Do dietary patterns in older men influence change in homocysteine through folate fortification? The Normative Aging Study

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to describe the difference in B-vitamin intake and in plasma B-vitamin and homocysteine concentrations before and after folic acid fortification, in relation to dietary patterns. Design: The Normative Aging Study (NAS) is a longitudinal study on ageing. Between 1961 and 1970, 2280 male volunteers aged 21-80 years (mean 42 years) were recruited. Dietary intake data have been collected since 1987 and assessment of plasma B vitamins and homocysteine was added in 1993. Setting: Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Subjects: In the present study, 354 men who had completed at least one FFQ and one measurement of homocysteine, both before and after the fortification period, were included. Results: Three dietary patterns were identified by cluster analysis: (i) a prudent pattern, with relatively high intakes of fruit, vegetables, low-fat milk and breakfast cereals; (ii) an unhealthy pattern, with high intakes of baked products, sweets and added fats; and (iii) a low fruit and vegetable but relatively high alcohol intake pattern. Dietary intake and plasma concentrations of folate increased significantly (P , 0?05) among all dietary patterns after the fortification period. Homocysteine tended to decrease in supplement non-users and in subjects in the high alcohol, low fruit and vegetable dietary pattern (both P 5 0?08). Conclusions: After fortification with folic acid, folate intake and plasma folate concentration increased significantly in all dietary patterns. There was a trend towards greatest homocysteine lowering in the high alcohol, low fruit and vegetable group.

The use of cluster analysis to derive dietary patterns: methodological considerations, reproducibility, validity and the effect of energy mis-reporting

“…Another study investigated the levels of folate and hcy in a sample of 354 American males aged 21–88 years, following the folic acid fortification programme in the US. Within this study it was reported that plasma folate increased in all three dietary patterns identified, although plasma hcy decreased in the low fruit and vegetable pattern only ( 76 ) . Limitations of these studies include small sample sizes where one study was limited to males only.…”

Astrovirus replication is dependent on induction of double-membrane vesicles through a PI3K-dependent, LC3-independent pathway

“…They are not always delivered to lysosomes for degradation, tend to be smaller in size compared to autophagosomes, and impor tantly, canonical autophagy machinery is not necessarily involved in the formation of these vesicles (15,(17)(18)(19)(20)22). Notably, viruses can induce the formation of DMVs from the ER, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, and other sites in the cell, which may have virus-specific implications for antiviral therapies (19,22,28). Recent evidence has shown that DMV formation is independent of LC3 lipidation machinery in both severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and HCV infection; instead, both viruses appear to rely on the PI3K complex for formation of PI3P in DMV membranes (21,29).…”