Relationship between Low Vegetable Consumption, Increased High-Sensitive C-Reactive Protein Level, and Cardiometabolic Risk in Korean Adults with Tae-Eumin: A Cross-Sectional Study

Association of Dietary Protein Sources and Their Adequacy, Body Composition and Risk of Sarcopenic Obesity in South Korean Populations: A Cross-Sectional Study

Dietary protein sources and protein adequacy are crucial modulators of muscle quality and body composition. We investigated the association between dietary protein sources (and their adequacy) and body composition and the risk of sarcopenic obesity (SO) in South Korean populations. The participants (n = 1967) were classified into SO, obese, sarcopenia, and normal groups. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the KS-15 questionnaire, short-form food frequency questionnaire, and anthropometric measurements. The percentage of body fat (male: 35.36 ± 0.51%; female: 44.14 ± 0.36%) was significantly high, while appendicular skeletal muscle (ASM; male: 36.39 ± 0.30%, female: 30.32 ± 0.19%) was low in the SO group. Beef and pork consumption was negatively associated with ASM (%) but positively associated with body fat (%) in the normal group and positively associated with ASM (kg/m2: beta = 0.002, p = 0.02) and BFM (kg: beta = 0.012, p = 0.03) in the SO group, respectively. The highest quintile (Q5: 173.6 g/day) showed a decreased risk of SO prevalence (AORs: 0.46, CI: 0.22-0.94) compared with that in the lowest quintile (Q1: 21.6 g/day) among the people with inadequacy protein intake. Daily poultry and egg intake was positively linked with body composition in the participants with SO, while red meat showed a negative effect on imbalanced body composition in participants in the normal and SO groups. Furthermore, a lower intake of poultry and eggs was strongly associated with SO prevalence in people who consumed inadequate amounts of daily dietary protein.

Higher vegetable consumption is related to a lower risk of cardiometabolic risk cluster among children and adolescents: A national cross-sectional study in China

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Evidence about the association between vegetable consumption and cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs) cluster among children and adolescents was inconsistent. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of CMRFs and CMRFs cluster, and to evaluate their associations with vegetable consumption.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A total of 14,061 participants aged 6-19 years were recruited from 7 provinces of China. A standard physical examination, including height, weight and blood pressure, was conducted. Information regarding CMRFs was obtained through anthropometric measurements and blood sample testing, while weekly frequency and daily servings of vegetable consumption data collected by questionnaires. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the odds ratios (OR) for associations between CMRFs, CMRFs cluster and vegetable consumption. The prevalence of no CMRFs cluster among children and adolescents was 26.4%. Participants whose daily vegetable consumption was 0.75-1.5 and ≥1.5 servings showed a lower risk of high blood pressure (HBP), high total cholesterol (TC), high triglyceride (TG), and high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) compared to those with daily vegetable consumption of <0.75 servings. Besides, higher average daily vegetable consumption was strongly associated with lower risks of CMRFs cluster. Stratified analyses showed that the protective effects of more vegetable intake on CMRFs cluster were profounder in boys and young adolescents.

CONCLUSION

More vegetable intake was associated with lower risks of CMRFs cluster in Chinese children and adolescents aged 6-19 years, which further highlighted the significance of vegetable consumption to improve the cardiometabolic risk status.

Individual Differences in the Association of Lifestyle with Cardiometabolic Risk in Middle-Aged Koreans Based on Traditional Korean Medicine

Cardiometabolic (CM) risk differs in morbidity and disease progression depending on lifestyle and individual characteristics. This cross-sectional study aimed to analyze the association between CM risk and lifestyle and examine whether this association varies based on Sasang constitution (SC), a Korean medicine classification. Data were analyzed from 1996 individuals participating in the Korean Medicine Daejeon Citizen Cohort study. Individuals with CM risk had two to five CM risk factors. Lifestyle factors included physical activity, sleep duration, and eating index. SC types were Taeeum-in (TE) and non-TE. We estimated the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval for CM risk based on SC and lifestyle factors. Among the participants, 33.9% had a CM risk, and the TE and non-TE groups were 26.2% and 7.7%, respectively. In the TE group, CM risk was associated with low physical activity (OR, 1.63) and moderate eating index (OR, 1.41). In the non-TE group, CM risk was associated with ≥8 h of sleep (OR, 1.87) and marginally associated with ≤6 h of sleep. In the TE group alone, CM risk was significantly associated with lifestyle patterns that combined the three lifestyle factors and was approximately two-fold higher in patterns involving less physical activity. The effects of lifestyle on CM risk differed across SC types. To decrease the burden of cardiovascular diseases in middle-aged adults, we recommend an individualized management strategy of healthy lifestyle interventions for cardiovascular risks.

Association of Dietary Factors With Grip Strength, Body Fat, and Prevalence of Sarcopenic Obesity in Rural Korean Elderly With Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity

Background and Aims

Aging accompanied by cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CM) promotes chronic low-grade inflammation, increased oxidative stress, and insulin resistance (IR), which result in loss of muscle mass and functional impairment. Better quality diets have been directly associated with muscle health and decreased risk of all-cause mortality. However, no study has investigated the relationship of dietary factors with grip strength, body composition, and prevalence of sarcopenic obesity (SO) in Korean rural residents according to their CM pattern. Therefore, we aimed to examine this association among this population.

Materials and Methods

This cross-sectional study utilized data from 932 rural residents aged ≥ 65 years. An exploratory tetrachoric factor analysis revealed four multimorbidity patterns: CM, inflammatory disease, respiratory disease, and cancer and other diseases. All participants were categorized into the CM and non-CM groups. Skeletal muscle mass and the prevalence of sarcopenia were estimated using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Dietary assessment was analyzed using a validated 106-item food frequency questionnaire. Adjusted multiple linear regression and multivariate logistic regression were employed to examine the association of dietary factors with muscle strength, quality, and SO prevalence ratio in elderly participants.

Results

The mean age of the participants was 71.8 ± 0.1 years (65.8% women). Dietary fat and protein intake were positively correlated with handgrip strength in women with CM, after adjusting for covariates (p = 0.001). Similarly, protein intake (g/kg) was positively associated with appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM; kg/m²) and ASM (%) in both sexes in the CM and non-CM groups. Regarding the tertiles of wheat intake (g/d), 2.1-fold increase in SO prevalence ratios [prevalence ratio (PR): 2.149, confidence intervals (CIs): 1.134–4.071] was observed in the highest tertile (T3: 269.1 g/d), compared to the lowest tertile (Q1: 8.6 g/d) in the CM group. Higher tertile of meat intake (T2: 34.8 g/d, T3: 99.5 g/d) had a 2-fold increase in SO (PR: 1.932, CIs: 1.066–3.500) compared to the lowest tertile (T1: 9.2 g/d) in the CM group.

Conclusion

Overconsumption of wheat and meat negatively impacted the development of SO, while protein intake was positively associated with grip strength and skeletal muscle mass in elderly Koreans with CM.

Nutritional and Nutrition-Related Biomarkers as Prognostic Factors of Sarcopenia, and Their Role in Disease Progression

Due to the multifactorial pathogenesis of sarcopenia, it is crucial to identify biomarkers that are risk factors for sarcopenia, and which therefore have a prognostic function. Aim: This narrative review aims to define a set of biomarkers associated with nutrition and sarcopenia. These biomarkers could contribute to individualized monitoring and enable preventive and therapeutic methods. Methods: Two electronic databases, PubMed and Google Scholar, were used. The search strategy was based on a controlled vocabulary (MeSH) and includes studies published up to February 2022. Discussion: Higher levels of serum uric acid are associated with higher handgrip strength and better muscle function in elderly people and, thus, may slow the progression of sarcopenia. Leptin, an adipokine secreted by adipose tissue, promotes the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which in turn lead to sarcopenia. This makes leptin a significant indirect biomarker for physical disability and sarcopenic obesity. Additionally, creatinine is a reliable biomarker for muscle mass status because of its easy accessibility and cost-effectiveness. Vitamin D status acts as a useful biomarker for predicting total mortality, hip fractures, early death, and the development of sarcopenia. Therefore, there is an increasing interest in dietary antioxidants and their effects on age-related losses of muscle mass and function. On the other hand, 3-Methylhistidine is a valuable biomarker for detecting increased muscle catabolism, as it is excreted through urine during muscle degradation. In addition, IGF-1, whose concentration in plasma is stimulated by food intake, is associated with the loss of skeletal muscle mass, which probably plays a crucial role in the progression of sarcopenia. Conclusions: Many nutritional biomarkers were found to be associated with sarcopenia, and can therefore be used as prognostic indexes and risk factors. Nutrition plays an important role in the prevention and management of sarcopenia, affecting muscle mass, strength, and function in elderly people.

Association between Phytochemical Index and Inflammation in Korean Adults

While the relationship between phytochemicals and inflammation has been confirmed by in vivo or in vitro studies, large-scale epidemiological studies comprehensively analyzing phytochemical-rich food groups remain scarce. Therefore, we evaluated the association between the phytochemical index (PI) and the inflammation levels in Korean adults. The data were derived from the 2015–2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and a total of 18,699 participants were analyzed. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels >3.0 mg/L and white blood cell (WBC) counts >10 × 103/μL were defined as “elevated.” The PI was calculated based on eight food groups using a 24-h dietary recall. The odds ratio (OR) and confidence interval (CI) for elevated hs-CRP levels and WBC counts, according to the PI quintile, were calculated using the multivariable logistic regression analysis. Participants in the higher PI group had lower means of hs-CRP levels and WBC counts than those in the lower PI group (all p for trend <0.001). In fully adjusted logistic regression models, elevated hs-CRP levels and WBC counts in the highest PI group were lower by 40% (OR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.49–0.76) and 34% (OR: 0.66, CI: 0.47–0.93), respectively. Conclusions: A high consumption of phytochemical-rich foods is associated with lower inflammation. This suggests that adopting phytochemical-rich dietary patterns may be an effective approach for reducing inflammation.