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Biomedical subjects

S A Bingham

Publications and source records attributed to S A Bingham.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Daidzein and genistein content of cereals.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse 75 cereals and three soy flours commonly eaten in Europe for the phytoestrogens daidzein and genistein. DESIGN: The phytoestrogens daidzein and genistein were extracted from dried foods, and the two isoflavones quantified after hydrolytic removal of any conjugated carbohydrate. Completeness of extraction and any procedural losses of the isoflavones were accounted for using synthetic daidzin (7-O-glucosyl-4'-hydroxyisoflavone) and genistin (7-O-glucosyl-4'5-dihydroxyisoflavone) as internal standards. SETTING: Foods from the Cambridge UK area were purchased, prepared for eating, which included cooking if necessary, and freeze dried. Three stock soy flours were also analysed. RESULTS: Eighteen of the foods assayed contained trace or no detectable daidzein or genistein. The soy flours were rich sources, containing 1639-2117 mg/kg. The concentration of the two isoflavones in the remaining foods ranged from 33 to 11,873 micro g/kg. CONCLUSION: These analyses will supply useful information to investigators determining the intake of phytoestrogens in cereal products in order to relate intakes to potential biological activities. SPONSORSHIP: This work was supported by the United Kingdom Medical Research Council, Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (contract FS2034) and the United States of America Army (contract DAMD 17-97-1-7028).

Edible Grain↗
PubMed2001

Nutritional methods in the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer in Norfolk.

OBJECTIVE: To describe methods and dietary habits of a large population cohort. DESIGN: Prospective assessment of diet using diet diaries and food-frequency questionnaires, and biomarkers of diet in 24-h urine collections and blood samples. SETTING: Free living individuals aged 45 to 75 years living in Norfolk, UK. SUBJECTS: Food and nutrient intake from a food-frequency questionnaire on 23 003 men and women, and from a 7-day diet diary from 2117 men and women. Nitrogen, sodium and potassium excretion was obtained from single 24-h urine samples from 300 individuals in the EPIC cohort. Plasma vitamin C was measured for 20 846 men and women. RESULTS: The food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and the food diary were able to determine differences in foods and nutrients between the sexes and were reliable as judged by repeated administrations of each method. Plasma vitamin C was significantly higher in women than men. There were significant differences in mean intake of all nutrients measured by the two different methods in women but less so in men. The questionnaire overestimated dairy products and vegetables in both men and women when compared with intakes derived from the diary, but underestimated cereal and meat intake in men. There were some consistent trends with age in food and nutrient intakes assessed by both methods, particularly in men. Correlation coefficients between dietary intake assessed from the diary and excretion of nitrogen and potassium in a single 24-h urine sample ranged from 0.36 to 0.47. Those comparing urine excretion and intake assessed from the FFQ were 0.09 to 0.26. The correlations between plasma vitamin C and dietary intake from the first FFQ, 24-h recall or diary were 0.28, 0.35 and 0.40. CONCLUSIONS: EPIC Norfolk is one of the largest epidemiological studies of nutrition in the UK and the largest on which plasma vitamin C has been obtained. Methods for obtaining food and nutrient intake are described in detail. The results shown here for food and nutrient intakes can be compared with results from other population studies utilising different methods of assessing dietary intake. The utility of different methods used in different settings within the main EPIC cohort is described. The FFQ is to be used particularly in pooled analyses of risk from diet in relation to cancer incidence within the larger European EPIC study, where measurement error is more likely to be overcome by large dietary heterogeneity on an international basis. Findings in the UK, where dietary variation between individuals is smaller and hence the need to use a more accurate individual method greater, will be derived from the 7-day diary information on a nested case-control basis. 24-h recalls can be used in the event that diary information should not be forthcoming from some eventual cases. Combinations of results utilising all dietary methods and biomarkers may also be possible.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

DINER (Data Into Nutrients for Epidemiological Research) - a new data-entry program for nutritional analysis in the EPIC-Norfolk cohort and the 7-day diary method.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: A new data-entry system (DINER - Data Into Nutrients for Epidemiological Research) for food record methods has been devised for the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC) cohort study of 25,000 men and women in Norfolk. DINER has been developed to address the problems of efficiency and consistency of data entry, comparability of data, maximising information and future flexibility in large long-term population studies of diet and disease that use record methods to assess dietary intakes. DINER captures more detail than traditional systems and enables provision of new variables for specific food types or groups. The system has been designed to be fully flexible and easy to update. Analysis of consistency of data entry was tested in a group of 3525 participants entered by 25 coders. RESULTS: A food list of 9000 food items and values for 24,000 portion sizes have been incorporated into the database, using information from the 5979 diaries coded since 1995. Analysis of consistency of entry indicated that this has largely been achieved. The effect of coders in a multivariate regression model was significant only if the three coders involved in early use of the program were included (P < 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: The development of DINER has facilitated the use of more accurate record methods in large-scale epidemiological studies of diet and disease. Furthermore, the retention of original information as an extensive food list allows greater flexibility in later analyses of data of multiple dietary hypotheses.

Cohort Studies↗
PubMed2001

Use of biological markers to validate self-reported dietary intake in a random sample of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer United Kingdom Norfolk cohort.

BACKGROUND: The validity of dietary assessment methods should be established before diet-disease associations are reported. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to validate a 7-d food diary and a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) against independent biomarkers of intake in urine (nitrogen, potassium, and sodium) and blood (plasma ascorbic acid). DESIGN: A total of 146 healthy middle-aged men and women were recruited from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer UK Norfolk cohort, a free-living cohort of approximately 25000 persons. Over a 9-mo period, urinary nitrogen, potassium, and sodium were estimated from 2-6 complete 24-h urine collections in 134 subjects and plasma ascorbic acid was estimated from 2-3 fasting blood samples in 118 subjects. Subjects completed 2 FFQs and two 7-d food diaries. RESULTS: In men and women combined, correlations between 24-h urinary nitrogen excretion and dietary intake from the 7-d food diary were high (r = 0.57-0.67) compared with those for the FFQ (r = 0.21-0.29). Similarly, correlations between urinary potassium and dietary potassium were higher for the 7-d food diary (r = 0.51-0.55) than for the FFQ (r = 0.32-0.34). There was no overall difference in correlations between plasma ascorbic acid and dietary vitamin C between the 7-d food diary (r = 0.40-0.52) and the FFQ (r = 0.44-0.45). CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that, despite increased subject burden, the 7-d food diary provided a better estimate of nitrogen and potassium intakes than did the FFQ in this study population. However, with respect to plasma ascorbic acid, both the FFQ and 7-d food diary provided a similar ranking of subjects according to vitamin C intake.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Glutathione-S-transferase gene polymorphisms in colorectal cancer patients: interaction between GSTM1 and GSTM3 allele variants as a risk-modulating factor.

The distribution of polymorphisms in the glutathione S-transferase (GST) family genes has been studied in 355 healthy controls and 206 cancer (59 proximal and 147 distal) patients. All controls were subjected to flexible sigmoidoscopy. Odds ratios (OR) after stratification by age, gender and smoking were slightly higher in the cancer group as a whole for GSTM1-null (*0/*0), GSTT1-null (*0/*0) and GSTM3 *A/*B or *B/*B when compared with the control group, but the differences did not reach statistical significance. GSTP1 variants had no effect. Separate analysis of patients with proximal and distal tumours has shown stronger associations for the distal cancers, the GSTM3*B allele presence being significantly more frequent in these patients [OR = 1.77; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.15-2.74]. Taking into account strong linkage between the GSTM1*A and GSTM3*B alleles, a separate analysis of the GSTM1-nulled individuals was undertaken. The combination of GSTM1-null genotype with GSTM3*B allele presence (*A/*B or *B/*B) was significantly overrepresented among patients with proximal and distal tumours taken together (OR = 2.12; 95% CI = 1.24-3.63), and especially in distal cancer patients (OR = 2.75; 95% CI = 1.56-4.84). Male individuals displayed a stronger association between the presence of the GSTM1-null in combination with GSTM3 *A/*B or *B/*B and distal tumours with a higher odds ratio (OR = 3.57; 95% CI = 1.73-7.36). In contrast, the frequency of GSTM1 *B/*0 or *B/*B combined with GSTM3 *A/*A was significantly lower in patients with distal colorectal cancer, especially in males (OR = 0.37; 95% CI = 0.15-0.92). Neither of these combinations was associated with proximal tumours. Our findings suggest that interactions of polymorphic genotypes within the GSTM gene cluster affect individual susceptibility to colorectal carcinogenesis, the GSTM3*B variant presence being a risk factor especially in combination with the GSTM1-null genotype.

Alleles↗
PubMed2000

Extraction and quantification of lignan phytoestrogens in food and human samples.

Dietary phytoestrogens have a number of biological effects, including endocrine disruption, antioxidant potential, and protein tyrosine kinase inhibition. Secoisolariciresinol, matairesinol, and shonanin are lignan phytoestrogens found in foodstuffs, especially flaxseed. Normally they are glycosidically linked to carbohydrates and in the large intestine are deconjugated from the carbohydrate portion by bacteria. The aglycone lignans can be further modified to form the mammalian phytoestrogens enterodiol, enterolactone, and enterofuran, which are absorbed into the body and excreted in urine. To assess the health implications of phytoestrogens in general populations, knowledge of the quantity in the foods eaten is necessary. This article describes a simple preparative procedure for the assay of secoisolariciresinol, matairesinol, and shonanin in foodstuffs after hydrolytic removal of any conjugated carbohydrate. The difficulties in the practical application of the assay procedure are illustrated and discussed. Analytical results indicating the concentration of secoisolariciresinol, matairesinol, and shonanin in a number of foodstuffs are presented. Also, the mass spectral data of a putative mammalian phytoestrogen, called enterofuran, identified in urine are presented.

Butylene Glycols↗
PubMed2000

The effect of age, sex, and education on food consumption of a middle-aged English cohort-EPIC in East Anglia.

BACKGROUND: Different dietary patterns are associated with differing risks of chronic disease. Yet independent relationships between diet and demographic variables, such as age, sex, and education, are poorly described. METHODS: The first 1968 subjects enrolled to the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC) cohort from general practices in East Anglia, UK, provided food frequency and demographic data. RESULTS: Men ate meat, eggs, milk, and sugary foods more frequently, but fruit and vegetables less frequently than women. Older subjects ate red meats and saturated bread spreads more frequently but consumed less poultry and drank less coffee than younger subjects. Better educated subjects ate less meat, more salads, and fewer cakes and sweet foods than those less educated. Five clusters representing different dietary patterns were readily identified. These were (a) younger well-educated, probably containing many vegetarians; (b) "low calorie," two-thirds female; (c) high alcohol, nuts, meat, largely male; (d) preferring fruits, vegetables, unsaturated fats, poultry, and fish, 71% female; (e) preferring meat, potatoes, sweet foods, saturated fats, less well-educated older men. CONCLUSIONS: The reported consumption of many foods varies by age, gender, and education. A pattern of eating that is generally considered less healthful was particularly seen in older men, placing them at increased risk of chronic disease.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2000

Daidzein and genistein content of fruits and nuts.

Dietary phytoestrogens such as the isoflavones daidzein and genistein are thought to protect against chronic diseases that are common in Western societies, such as cancer, osteoporosis, and ischemic heart disease. In addition, there are concerns regarding the deleterious effects of hormone-like compounds, especially with respect to the development of infants. However, there is little information regarding the phytoestrogen content of foods, and therefore epidemiologic investigations of phytoestrogens are limited. As part of a study quantifying the consumption of phytoestrogens, the objective of this work was to assess the daidzein and genistein content of fruits and nuts commonly eaten in Europe. Eighty different fruits and nuts were sampled, prepared for eating, and freeze-dried. Daidzein and genistein were extracted from the dried foods, and the two isoflavones were quantified after hydrolytic removal of any conjugated carbohydrate. Completeness of extraction and any procedural losses of the isoflavones were accounted for using synthetic daidzin (7-O-glucosyl-4'-hydroxyisoflavone) and genistin (7-O-glucosyl-4'5-dihydroxyisoflavone) as internal standards. Of the 80 foods assayed, 43 contained no detectable daidzein or genistein, at a limit of quantification of 1 microg/kg dry weight of food. Nine foods contained more than 100 microg of the two isoflavones combined per kilogram wet weight, and 28 contained less than this amount. Currants and raisins were the richest sources of the isoflavones, containing 2,250 microg and 1,840 microg of the two isoflavones combined per kilogram of wet weight of food. Although fruits and nuts are not as rich in isoflavone phytoestrogens as are soy and other legumes, this is the first documentation of levels of daidzein and genistein occurring in these foods.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Validation of dietary intakes measured by diet history against 24 h urinary nitrogen excretion and energy expenditure measured by the doubly-labelled water method in middle-aged women.

A diet history method for estimating energy and N intakes was validated against 24 h urinary N excretion and energy expenditure measured by the doubly-labelled water (DLW) method. Forty-eight women aged 50-65 years were studied over 1 year. Weighed diet records from 4 d and two 24 h urine collections, for measurement of urinary N excretion, were obtained in each of four seasons. At the end of the year, a diet history was obtained, BMR was measured by whole-body calorimetry, and, in sixteen women, total energy expenditure (EE) was measured by DLW. Energy intake (EI) and N intake (NI) were calculated using food tables. Using weighed records and diet history respectively mean NI were 11.21 (SD 2.09) g and 11.47 (SD 2.40) g (NS) and EI were 8.08 (SD 1.54) MJ and 8.20 (SD 1.86) MJ (NS). Mean urine N:NI and EI:BMR values indicated bias to under-reporting by weighed record and diet history techniques in some individuals, but there was no significant difference between these measures at the group level. The Pearson correlation coefficient (r) for urine N v. NI was 0.81 for the weighed record and 0.38 for the diet history. The correlation of EE v. EI was r 0.48 for weighed record and r 0.11 for diet history. In this study the diet history gave the same estimate of mean intake, but the weighed record appeared to perform better in ranking individuals.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Diet and colorectal cancer prevention.

The majority of cancers are sporadic and epidemiological estimates suggest that up to 80% of colorectal cancer is attributable to diet. Epidemiologically, cross-sectional comparisons, case-control studies and trends in food intake show high rates of colorectal cancer in populations consuming diets high in meat and fat, and low in starch, NSP (non-starch polysaccharides, fibre) and vegetables. In general, prospective studies tend to support these findings although estimates of relative risk are not high. Existing prospective studies have however used crude indices of diet subject to substantial measurement error, and interactions with genetic polymorphisms in, for example, phase-I and -II enzymes have been studied only rarely. The association between meat consumption and colorectal cancer is usually attributed to the formation of heterocyclic amines in meat when it is cooked. In addition, in humans high-meat diets increase the level of nitrosatable material entering the colon so that faecal N-nitroso compounds (NOCs) increase in a dose-responsive manner following endogenous synthesis in the colon. Some of the mutations and guanine adducts accumulated during colorectal cancer progression are characteristic of alkylative damage, which would be compatible with NOC exposure. To date, NSP, resistant starch and vegetables have not reduced faecal NOC levels.

Colon↗
PubMed2000

Daidzein and genistein contents of vegetables.

Food samples (n 114) were prepared from vegetables commonly eaten in Europe. The glycosidic forms of the phyto-oestrogens daidzein and genistein were extracted from the dried foods into aqueous methanol. The isoflavones were quantified by GC-MS after hydrolytic removal of any conjugated carbohydrate. Completeness of extraction and any procedural losses of the isoflavones were accounted for using synthetic daidzin (7-O-glucosyl-4'-hydroxyisoflavone) and genistin (7-O-glucosyl-4'5-dihydroxyisoflavone) as internal standards. Of the 114 foods assayed, at a limit of quantification of 0.1 microg/kg dry weight, forty-eight contained no detectable daidzein or genistein, forty-one contained less than 100 microg/kg of the two isoflavones combined and the remaining twenty-five contained more than this amount. Soyabean products contained between 470 and 1420 mg (average of 960 mg) daidzein and genistein combined per kg wet weight of food, and legumes contained between 20 and 5750 microg/kg wet weight of food, with an average of 620 microg/kg. Cooking by boiling in water caused a decrease in the daidzein and genistein content of food in twenty-four of twenty-eight foods. The extent of the decrease was variable and warrants further investigation. The present paper comprises the first comprehensive description of the content of daidzein and genistein in vegetables.

Estrogens, Non-Steroidal↗
PubMed2000

Gene-nutrient interactions: dietary behaviour associated with high coronary heart disease risk particularly affects serum LDL cholesterol in apolipoprotein E epsilon4-carrying free-living individuals.

Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotype influence on the relationship between dietary risk factors for cardiovascular disease and blood serum lipid levels was investigated in 132 free-living individuals participating in the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC) study. All subjects (age 40-69) were clinically healthy and provided information on their usual diet. ApoE genotype and serum lipid concentrations were determined in all subjects. Relationships of intake of dietary constituents with serum lipid levels were compared in different genotype groups. There was a significant correlation between total serum cholesterol and intake of energy derived from total fat (r 0.195; P 0.025) and saturated fat (r 0.174; P 0.046) in the cohort as a whole. However, individuals with the ApoE epsilon3/epsilon4 genotype displayed a much stronger positive correlation between LDL cholesterol level and the percentage of energy derived from intake of saturated fat (r 0.436; P 0.043). There were no significant associations in the groups with epsilon3/epsilon3 or epsilon2/epsilon2 & epsilon2/epsilon3 genotype. A significant positive correlation between alcohol consumption and HDL cholesterol level was present in individuals bearing ApoE epsilon2 allele. These findings support current public health recommendations that saturated fat consumption should be reduced in order to reduce coronary heart disease risk. Total cholesterol concentrations were positively related to saturated fat intake in the cohort as a whole, but elevated LDL cholesterol levels associated with high saturated fat intake can be expected particularly in those individuals who combine a 'risky' dietary behaviour with the presence of the epsilon4 variant of ApoE.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Apolipoprotein E and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase genetic polymorphisms in relation to other risk factors for cardiovascular disease in UK Caucasians and Black South Africans.

Genetic polymorphisms for apolipoprotein E (apo E) and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) are believed to modulate risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) acting through regulation of lipid and homocysteine metabolism, respectively. The distributions of apo E and MTHFR alleles in Black South Africans, a population with a low CHD incidence, and UK Caucasians from the Cambridge area, with a higher CHD incidence, were therefore compared. Clinically healthy volunteers (207), including 107 UK Caucasians from the Cambridge area and 100 Black South Africans, participated in the study. Apo E and MTHFR genotypes were determined in all of them. Analyses for serum total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and plasma fibrinogen were carried out in 65 UK Caucasians and 60 Black South Africans. The apo E epsilon4 allele, which is associated with elevated CHD risk, was present in 48% of Black South Africans compared to 20.8% of Caucasians (P < 0.0001); however, both total and LDL cholesterol levels in Black South Africans were 18-32% lower than in Caucasians with similar apo E genotypes. Hyperhomocysteinemia-causing MTHFR 677T variant was detected in only 20% of Black South Africans (no homozygotes) versus 56% of Caucasians with 12% homozygotes (P<0.0001). Our findings suggest that the potentially unfavourable pattern of apo E allele distribution in Black South Africans does not result in increased CHD incidence due to protection by dietary and/or other life style related factors. The exceptionally low frequency of MTHFR mutant homozygotes in this population suggests that this polymorphism should not be regarded as an important CHD risk factor among Black South Africans.

Alleles↗
PubMed1999

High-meat diets and cancer risk.

Up to 80% of breast, bowel and prostate cancers are attributed to dietary practices, and international comparisons show strong positive associations with meat consumption. Estimates of relative risk obtained from cohort investigations are in the same direction, although generally weak, and red and processed meats rather than white meat seem to be associated with elevated risk of colon cancer. In breast cancer, there are consistent associations with total meat intake and there is evidence of a dose response. Despite these associations with meat, existing studies suggest that vegetarians do not have reduced risk of breast, bowel or prostate cancer, but there are no quantitative estimates of amounts of meat consumed by meat eaters in these cohort studies. Possible mechanisms underlying epidemiological associations include the formation of heterocyclic amines in meat when it is cooked. These heterocyclic amines require acetylation by P450 enzymes, and individuals with the fast-acetylating genotype who eat high amounts of meat may be at increased risk of large-bowel cancer. NH3 and N-nitroso compounds (NOC) formed from residues by bacteria in the large bowel and probably also important. NH3 is a promotor of large-bowel tumours chemically induced by NOC, and some of the chromosomal mutations found in human colo-rectal cancer are consistent with effects of NOC and heterocyclic amines. However, the type, amount, and cooking method of meat or protein associated with increased risk are not certain. The effects of high levels of meat on NH3 and NOC output are not reduced by increasing the amount of fermentable carbohydrate in the diet, but interaction between meat, NSP and vegetable intakes on the risk of cancer has not been studied comprehensively. The interaction between dietary low-penetrance genetic polymorphic and somatic mutation factors has also been investigated to a limited extent. Current Department of Health (1998) recommendations are that meat consumption should not rise, and that consumers at the top end of the distribution should consider a reduction in intakes.

Breast Neoplasms↗