| 1. |
- Orfanos, P, et al.
(author)
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Eating out of home and its correlates in 10 European countries. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study
- 2007
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In: Public Health Nutrition. - 1475-2727 .- 1368-9800. ; 10:12, s. 1515-1525
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To compare the average out-of-home (OH) consumption of foods and beverages, as well as energy intake, among populations from 10 European countries and to describe the characteristics of substantial OH eaters, as defined for the purpose of the present study, in comparison to other individuals. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. Dietary data were collected through single 24-hour dietary recalls, in which the place of consumption was recorded. For the present study, substantial OH eaters were defined as those who consumed more than 25% of total daily energy intake at locations other than the household premises. Mean dietary intakes and the proportion of substantial OH eaters are presented by food group and country. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the odds of being a substantial OH eater in comparison to not being one, using mutually adjusted possible non-dietary determinants. SETTING: Ten European countries participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). SUBJECTS: The subjects were 34 270 individuals, 12 537 men and 21 733 women, aged 35-74 years. RESULTS: The fraction of energy intake during OH eating was generally higher in northern European countries than in the southern ones. Among the food and beverage groups, those selectively consumed outside the home were coffee/tea/waters and sweets and, to a lesser extent, cereals, meats, added lipids and vegetables. Substantial OH eating was positively associated with energy intake and inversely associated with age and physical activity. Substantial OH eating was less common among the less educated compared with the more educated, and more common during weekdays in central and north Europe and during the weekend in south Europe. CONCLUSIONS: Eating outside the home was associated with sedentary lifestyle and increased energy intake; it was more common among the young and concerned in particular coffee/tea/waters and sweets.
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| 2. |
- Ferrari, P., et al.
(author)
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A bivariate measurement error model for nitrogen and potassium intakes to evaluate the performance of regression calibration in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study
- 2009
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In: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-5640 .- 0954-3007. ; 63:4s, s. 179-187
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: Within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, the performance of 24-h dietary recall (24-HDR) measurements as reference measurements in a linear regression calibration model is evaluated critically at the individual (within-centre) and aggregate (between-centre) levels by using unbiased estimates of urinary measurements of nitrogen and potassium intakes. Methods: Between 1995 and 1999, 1072 study subjects (59% women) from 12 EPIC centres volunteered to collect 24-h urine samples. Log-transformed questionnaire, 24-HDR and urinary measurements of nitrogen and potassium intakes were analysed in a multivariate measurement error model to estimate the validity of coefficients and error correlations in self-reported dietary measurements. In parallel, correlations between means of 24-HDR and urinary measurements were computed. Linear regression calibration models were used to estimate the regression dilution (attenuation) factors. Results: After adjustment for sex, centre, age, body mass index and height, the validity coefficients for 24-HDRs were 0.285 (95% confidence interval: 0.194, 0.367) and 0.371 (0.291, 0.446) for nitrogen and potassium intakes, respectively. The attenuation factors estimated in a linear regression calibration model were 0.368 (0.228, 0.508) for nitrogen and 0.500 (0.361, 0.639) for potassium intakes; only the former was different from the estimate obtained using urinary measurements in the measurement error model. The aggregate-level correlation coefficients between means of urinary and 24-HDR measurements were 0.838 (0.637, 0.932) and 0.756 (0.481, 0.895) for nitrogen and potassium intakes, respectively. Conclusions: This study suggests that 24-HDRs can be used as reference measurements at the individual and aggregate levels for potassium intake, whereas, for nitrogen intake, good performance is observed for between-centre calibration, but some limitations are apparent at the individual level. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009) 63, S179-S187; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2009.80
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| 3. |
- Skeie, G., et al.
(author)
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Use of dietary supplements in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition calibration study
- 2009
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In: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-5640 .- 0954-3007. ; 63:4s, s. 226-238
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Dietary supplement use is increasing, but there are few comparable data on supplement intakes and how they affect the nutrition and health of European consumers. The aim of this study was to describe the use of dietary supplements in subsamples of the 10 countries participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Methods: Specific questions on dietary supplement use were asked as a part of single 24-h recalls performed on 36 034 men and women aged 35-74 years from 1995 to 2000. Results: Between countries, the mean percentage of dietary supplement use varied almost 10-fold among women and even more among men. There was a clear north-south gradient in use, with a higher consumption in northern countries. The lowest crude mean percentage of use was found in Greece (2.0% among men, 6.7% among women), and the highest was in Denmark (51.0% among men, 65.8% among women). Use was higher in women than in men. Vitamins, minerals or combinations of them were the predominant types of supplements reported, but there were striking differences between countries. Conclusions: This study indicates that there are wide variations in supplement use in Europe, which may affect individual and population nutrient intakes. The results underline the need to monitor consumption of dietary supplements in Europe, as well as to evaluate the risks and benefits. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009) 63, S226-S238; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2009.83
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| 4. |
- Al-Delaimy, WK, et al.
(author)
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Plasma carotenoids as biomarkers of intake of fruits and vegetables: individual-level correlations in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)
- 2005
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In: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-5640 .- 0954-3007. ; 59:12, s. 1387-1396
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: The aim in this study was to assess the association between individual plasma carotenoid levels (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin) and fruit and vegetable intakes recorded by a calibrated food questionnaire (FQ) and 24- h dietary recall records (24HDR) in nine different European countries with diverse populations and widely varying intakes of plant foods. Design: A stratified random subsample of 3089 men and women from nine countries participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), who had provided blood samples and dietary and other lifestyle information between 1992 and 2000, were included. Results: beta-Cryptoxanthin was most strongly correlated with total fruits (FQ r = 0.52, 24HDR r = 0.39), lycopene with tomato and tomato products (FQ r = 0.38, 24HDR r = 0.25), and alpha-carotene with intake of root vegetables (r = 0.39) and of total carrots (r = 0.38) for FQ only. Based on diet measured by FQ and adjusting for possible confounding by body mass index (BMI), age, gender, smoking status, alcohol intake, and energy intake, the strongest predictors of individual plasma carotenoid levels were fruits (R-partial(2) = 17.2%) for beta-cryptoxanthin, total carrots (R-partial(2) = 13.4%) and root vegetables (R-partial(2) = 13.3%) for alpha-carotene, and tomato products (R-partial(2) = 13.8%) for lycopene. For 24HDR, the highest R-partial(2) was for fruits in relation to beta-cryptoxanthin (7.9%). Conclusions: Intakes of specific fruits and vegetables as measured by food questionnaires are good predictors of certain individual plasma carotenoid levels in our multicentre European study. At individual subject levels, FQ measurements of fruits, root vegetables and carrots, and tomato products are, respectively, good predictors of beta-cryptoxanthin, alpha-carotene, and lycopene in plasma.
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| 5. |
- Ferrari, P, et al.
(author)
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Evaluation of under- and overreporting of energy intake in the 24-hour diet recalls in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)
- 2002
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In: Public Health Nutrition. - 1475-2727. ; 5:6B, s. 1329-1345
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To evaluate under- and overreporting and their determinants in the EPIC :24-hour diet recall (24-HDR) measurements collected in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Design: Cross-sectional analysis. 24-HDR measurements were obtained by means of a standardised computerised interview program (EPIC-SOFT). The ratio of reported energy intake (EI) to estimated basal metabolic rate (BMR) was used-to ascertain the magnitude, impact and determinants of misreporting. Goldberg's cut-off points were used to identify participants with physiologically extreme low or high energy intake. At the aggregate level the value of 1.55 for physical activity level (PAL) was chosen as reference. At the individual level we used multivariate statistical techniques to identify factors that could explain EI/BMR variability. Analyses were performed by adjusting for weight, height, age at recall, special diet, smoking status, day of recall (weekday vs. weekend day) and physical activity. Setting: Twenty-seven redefined centres in the 10 countries participating in the EPIC project. Subjects: in total, 35955 men and women, aged 35-74 years, participating in the nested EPIC calibration sub-studies. Results: While overreporting has only a minor impact, the percentage of subjects identified as extreme underreporters was 13.8% and 10.3% in women and men, respectively. Mean EI/BMR values in men and women were 1.44 and 1.36 including all subjects, and 1.50 and 1.44 after exclusion of misreporters. After exclusion of misreporters, adjusted EI/BMR means were consistently less than 10% different from the expected value of 1.55 for PAL (except for women in Greece and in the UK), with overall differences equal to 4.0% and 7.4% for men and women, respectively. We modelled the probability of being an underreporter in association with several individual characteristics. After adjustment for age, height, special diet,- smoking status, day of recall and physical activity at work logistic regression analyses resulted in an odds ratio (OR) of being an underreporter for the highest vs. the lowest quartile of body mass index (BMI) of 3.52 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.91-4.26) in men and 4.80 (95% CI 4.11-5.61) in women, indicating that overweight subjects are significantly more likely to underestimate energy intake than subjects in the bottom BMI category. Older people were less likely to underestimate energy intake: ORs were 0.58 (95% CI 0.45-0.77) and 0.74 (95% CI 0.63-0.88) for age (greater than or equal to 65 years vs. < 50 years). Special diet and day of the week showed strong effects. Conclusion: EI tends to be underestimated in the vast majority of the EPIC centres, although to varying degrees; at the aggregate level most centres were below the expected reference value of 1.55. Underreporting seems to be more prevalent among women than men in the EPIC calibration sample. The hypothesis that BMI (or weight) and age are causally related to underreporting seems to be confirmed in the present work. This introduces further complexity in the within-group (centre or country) and between-group calibration of dietary questionnaire measurements to deattenuate the diet-disease relationship.
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| 6. |
- Linseisen, J, et al.
(author)
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Meat consumption in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohorts: results 24-hour dietary recalls
- 2002
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In: Public Health Nutrition. - 1475-2727. ; 5:6B, s. 1243-1258
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To evaluate meat intake patterns in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohorts. Design and setting: 24-Hour dietary recalls were assessed within the framework of a prospective cohort study in 27 centres across 10 European countries by means of standardised computer-assisted interviews. Subjects: In total, 22 924 women and 13 031 men aged 35-74 years. Results: Mean total meat intake was lowest in the 'health-conscious' cohort in the UK (15 and 21 g day(-1) in women and men, respectively) and highest in the north of Spain, especially in San Sebastian (124 and 234 g day(-1), respectively). In the southern Spanish centres and in Naples (Italy), meat consumption was distinctly lower than in the north of these countries. Central and northern European centres/countries showed rather similar meat consumption patterns, except for the British and French cohorts. Differences in the intake of meat sub-groups (e.g. red meat, processed meat) across EPIC were even higher than found for total meat intake. With a few exceptions, the Mediterranean EPIC centres revealed a higher proportion of beef/veal and poultry and less pork or processed meat than observed in central or northern European centres. The highest sausage consumption was observed for the German EPIC participants, followed by the Norwegians, Swedish, Danish and Dutch. Conclusions: The results demonstrate distinct differences in meat consumption patterns between EPIC centres across Europe. This is an important prerequisite for obtaining further insight into the relationship between meat intake and the development of chronic diseases.
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| 7. |
- Slimani, N, et al.
(author)
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Diversity of dietary patterns observed in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) project
- 2002
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In: Public Health Nutrition. - 1475-2727. ; 5:6B, s. 1311-1328
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective.. To describe the diversity in dietary patterns existing across centres/regions participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Design and setting.. Single 24-hour dietary recall measurements were obtained by means of standardised face-to-face interviews using the EPIC-SOFT software. These have been used to present a graphic multi-dimensional comparison of the adjusted mean consumption of 22 food groups. Subjects: In total, 35 955 men and women, aged 35-74 years, participating in the EPIC nested calibration study. Results.. Although wide differences were observed across centres, the countries participating in EPIC are characterised by specific dietary patterns. Overall, Italy and Greece have a dietary pattern characterised by plant foods (except potatoes) and a lower consumption of animal and processed foods, compared with the other EPIC countries. France and particularly Spain have more heterogeneous dietary patterns, with a relatively high consumption of both plant foods and animal products. Apart from characteristics specific to vegetarian groups, the UK 'health-conscious' group shares with the UK general population a relatively high consumption of tea, sauces, cakes, soft drinks (women), margarine and butter. In contrast, the diet in the Nordic countries, The Netherlands, Germany and the UK general population is relatively high in potatoes and animal, processed and sweetened/refined foods, with proportions varying across countries/centres. In these countries, consumption of vegetables and fruit is similar to, or below, the overall EPIC means, and is low for legumes and vegetable oils. Overall, dietary patterns were similar for men and women, although there were large gender differences for certain food groups. Conclusions: There are considerable differences in food group consumption and dietary patterns among the EPIC study populations. This large heterogeneity should be an advantage when investigating the relationship between diet and cancer and formulating new aetiological hypotheses related to dietary patterns and disease.
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| 8. |
- van Bakel, M. M. E., et al.
(author)
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Dietary glycaemic index and glycaemic load in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition
- 2009
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In: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-5640 .- 0954-3007. ; 63:4s, s. 188-205
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: To describe dietary glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) values in the population participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study according to food groups, nutrients and lifestyle characteristics. Methods: Single 24-h dietary recalls (24-HDRs) from 33 566 subjects were used to calculate dietary GI and GL, and an ad hoc database was created as the main reference source. Mean GI and GL intakes were adjusted for age, total energy intake, height and weight, and were weighted by season and day of recall. Results: GI was the lowest in Spain and Germany, and highest in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Denmark for both genders. In men, GL was the lowest in Spain and Germany and highest in Italy, whereas in women, it was the lowest in Spain and Greece and highest in the UK health-conscious cohort. Bread was the largest contributor to GL in all centres (15-45%), but it also showed the largest inter-individual variation. GL, but not GI, tended to be lower in the highest body mass index category in both genders. GI was positively correlated with starch and intakes of bread and potatoes, whereas it was correlated negatively with intakes of sugar, fruit and dairy products. GL was positively correlated with all carbohydrate components and intakes of cereals, whereas it was negatively correlated with fat and alcohol and with intakes of wine, with large variations across countries. Conclusions: GI means varied modestly across countries and genders, whereas GL means varied more, but it may possibly act as a surrogate of carbohydrate intake. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009) 63, S188-S205; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2009.81
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| 9. |
- Agudo, A, et al.
(author)
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Consumption of vegetables, fruit and other plant foods in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohorts from 10 European countries
- 2002
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In: Public Health Nutrition. - 1475-2727. ; 5:6B, s. 1179-1196
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To describe and compare the consumption of the main groups and subgroups of vegetables and fruits (V&F) in men and women from the centres participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Design: Cross-sectional analysis. Dietary intake was assessed by means of a 24-hour dietary recall using computerised interview software and standardised procedures. Crude and adjusted means were computed for the main groups and sub-groups of V&F by centre, separately for men and women. Adjusted means by season, day of the week and age were estimated using weights and covariance analysis. Setting: Twenty-seven centres in 10 European countries participating in the EPIC project. Subjects: In total, 35 955 subjects (13 031 men and 22 924 women), aged 35-74 years, randomly selected from each EPIC cohort. Results: The centres from southern countries had the highest consumption of V&F, while the lowest intake was seen in The Netherlands and Scandinavia for both genders. These differences were more evident for fruits, particularly citrus. However, slightly different patterns arose for some sub-groups of vegetables, such as root vegetables and cabbage. Adjustment for body mass index, physical activity, smoking habits and education did not substantially modify the mean intakes of vegetables and fruits. vegetable and fruit intake follows a south-north gradient in both Conclusions:. Total, genders, whereas for several sub-groups of vegetables a different geographic distribution exists. Differences in mean intake of V&F by centre were not explained by lifestyle factors associated with VF intake.
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| 10. |
- Al-Delaimy, WK, et al.
(author)
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Plasma carotenoids as biomarkers of intake of fruits and vegetables: ecological-level correlations in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)
- 2005
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In: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-5640 .- 0954-3007. ; 59:12, s. 1397-1408
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the ability of a single 24-h dietary recall (24HDR) and food questionnaires (FQ) to predict plasma carotenoid levels at the ecological level by assessing the relationship between mean plasma carotenoid levels and mean intake of fruit and vegetables measured by 24HDR and FQ across 16 European regions. Design: A random subsample of 3089 subjects was included, stratified by age and gender. They provided blood samples and dietary information between 1992 and 2000 as part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Results: Using Spearman's correlation coefficients, the correlations between mean regional 24HDR fruit and vegetable variables and corresponding mean plasma carotenoid levels were generally higher than the correlations using FQ means. The highest correlation was between the 24HDR citrus fruit variable and beta-cryptoxanthin (r = 0.90). For 24HDR, total fruits and vegetables were highly correlated with lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-cryptoxanthin (r = 0.83-0.87), while vegetables were more closely related with lutein (r = 0.69) and zeaxanthin (r = 0.68), and fruits correlated with zeaxanthin (r = 0.87) and beta-cryptoxanthin (r = 0.84). Root vegetables (r = 0.81) and total carrots (r = 0.71) were well correlated with alpha-carotene. In the multivariate models adjusting for age, body mass index, and season, and using observations of means stratified by sex and region, the association was generally higher for 24HDR compared to FQ. Conclusion: Mean regional intakes of fruits and vegetables in several European countries were closely correlated with corresponding mean plasma levels of individual carotenoids. Fruits and vegetables measured by 24HDR were generally better able to predict plasma carotenoids at the ecological level.
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