Biomedical subjects

Kim Overvad

Publications and source records attributed to Kim Overvad.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2006

GPX1 Pro198Leu polymorphism, interactions with smoking and alcohol consumption, and risk for lung cancer.

We genotyped blood samples from 432 lung cancer cases and 798 persons in a comparison group and examined the role of the GPX1 (Pro198Leu, rs1050450) polymorphism and interactions with external exposures in the development of lung cancer. The incidence rate ratio for lung cancer was 0.60 (95% confidence interval: 0.35-1.05) when homozygous carriers of the variant allele were compared with the homozygous carriers of the wild type, and the risk for lung cancer was significantly lower among participants carrying more variant alleles (p-trend=0.03). We found stronger associations between several smoking variables and alcohol intake and lung cancer risk among GPX1(TT) carriers than among GPX1(CC) and GPX1(CT) carriers.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed2006

Fruits and vegetables and renal cell carcinoma: findings from the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition (EPIC).

We examined the association between fruits and vegetables and risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Dietary intake data and complete follow-up information on cancer incidence were available for 375,851 participants recruited in EPIC centers of 8 countries. During an average follow-up of 6.2 years, 306 incident cases of RCC were identified. The associations of consumption of total vegetables, total fruits, combined total fruits and vegetables and specific subtypes of vegetables with RCC risk were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards, stratified by centre and adjusted for potential confounders. No significant associations between fruit and vegetable consumption and RCC risk were observed despite a wide range of intake. The estimated relative risks (95% confidence intervals [CI]) in men and women combined were 0.97 (0.85-1.11) per 40 g increase in vegetable intake, 1.03 (0.97-1.08) per 40 g increase in fruit intake and 1.02 (0.93-1.11) per 80 g increase in fruit and vegetable intake combined. Among the vegetable subtypes, an inverse association was observed for root vegetables (RR per 8 g increase: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.78-0.99). These results suggest that total consumption of fruits and vegetables is not related to risk of RCC, although we cannot exclude the possibility that very low consumption is related to higher risk. The relationship of specific fruit and vegetable subgroups with RCC risk warrant further investigation.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Plasma and dietary vitamin C levels and risk of gastric cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-EURGAST).

Vitamin C is an antioxidant and inhibitor of carcinogenic N-nitroso compound production in the stomach. Higher dietary vitamin C consumption is associated with decreased risk of gastric cancer (GC) in numerous case-control studies, but data from prospective studies are limited, particularly so for blood measures of vitamin C. The objective of this study was to determine the association of plasma and dietary vitamin C levels with the risk of GC in a case-control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), a large cohort involving 10 European countries. Using a fluorometric method, vitamin C was measured in pre-diagnostic plasma from 215 GC cases (matched controls = 416). Conditional logistic regression models adjusted by body mass index, total energy intake, smoking status/duration/intensity and Helicobacter pylori infection status were used to estimate relative cancer risks. No association with GC risk was observed for dietary vitamin C, whereas an inverse GC risk was observed in the highest versus lowest quartile of plasma vitamin C [odds ratio (OR) = 0.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.31-0.97, P(trend) = 0.043], which was maintained after exclusion of cases with <or=2 years follow-up (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.19-0.83, P(trend) = 0.064). The inverse association was more pronounced in subjects consuming higher levels of red and processed meats, a factor that may increase endogenous N-nitroso compound production. The effect of plasma vitamin C was not different by GC anatomical subsite (cardia/non-cardia) or histological subtype (diffuse/intestinal), and there was no significant interaction of effect with H.pylori. The results of this study show, in a prospective setting, an inverse association of GC risk with high levels of plasma vitamin C and suggest an interaction with the intake of red and processed meats, whose consumption may elevate endogenous N-nitroso compound production.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Intake of ruminant trans fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease-an overview.

Epidemiological studies have shown a strong direct (positive) association between the intake of trans fatty acids (TFA) and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), primarily accounted for by industrially produced TFA (IP-TFA). However, comparisons between ruminant TFA (R-TFA) and IP-TFA and risk of CHD have been based on quintiles of intake, which implies that the associations between the two sources of TFA and the risk of CHD were described across different ranges of intake. Controlled metabolic studies of the effect of intake of total and specific R-TFA on CHD risk factors are warranted. Moreover, further epidemiological studies of intake of R-TFA and risk of CHD in populations with a high intake of R-TFA are warranted.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of stomach and oesophagus adenocarcinoma in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-EURGAST).

It is considered that fruit and vegetable (F&V) protect against oesophagus and gastric cancer (GC). However, 2 recent meta-analyses suggest that the strength of association on GC seems to be weaker for vegetables than for fruit and weaker in cohort than in case-control studies. No evidence exists from cohort studies about adenocarcinoma of oesophagus (ACO). In 521,457 men and women participating in the EPIC cohort in 10 European countries, information of diet and lifestyle was collected at baseline. After an average of 6.5 years of follow-up, a total of 330 GC and 65 ACO, confirmed and classified by a panel of pathologists, was used for the analysis. We examined the relation between F&V intake and GC and ACO. A calibration study in a sub-sample was used to control diet measurement errors. In a sub-sample of cases and a random sample of controls, antibodies against Helicobacter pylori (Hp) were measured and interactions with F&V were examined in a nested case-control study. We observed no association with total vegetable intake or specific groups of vegetables and GC risk, except for the intestinal type, where a negative association is possible regarding total vegetable (calibrated HR 0.66; 95% CI 0.35-1.22 per 100 g increase) and onion and garlic intake (calibrated HR 0.70; 95% CI 0.38-1.29 per 10 g increase). No evidence of association between fresh fruit intake and GC risk was observed. We found a negative but non significant association between citrus fruit intake and the cardia site (calibrated HR 0.77; 95% CI 0.47-1.22 per 100 g increase) while no association was observed with the non-cardia site. Regarding ACO, we found a non significant negative association for vegetable intake and for citrus intake (calibrated HRs 0.72; 95% CI 0.32-1.64 and 0.77; 95% CI 0.46-1.28 per 100 and 50 g increase, respectively). It seems that Hp infection does not modify the effect of F&V intake. Our study supports a possible protective role of vegetable intake in the intestinal type of GC and the ACO. Citrus fruit consumption may have a role in the protection against cardia GC and ACO.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2006

Gene-environment interactions between smoking and a haplotype of RAI, ASE-1 and ERCC1 polymorphisms among women in relation to risk of lung cancer in a population-based study.

Homozygous carriers of a haplotype consisting of ERCC1 Asn118Asn(A), ASE-1 G-21A(G), RAI IVS1 A4364G(A) are at increased risk of lung cancer especially among women. Here, we analyse for gene-environment interactions with the predefined haplotype in a case cohort study including 428 lung cancer cases and a comparison group of 800 persons, all from the prospective Diet, Cancer and Health cohort of 57,000 Danes. At high smoking intensity (>20g tobacco/day), there was only additional risk of smoking intensity among women who were homozygous carriers of the haplotype (IRR=2.03; 95% CI: 1.10-3.73 per 5 additional g tobacco/day).

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Prospective study of alcohol drinking patterns and coronary heart disease in women and men.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between alcohol drinking patterns and risk of coronary heart disease in women and men. DESIGN: Population based cohort study. SETTING: Denmark, 1993-2002. PARTICIPANTS: 28 448 women and 25 052 men aged 50-65 years, who were free of cardiovascular disease at entry to the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incidence of coronary heart disease occurring during a median follow-up period of 5.7 years. RESULTS: 749 and 1283 coronary heart disease events occurred among women and men. Women who drank alcohol on at least one day a week had a lower risk of coronary heart disease than women who drank alcohol on less than one day a week. Little difference was found, however, between drinking frequency: one day a week (hazard ratio 0.64, 95% confidence interval 0.51 to 0.81), 2-4 days a week (0.63, 0.52 to 0.77), five or six days a week (0.79, 0.61 to 1.03), and seven days a week (0.65, 0.51 to 0.84). For men an inverse association was found between drinking frequency and risk of coronary heart disease across the entire range of drinking frequencies. The lowest risk was observed among men who drank daily (0.59, 0.48 to 0.71) compared with men who drank alcohol on less than one day a week. CONCLUSIONS: Among women alcohol intake may be the primary determinant of the inverse association between drinking alcohol and risk of coronary heart disease whereas among men, drinking frequency, not alcohol intake, seems more important.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Bulky DNA adducts as risk indicator of lung cancer in a Danish case-cohort study.

Little is known of the predictive value of the levels of DNA adducts in terms of cancer risk. We examined the association between bulky DNA adducts and risk of lung cancer in a population-based cohort, comprising of 25,717 men and 27,972 women aged 50-64 years at entry. We included 245 cases (137 men and 108 women) with lung cancer and a comparison group of 255 individuals (137 men and 118 women), matched on sex, age and smoking duration. Bulky adducts in white blood cells collected at enrollment and stored at -150 degrees C were analyzed by (32)P-postlabeling method, using the butanol enrichment procedure. The median level of bulky DNA adducts was 0.196 adduct/10(8) nucleotides (5-95 percentiles: 0.094-0.595) among current smokers who were later diagnosed with lung cancer and 0.163 adduct/10(8) nucleotides (5-95 percentiles: 0.091-0.455) among current smokers in the comparison group. The smoking adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRR) for lung cancer in relation to one log unit (natural logarithm) difference in adduct levels were 1.22 (95% CI 0.85-1.74), 1.33 (95% CI 0.89-1.98) and 0.76 (95% CI 0.39-1.47) among all, current and former smokers, respectively. Current smokers with bulky DNA adduct levels above the median had a significant higher lung cancer rate than those with adduct levels below the median (IRR = 1.61; 95% CI 1.04-2.49). The results are compatible with previous studies, suggesting a slightly higher risk of lung cancer with higher levels of adducts among smokers. Our results indicate that bulky DNA adducts may have a weak association with lung cancer risk.

Case-Control Studies↗

PubMed2006

Endogenous versus exogenous exposure to N-nitroso compounds and gastric cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-EURGAST) study.

The risk of gastric cancer (GC) associated with dietary intake of nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and endogenous formation of nitroso compounds (NOCs) was investigated in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). The study included 521,457 individuals and 314 incident cases of GC that had occurred after 6.6 average years of follow-up. An index of endogenous NOC (ENOC) formation was estimated using data of the iron content from meat intake and faecal apparent total NOC formation according to previous published studies. Antibodies to Helicobacter pylori and vitamin C levels were measured in a sub-sample of cases and matched controls included in a nested case-control within the cohort. Exposure to NDMA was < 1 microg on average compared with 93 mug on average from ENOC. There was no association between NDMA intake and GC risk (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.7-1.43). ENOC was significantly associated with non-cardia cancer risk (HR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.14-1.78 for an increase of 40 microg/day) but not with cardia cancer (HR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.69-1.33). Although the number of not infected cases is low, our data suggest a possible interaction between ENOC and H.pylori infection (P for interaction = 0.09). Moreover, we observed an interaction between plasma vitamin C and ENOC (P < 0.02). ENOC formation may account for our previously reported association between red and processed meat consumption and gastric cancer risk.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2006

Meat intake and risk of stomach and esophageal adenocarcinoma within the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

BACKGROUND: Dietary factors are thought to have an important role in gastric and esophageal carcinogenesis, but evidence from cohort studies for such a role is lacking. We examined the risks of gastric cancer and esophageal adenocarcinoma associated with meat consumption within the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. METHODS: A total of 521,457 men and women aged 35-70 years in 10 European countries participated in the EPIC cohort. Dietary and lifestyle information was collected at recruitment. Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine associations between meat intake and risks of cardia and gastric non-cardia cancers and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Data from a calibration substudy were used to correct hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for diet measurement errors. In a nested case-control study, we examined interactions between Helicobacter pylori infection status (i.e., plasma H. pylori antibodies) and meat intakes. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 6.5 years, 330 gastric adenocarcinoma and 65 esophageal adenocarcinomas were diagnosed. Gastric non-cardia cancer risk was statistically significantly associated with intakes of total meat (calibrated HR per 100-g/day increase = 3.52; 95% CI = 1.96 to 6.34), red meat (calibrated HR per 50-g/day increase = 1.73; 95% CI = 1.03 to 2.88), and processed meat (calibrated HR per 50-g/day increase = 2.45; 95% CI = 1.43 to 4.21). The association between the risk of gastric non-cardia cancer and total meat intake was especially large in H. pylori-infected subjects (odds ratio per 100-g/day increase = 5.32; 95% CI = 2.10 to 13.4). Intakes of total, red, or processed meat were not associated with the risk of gastric cardia cancer. A positive but non-statistically significant association was observed between esophageal adenocarcinoma cancer risk and total and processed meat intake in the calibrated model. In this study population, the absolute risk of development of gastric adenocarcinoma within 10 years for a study subject aged 60 years was 0.26% for the lowest quartile of total meat intake and 0.33% for the highest quartile of total meat intake. CONCLUSION: Total, red, and processed meat intakes were associated with an increased risk of gastric non-cardia cancer, especially in H. pylori antibody-positive subjects, but not with cardia gastric cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2006

Does high intake of fruit and vegetables improve lung cancer survival?

The objective of the study was to examine the prognostic effect of dietary intake of fruit and vegetables on lung cancer patients. We used data on 57,053 participants in the Danish prospective cohort study, 'Diet, Cancer and Health'. Patients in whom lung cancer was diagnosed constituted the final study cohort and were followed from the date of diagnosis until the date of death or 11 March 2004. A total of 353 participants had lung cancer. Increasing levels of intake of fruit and vegetables show a tendency toward decreased hazard of dying: the Cox proportional hazard model estimated a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59-1.21) for high intake of vegetables by current smokers and an HR of 0.81 (95% CI, 0.58-1.15) for high intake of fruits with low intake as the reference. In contrast, high intake of potatoes increased the hazard of dying (HR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.12-2.23). Our study suggests that high intake of fruit and vegetables might have a favourable effect on the prognosis of lung cancer patients, but a high intake of potatoes appears to increase the hazard of dying.

Denmark↗

PubMed2006

Body size and risk of renal cell carcinoma in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

Previous studies suggest that obesity is related to increased risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC); however, only a few studies report on measures of central vs. peripheral adiposity. We examined the association between anthropometric measures, including waist and hip circumference and RCC risk among 348,550 men and women free of cancer at baseline from 8 countries of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). During 6.0 years of follow-up we identified 287 incident cases of RCC. Relative risks were calculated using Cox regression, stratified by age and study center and adjusted for smoking status, education, alcohol consumption, physical activity, menopausal status, and hormone replacement therapy use. Among women, an increased risk of RCC was conferred by body weight (relative risk [RR] in highest vs. lowest quintile = 2.13; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.16-3.90; p-trend = 0.003), body mass index (BMI) (RR = 2.25; 95% CI = 1.14-4.44; p-trend = 0.009), and waist (RR = 1.67; 95% CI = 0.94-2.98; p-trend = 0.003) and hip circumference (RR = 2.30; 95% CI = 1.22-4.34; p-trend = 0.01); however, waist and hip circumference were no longer significant after controlling for body weight. Among men, hip circumference (RR = 0.44; 95% CI = 0.20-0.98; p-trend = 0.03) was related significantly to decreased RCC risk only after accounting for body weight. Height was not related significantly to RCC risk. Our findings suggest that obesity is related to increased risk of RCC irrespective of fat distribution among women, whereas low hip circumference is related to increased RCC risk among men. Our data give further credence to public health efforts aiming to reduce the prevalence of obesity to prevent RCC, in addition to other chronic diseases.

Body Composition↗

PubMed2006

Intake of fruits and vegetables and risk of cancer of the upper aero-digestive tract: the prospective EPIC-study.

Epidemiologic studies suggest that a high intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with decreased risk of cancers of the upper aero-digestive tract. We studied data from 345,904 subjects of the prospective European Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) recruited in seven European countries, who had completed a dietary questionnaire in 1992-1998. During 2,182,560 person years of observation 352 histologically verified incident squamous cell cancer (SCC) cases (255 males; 97 females) of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus were identified. Linear and restricted cubic spline Cox regressions were fitted on variables of intake of fruits and vegetables and adjusted for potential confounders. We observed a significant inverse association with combined total fruits and vegetables intake (estimated relative risk (RR) = 0.91; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.83-1.00 per 80 g/d of consumption), and nearly significant inverse associations in separate analyses with total fruits and total vegetables intake (RR: 0.97 (95% CI: 0.92-1.02) and RR = 0.89 (95% CI: 0.78-1.02) per 40 g/d of consumption). Overall, vegetable subgroups were not related to risk with the exception of intake of root vegetables in men. Restricted cubic spline regression did not improve the linear model fits except for total fruits and vegetables and total fruits with a significant decrease in risk at low intake levels (<120 g/d) for fruits. Dietary recommendations should consider the potential benefit of increasing fruits and vegetables consumption for reducing the risk of cancers of the upper aero-digestive tract, particularly at low intake.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗

PubMed2006

Consumption and portion sizes of tree nuts, peanuts and seeds in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohorts from 10 European countries.

Tree nuts, peanuts and seeds are nutrient dense foods whose intake has been shown to be associated with reduced risk of some chronic diseases. They are regularly consumed in European diets either as whole, in spreads or from hidden sources (e.g. commercial products). However, little is known about their intake profiles or differences in consumption between European countries or geographic regions. The objective of this study was to analyse the population mean intake and average portion sizes in subjects reporting intake of nuts and seeds consumed as whole, derived from hidden sources or from spreads. Data was obtained from standardised 24-hour dietary recalls collected from 36 994 subjects in 10 different countries that are part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Overall, for nuts and seeds consumed as whole, the percentage of subjects reporting intake on the day of the recall was: tree nuts = 4. 4%, peanuts = 2.3 % and seeds = 1.3 %. The data show a clear northern (Sweden: mean intake = 0.15 g/d, average portion size = 15.1 g/d) to southern (Spain: mean intake = 2.99 g/d, average portion size = 34.7 g/d) European gradient of whole tree nut intake. The three most popular tree nuts were walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts, respectively. In general, tree nuts were more widely consumed than peanuts or seeds. In subjects reporting intake, men consumed a significantly higher average portion size of tree nuts (28.5 v. 23.1 g/d, P<0.01) and peanuts (46.1 v. 35.1 g/d, P<0.01) per day than women. These data may be useful in devising research initiatives and health policy strategies based on the intake of this food group.

Arachis↗

PubMed2006

Body composition and breast cancer in postmenopausal women: a Danish prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the importance of body fat mass (BFM) and fat free mass (FFM) for the established positive association between BMI and breast cancer among post-menopausal women. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A prospective cohort of 23,788 postmenopausal women included in the Danish study Diet, Cancer, and Health during 1993 to 1997 was linked to the Danish Cancer Registry to identify all cases of breast cancer occurring during 1993 to 2002. Breast cancer incidence rate ratios for anthropometric measurements with adjustment for known risk factors for breast cancer were calculated by Cox regression analyses. RESULTS: Among the most commonly used anthropometric measurements, BMI was positively associated with breast cancer among never users of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). By splitting BMI into two indices, BFM index and FFM index, we found that the incidence rate ratio with each 1 kg/m(2) among never users of HRT was 0.98 (95% confidence interval, 0.93 to 1.03) for BFM index and 1.12 (95% confidence interval, 1.00 to 1.26) for FFM index after mutual adjustment. DISCUSSION: The finding for BMI was in accordance with previous findings. Our results indicate that the FFM component of BMI may play a role for development of breast cancer among never users of HRT.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMed2006

Dietary intake of different types and characteristics of processed meat which might be associated with cancer risk--results from the 24-hour diet recalls in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

OBJECTIVE: There is increasing evidence for a significant effect of processed meat (PM) intake on cancer risk. However, refined knowledge on how components of this heterogeneous food group are associated with cancer risk is still missing. Here, actual data on the intake of PM subcategories is given; within a food-based approach we considered preservation methods, cooking methods and nutrient content for stratification, in order to address most of the aetiologically relevant hypotheses. DESIGN AND SETTING: Standardised computerised 24-hour diet recall interviews were collected within the framework of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), a prospective cohort study in 27 centres across 10 European countries. SUBJECTS: Subjects were 22,924 women and 13,031 men aged 35-74 years. RESULTS: Except for the so-called 'health-conscious' cohort in the UK, energy-adjusted total PM intake ranged between 11.1 and 47.9 g day(-1) in women and 18.8 and 88.5 g day(-1) in men. Ham, salami-type sausages and heated sausages contributed most to the overall PM intake. The intake of cured (addition of nitrate/nitrite) PM was highest in the German, Dutch and northern European EPIC centres, with up to 68.8 g day(-1) in men. The same was true for smoked PM (up to 51.8 g day(-1)). However, due to the different manufacturing practice, the highest average intake of NaNO2 through PM consumption was found for the Spanish centres (5.4 mg day(-1) in men) as compared with German and British centres. Spanish centres also showed the highest intake of NaCl-rich types of PM; most cholesterol- and iron-rich PM was consumed in central and northern European centres. Possibly hazardous cooking methods were more often used for PM preparation in central and northern European centres. CONCLUSIONS: We applied a food-based categorisation of PM that addresses aetiologically relevant mechanisms for cancer development and found distinct differences in dietary intake of these categories of PM across European cohorts. This predisposes EPIC to further investigate the role of PM in cancer aetiology.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Interactions between the OGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism and intake of fruit and vegetables in relation to lung cancer.

The enzyme 8-oxoguanine glycosylase 1 (OGG1) repairs oxidatively damaged DNA and a polymorphism in the OGG1 gene (Ser326Cys) has been associated with lung cancer. We examined associations between the polymorphism and intake of fruits and vegetables and smoking in the development of lung cancer, by genotyping blood samples from 431 lung cancer cases and 796 comparison persons, which were identified within a prospective cohort on 57,000 cohort members. We found no overall association between the OGG1 polymorphism and lung cancer. There was a statistically significant interaction between the polymorphism and dietary intake of vegetables, with a 54% decrease in lung cancer risk per 50% increase in vegetable intake among homozygous Cys326Cys carriers and no decrease in risk among carriers of Ser326Ser or Ser326Cys. The same tendency was seen in relation to intake of fruit. There were no statistically significant interactions between the OGG1 polymorphism and smoking.

Cysteine↗

PubMed2006

Intake of macronutrients as predictors of 5-y changes in waist circumference.

BACKGROUND: The diet may influence the development of abdominal obesity, but the few studies that have prospectively examined the relations between diet and changes in waist circumference (WC) have given inconsistent results. OBJECTIVE: Associations between total energy intake, energy intake from macronutrients, and energy intake from macronutrient subgroups based on different food sources and 5-y differences in WC (DWC) were investigated. DESIGN: A Danish cohort of 22 570 women and 20 126 men aged 50-64 y with baseline data on WC, diet, BMI, and potential confounders reported their WC 5 y later. Associations of baseline diet with DWC were assessed by multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Neither total energy intake nor energy intake from each of the macronutrients was associated with DWC, except for an inverse association with protein, especially animal protein. In women, positive associations with DWC were seen for carbohydrate from refined grains and potatoes and from foods with simple sugars, whereas carbohydrate from fruit and vegetables was inversely associated and significantly different from any other carbohydrate subgroup. The results for men resembled those for women, although none were significant. Vegetable fat was positively associated with DWC for both men and women in a combined analysis. A U-shaped association between alcohol from wine and DWC was present for both sexes, and alcohol from spirits was positively associated with DWC in women. CONCLUSIONS: Although no significant associations with total energy or energy from fat, carbohydrate, or alcohol were observed, protein intake was inversely related to DWC, and some macronutrient subgroups were significantly associated with DWC.

Abdominal Fat↗