.81); poor or average self‐rated general health (OR = 2.58, 95% CI: 1.23‐5.41 and OR = 2.27, 95% CI: 1.24‐4.16, respectively); monotony of diet (OR = 1.69, 95%CI: 1.02‐2.79); absence of dentures (OR = 13.78, 95% CI: 5.02‐37.84); insufficient dentures (OR = 18.19, 95%CI: 4.43‐74.68); presence of dentures (OR = 2.18, 95%CI: 1.16‐4.09); and depression (OR = 2.21, 95%CI: 1.26‐3.89).ConclusionThe present study revealed that a lack of health insurance, negative perception of general health, monotony of diet, denture use and depression were significantly correlated with poor OHRQoL among community‐dwelling Lebanese elderly.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVESThe prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has increased worldwide in parallel with overnutrition characterized by high-fat and high-carbohydrate intake. Our objective was to establish, in 16 weeks, a model of NAFLD in Wistar pathogen-free rats following four dietary types.MATERIALS/METHODSForty (6 weeks old) healthy Wistar male rats, weighing an average of 150 g were randomly divided into four groups of ten and assigned a diet with the same quantity (15 g/rat/day), but with different composition. The moderate-fat (MF) group was fed a moderate-fat diet (31.5% fat and 50% carbohydrates), the high-fat (HF) group was fed a fat-rich diet (51% fat), the high-sucrose (HS) group and the high-fructose (HFr) group were fed a carbohydrate-rich diet (61%). The carbohydrate contents of the HS group was composed of 60.3% sucrose while that of the HFr group was composed of 59.3% fructose.RESULTSAt week 16, the HF group had the highest percentage of cells enriched in fat (40%) and the highest weight and liver weight (P < 0.05). The HFr group showed significantly higher levels of serum triglycerides, alanine aminotransferase and adiponectin at week 16 as compared to week 1 (P < 0.05).CONCLUSIONSThe 15 g/rat/day diet composed of 51% fat or 61% carbohydrates enriched mainly in fructose may induce characteristics of NAFLD in rats.

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were banned by the Stockholm Convention many years ago; however, they are still detected in the environment due to their high persistence, their current illegal use, and their import from countries where they have not been banned. We evaluated the serum concentrations of selected OCPs (hexachlorobenzene (HCB), β-hexachlorocyclohexanes (β-HCH), p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolite p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) in a sample of Lebanese adults using gas chromatography coupled to an ion trap mass spectrometer detector. The mean concentrations of HCB, β-HCH, DDT, and DDE were 7.1, 8.6, 2.1, and 18.9 ng/g of lipids, respectively, and the major contributor among the four OCPs was DDE. The OCP levels in the present study were in general lower than the values observed in several countries worldwide and their concentrations at the 95th percentile were lower than the biomonitoring equivalents (BEs) excluding any appreciable health risk. We observed an inverse association between HCB concentrations and body mass index (BMI) as well as HCB, β-HCH, and DDE levels, and smoking habits. Milk consumption however was positively associated with an increased serum level of β-HCH. This study, which was the first to investigate OCP serum levels in a Lebanese population, provides a baseline to which future measurements can be compared.