Nutritional Epidemiology: Summary Methods and Results from Ongoing Cohorts and Future Perspectives

A special issue of Epidemiologia (ISSN 2673-3986).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 10054

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Special Issue Information

Over the last 40 years, nutritional epidemiology has provided crucial evidence on the role of dietary factors toward human health. Current guidelines are based on corroborated data from cohort studies; although they are only observational, findings from high-quality cohorts may provide adequate evidence for the association between dietary exposure and occurrence of disease (or preservation of good health). Compared to drugs, dietary factors physiologically occur in human life; thus, they rarely exert a direct causal effect on health. Rather, they affect the risk in the context of complicated pathways. Nonetheless, a combination of “healthy” or “unhealthy” behaviors has been widely accepted as a risk modulator, and results from cohorts studies have been used to address guidelines or mere recommendations to the public. 

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect a summary of the main results (or grouped by outcomes) of ongoing or concluded cohort studies in order to provide an overview of what has been done and what would be the future plans to better understand the relation between nutritional risks and human health. Reviews on methods (i.e., data collections and statistical inference) are also welcome to collect important sources of information which is potentially useful when it comes to planning future studies. 

Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Grosso
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Nutritional epidemiology
  • Cohorts
  • Dietary risks
  • Non-communicable diseases
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Cancer
  • Neurodegenerative disease
  • Mental health

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

9 pages, 670 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Patient Factors and Cotreatments on the Magnitude of Potassium Lowering with Insulin–Glucose Treatment in Patients with Hyperkalemia
by Andy K. H. Lim, Ljiljana Crnobrnja, Manogna Metlapalli, Mauli Govinna and Cathy Jiang
Epidemiologia 2021, 2(1), 27-35; https://doi.org/10.3390/epidemiologia2010003 - 11 Jan 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2868
Abstract
The management of hyperkalemia with insulin–glucose/dextrose treatment (IDT) may be influenced by patient factors and cotreatments. We aimed to determine the magnitude of potassium lowering by IDT while considering patient factors and cotreatments. We observed the change in serum potassium in 410 patients [...] Read more.
The management of hyperkalemia with insulin–glucose/dextrose treatment (IDT) may be influenced by patient factors and cotreatments. We aimed to determine the magnitude of potassium lowering by IDT while considering patient factors and cotreatments. We observed the change in serum potassium in 410 patients with a mean serum potassium of 6.6 mmol/L (SD, 0.6 mmol/L) treated with IDT at three major metropolitan hospitals. Mean potassium lowering was 1.4 mmol/L (SD, 0.8 mmol/L) and 53% achieved normokalemia. Cotreatment with sodium polystyrene sulfonate, salbutamol, or sodium bicarbonate occurred in 64%, 12%, and 10% of patients, respectively. In multiple linear regression analysis, cotreatment with sodium polystyrene sulfonate or sodium bicarbonate was not associated with any significant reduction in serum potassium beyond that achieved by IDT, within the initial 6 h of treatment. We observed an additional lowering of serum potassium with salbutamol of 0.3 mmol/L (95% CI: 0.1 to 0.6 mmol/L; p = 0.009) but the clinical significance was unclear as the proportion of patients achieving normokalemia was not affected by cotreatment within the initial 6 h after IDT. We also found evidence that the potassium-lowering effect of IDT was dependent on the pre-treatment serum potassium. For every 1 mmol/L increase in pre-treatment serum potassium over 6.0 mmol/L, there was an associated 0.7 mmol/L increase in the potassium-lowering effect of IDT, on average, which was independent of any cotreatment. There was no significant impact of acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease status on the efficacy of IDT. Full article
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13 pages, 555 KiB  
Article
Management of Diabetes Mellitus in Refugee and Migrant Patients in a Primary Healthcare Setting in Greece: A Pilot Intervention
by Anastasia I Kolomvotsou and Elena Riza
Epidemiologia 2021, 2(1), 14-26; https://doi.org/10.3390/epidemiologia2010002 - 4 Jan 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3101
Abstract
Over the past years there is a substantial wave of migrants and refugees all over the world. Europe accepts approximately one-third of the international migrant population with Greece, in particular, having received large numbers of refugees and migrants by land and sea since [...] Read more.
Over the past years there is a substantial wave of migrants and refugees all over the world. Europe accepts approximately one-third of the international migrant population with Greece, in particular, having received large numbers of refugees and migrants by land and sea since the beginning of the civil war in Syria. Diabetes, a non-communicable disease, is a global health problem, affecting people in developing countries, refugees and migrants, and its basic treatment tool includes self-management and education. In this pilot study, we organized educational, interactive group sessions for diabetic refugees, based on culture, health, and nutritional needs according to a questionnaire developed for the study. The sessions were weekly, for two months, in the context of primary healthcare, organized by a dietitian. Nine individuals completed the sessions, five of nine were diagnosed in Greece and seven of nine needed diabetes education. Their waist circumference was above normal and they were all cooking at home. Their nutritional habits improved by attending the sessions and the interaction helped their social integration. They all found the sessions useful, and felt more self-confident regarding diabetes control and healthier. Full article
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13 pages, 272 KiB  
Article
Factors and Inequality of Underweight and Overweight among Women of Reproductive Age in Myanmar: Evidence from the Demographic Health Survey 2015–2016
by Rajat Das Gupta, Mohammad Rifat Haider and Subhasish Das
Epidemiologia 2020, 1(1), 31-43; https://doi.org/10.3390/epidemiologia1010006 - 30 Nov 2020
Viewed by 2967
Abstract
(1) Background: This study aims to identify the factors of underweight and overweight/obesity among reproductive age (15–49 years) women in Myanmar, and assess the level of inequity in the double burden of malnutrition. (2) Methods: The study used Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey [...] Read more.
(1) Background: This study aims to identify the factors of underweight and overweight/obesity among reproductive age (15–49 years) women in Myanmar, and assess the level of inequity in the double burden of malnutrition. (2) Methods: The study used Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey 2015–2016 data. Multinomial logistic regression models were fitted to identify the factors affecting underweight and overweight/obesity; and concentration indices (CI) were estimated to assess socioeconomic inequalities. (3) Results: A total of 12,643 reproductive age women were included in the analysis. Higher risk of underweight was found in women aged 20–29 years, aged 30–39 years, and 40–49 years compared to women aged 15–19 years; women who were unemployed or had manual occupation relative to those in non-manual employment. Women aged 40–49 years (compared to those who were 15–29 years); had primary education, and secondary education (compared to those who had no education); being married, and widowed/divorced/separated (compared to being never married); belonging to the poor quintile, middle quintile, richer, richest quintile (compared to the poorest quintile); having residence in urban areas (compared to rural areas) and in Kachin, Taninthayi, Yangon province (than those who lived in Naypytiaw province) had a higher risk of being overweight/obese. Socioeconomic inequalities were detected, with overweight/obesity strongly concentrated (CI: 0.19) amongst the higher quintiles and underweight concentrated (CI: −0.060) amongst the poorest. (4) Conclusions: Equity oriented nutrition interventions with a focus on improving the socioeconomic status of poor households may benefit undernourished women, while richer households should be focused to curb the overweight/obesity problem. Full article
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