SUBJECTS/METHODS: A taste database including 467 foods' sweet, sour, bitter, salt, umami and fat sensation values was combined with food intake data to assess dietary taste patterns: the contribution to energy intake of 6 taste clusters. The FFQ's reliability was assessed against 3-d 24hR and urinary biomarkers for sodium (Na) and protein intake (N) in Dutch men (n = 449) and women (n = 397) from the NQplus validation study (mean age 53 ± 11 y, BMI 26 ± 4 kg/m2).
RESULTS: Correlations of dietary taste patterns ranged from 0.39-0.68 between FFQ and 24hR (p
METHODS: Item selection for the FFQ was based on explained variation and contribution to intake of energy and 24 nutrients. For validation, the FFQ was completed by 135 participants (25-70 y of age) of the Nutrition Questionnaires plus study. Per person, on average 2.8 (range 1-5) telephone-based 24-h dietary recalls (24HRs), two 24-h urinary samples, and one blood sample were available. Validity of 54 nutrients and 22 food groups was assessed by ranking agreement, correlation coefficients, attenuation factors, and ultimately deattenuated correlation coefficients (validity coefficients).
RESULTS: Median correlation coefficients for energy and macronutrients, micronutrients, and food groups were 0.45, 0.36, and 0.38, respectively. Median deattenuated correlation coefficients were 0.53 for energy and macronutrients, 0.45 for micronutrients, and 0.64 for food groups, being >0.50 for 18 of 22 macronutrients, 16 of 30 micronutrients and >0.50 for 17 of 22 food groups. The FFQ underestimated protein and potassium intake compared with 24-h urinary nitrogen and potassium excretion by -18% and -2%, respectively. Correlation coefficients ranged from 0.50 and 0.55 for (fatty) fish intake and plasma eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, and from 0.26 to 0.42 between fruit and vegetable intake and plasma carotenoids.
CONCLUSION: Overall, the validity of the 253-item Maastricht FFQ was satisfactory. The comprehensiveness of this FFQ make it well suited for use in The Maastricht Study and similar populations.
METHODS: The HIV-CAUSAL Collaboration consisted of 12 cohorts from the United States and Europe of HIV-positive, ART-naive, AIDS-free individuals aged ≥18 years with baseline CD4 cell count and HIV RNA levels followed up from 1996 through 2007. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for cART versus no cART, adjusted for time-varying CD4 cell count and HIV RNA level via inverse probability weighting.
RESULTS: Of 65 121 individuals, 712 developed tuberculosis over 28 months of median follow-up (incidence, 3.0 cases per 1000 person-years). The HR for tuberculosis for cART versus no cART was 0.56 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.44-0.72) overall, 1.04 (95% CI, 0.64-1.68) for individuals aged >50 years, and 1.46 (95% CI, 0.70-3.04) for people with a CD4 cell count of <50 cells/μL. Compared with people who had not started cART, HRs differed by time since cART initiation: 1.36 (95% CI, 0.98-1.89) for initiation <3 months ago and 0.44 (95% CI, 0.34-0.58) for initiation ≥3 months ago. Compared with people who had not initiated cART, HRs <3 months after cART initiation were 0.67 (95% CI, 0.38-1.18), 1.51 (95% CI, 0.98-2.31), and 3.20 (95% CI, 1.34-7.60) for people <35, 35-50, and >50 years old, respectively, and 2.30 (95% CI, 1.03-5.14) for people with a CD4 cell count of <50 cells/μL.
CONCLUSIONS: Tuberculosis incidence decreased after cART initiation but not among people >50 years old or with CD4 cell counts of <50 cells/μL. Despite an overall decrease in tuberculosis incidence, the increased rate during 3 months of ART suggests unmasking IRIS.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of nuts with mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD).
METHODS: The Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology study is a large multinational prospective cohort study of adults aged 35-70 y from 16 low-, middle-, and high-income countries on 5 continents. Nut intake (tree nuts and ground nuts) was measured at the baseline visit, using country-specific validated FFQs. The primary outcome was a composite of mortality or major cardiovascular event [nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, or heart failure].
RESULTS: We followed 124,329 participants (age = 50.7 y, SD = 10.2; 41.5% male) for a median of 9.5 y. We recorded 10,928 composite events [deaths (n = 8,662) or major cardiovascular events (n = 5,979)]. Higher nut intake (>120 g per wk compared with <30 g per mo) was associated with a lower risk of the primary composite outcome of mortality or major cardiovascular event [multivariate HR (mvHR): 0.88; 95% CI: 0.80, 0.96; P-trend = 0.0048]. Significant reductions in total (mvHR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.69, 0.87; P-trend <0.0001), cardiovascular (mvHR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.56, 0.92; P-trend = 0.048), and noncardiovascular mortality (mvHR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.70, 0.96; P-trend = 0.0046) with a trend to reduced cancer mortality (mvHR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.65, 1.00; P-trend = 0.081) were observed. No significant associations of nuts were seen with major CVD (mvHR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.81, 1.02; P-trend = 0.14), stroke (mvHR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.84, 1.14; P-trend = 0.76), or MI (mvHR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.72, 1.04; P-trend = 0.29).
CONCLUSIONS: Higher nut intake was associated with lower mortality risk from both cardiovascular and noncardiovascular causes in low-, middle-, and high-income countries.
CLINICAL PICTURE: This is a report of a case of metastatic adenocarcinoma of colorectal origin to the paranasal sinuses in a 52-year-old female who was previously treated for adenocarcinoma of the sigmoid colon. A histologic study of the surgical specimen from the sinonasal cavity demonstrated a tumour identical to the patient's prior primary tumour of the colon. The sinonasal neoplastic tissue showed marked positivity for carcinoembryonic antigen and expressed cytokeratin 20, which differentiates metastatic colonic adenocarcinoma from ITAC.
TREATMENT/OUTCOME: The patient received palliative radiation but died 3 months after the diagnosis.
CONCLUSION: Distinguishing metastatic adenocarcinoma from gastrointestinal tract from ITAC can be difficult. In view of the resemblance, immunohistochemical staining can help in differentiating them. It is important to recognise these as metastatic lesions as the treatment is mainly palliative.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively assessed 107 cadavers that had undergone conventional autopsy and PMCT. We made 5 measurements from the PMCT that included cervical length (CL), thoracic length (TL), lumbosacral length (LS), total column length of the spine, excluding the sacrum and coccyx (TCL), and ellipse line measurement of the whole spine, excluding the sacrum and coccyx (EL). We compared these anthropometric PMCT measurements with AL and correlated them using linear regression analysis.
RESULTS: The results showed a significant linear relationship existed between TL and LS with AL, which was higher in comparison with the other parameters than the rest of the spine parameters. The linear regression formula derived was: 48.163 + 2.458 (TL) + 2.246 (LS).
CONCLUSIONS: The linear regression formula derived from PMCT spine length parameters particularly thoracic and lumbar spine gave a finer correlation with autopsy body length and can be used for accurate estimation of cadaveric height. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ever linear regression formula for cadaveric height assessment using only post mortem CT spine length measurements.