Sumiya Aihemaitijiang

Background: Experimental studies indicated that maternal choline and betaine status have the potential to alter fetal growth, but epidemiological data remain sparse. Objective: We aimed to investigate the association of maternal and cord blood choline and betaine concentrations with birthweight outcomes. Methods: This prospective cohort study involved 988 mother–infant dyads from Hebei and Shandong provinces. Plasma concentrations of choline and betaine in maternal late pregnancy and cord blood were quantified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Multivariable linear or logistic regression was performed to examine their association with continuous or binary birthweight outcomes. Results: Maternal plasma choline and betaine concentrations in late pregnancy (median [interquartile range]; 12.34 [10.13, 14.78] and 14.99 [12.01, 18.36] μmol/L) were significantly lower than those in cord blood (29.98 [24.74, 35.93] and 31.14 [25.56, 37.28] μmol/L). Each 1 μmol/L increase of late-pregnancy and cord blood betaine concentrations were associated with 9.87 g (95% confidence interval [CI]: −16.08, −3.66 g) and 5.29 g (95% CI: −8.52, −2.06 g) lower birthweight, respectively. Compared with the lowest quintile, the highest quintiles of late-pregnancy and cord blood betaine concentrations were associated with lower risks of large-for-gestational-age (adjusted odds ratios [ORs] = 0.47 [95% CI: 0.24, 0.90] and 0.31 [95% CI: 0.17, 0.56]) and macrosomia (adjusted ORs = 0.12 [95% CI: 0.03, 0.43] and 0.15 [95% CI: 0.05, 0.40]). These associations, particularly for cord blood, persisted and appeared more pronounced in pregnancies with maternal overweight/obesity or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), but the interaction effect did not reach statistical significance. No significant associations were observed for choline in any periods. Conclusions: Higher plasma concentrations of betaine in maternal late-pregnancy and cord blood were associated with lower birthweight. These findings emphasize the importance of sufficient betaine status during pregnancy, especially among mothers with obesity or GDM.

Nowadays, developing effective intervention substances for hyperuricemia has become a public health issue. Herein, the therapeutic ability of anserine, a bioactive peptide, was validated through a comprehensive multiomics analysis of a rat model of hyperuricemia. Anserine was observed to improve liver and kidney function and modulate urate-related transporter expressions in the kidneys. Urine metabolomics showed that 15 and 9 metabolites were significantly increased and decreased, respectively, in hyperuricemic rats after the anserine intervention. Key metabolites such as fructose, xylose, methionine, erythronic acid, glucaric acid, pipecolic acid and trans-ferulic acid were associated with ameliorating kidney injury. Additionally, anserine regularly changed the gut microbiota, thereby ameliorating purine metabolism abnormalities and alleviating inflammatory responses. The integrated multiomics analysis indicated that Saccharomyces, Parasutterella excrementihominis and Emergencia timonensis were strongly associated with key differential metabolites. Therefore, we propose that anserine improved hyperuricemia via the gut–kidney axis, highlighting its potential in preventing and treating hyperuricemia.

The purpose of this study aimed to develop and validate the Food and Nutrition Literacy Questionnaire for Chinese adults (FNLQ). The dimensions and core components of Food and Nutrition Literacy were constructed though literature review and qualitative consensus study. A cross-sectional survey of 8510 participants was conducted. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined by internal consistency, the construct validity was assessed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and the content validity was assessed by the Pearson correlation coefficient. From the literature review and qualitative methods, 20 core components and 50 questions of the FNLQ were developed, including 1 dimension of knowledge and 3 practice dimensions (ability of selection, preparing food and eating). The overall FNLQ questionnaire had good reliability and validity (Cronbach’s α = 0.893, χ2/DF = 4.750, RMSEA = 0.048, GFI = 0.891 and AGFI = 0.876). The average FNLQ score of all participants was (64.08 ± 12.77), and the score for the knowledge and understanding dimension was higher than that for the practice dimensions. In addition, 80 was set as the nutritional literacy threshold, and only 12.2% met this threshold in this survey. Sociodemographic and health status characteristics were predictors of FNLQ (R² = 0.287, F = 244.132, p < 0.01). In conclusion, the FNLQ built in this study had good validity and reliability. It could be considered as a reliable tool to assess Food and Nutrition Literacy of Chinese adults.

(1) Objective: This study aimed to explore the correlation between dietary factors and physical function in Chinese elderly. (2) Methods: A cohort study was conducted on the association of long-term dietary intake status with physical function in older people based on the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) from 2011 to 2018. The physical function of the subjects was judged according to the scores of basic activities of daily living (BADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). The dietary diversity score was established according to the intake frequency of the food groups, and the dietary pattern score was obtained by factor analysis. The associations between dietary factors and functional impairment was investigated by logistic regressions. (3) Results: A total of 2282 subjects were included in our cohort study, 458 and 1439 of whom had BADL limitation and IADL limitation, respectively. The risk of functional impairment decreased in the consistent high dietary diversity groups compared with the consistent low dietary diversity group (p < 0.05). The fruit-egg-milk pattern, vegetable-meat-fish pattern, and condiment and tea pattern reduced the risk of functional impairment (p < 0.05). (4) Conclusions: Long-term maintenance of high dietary diversity and increasing total dietary intake can help maintain good physical function of Chinese elderly.

(1) Background: Improving nutrition literacy is crucial for maintaining a healthier state of the elderly to achieve healthy ageing. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a Nutrition Literacy Questionnaire for the Chinese Elderly (NLQ-E). (2) Methods: an NLQ-E was developed according to the core components of nutrition literacy for the elderly. Internal consistency, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to validate the reliability and validity of the NLQ-E. A cross-sectional study of 1490 elderly people was used to analyze the application of the NLQ-E. (3) Results: The NLQ-E was constructed with 3 domains (knowledge and understanding, healthy lifestyle and dietary behavior and skill), with a total of 25 questions. The overall NLQ-E had acceptable reliability and validity (Cronbach’s α = 0.678, χ²/DF = 4.750, RMSEA = 0.045, PCFI = 0.776 and PNFI = 0.759). The average nutrition literacy score of the subjects in this cross-sectional study was 65.95 (65.95 ± 10.93). The OR between the nutrition literacy score and multimorbidity was 0.965 (95% CI: 0.954, 0.976); (4) Conclusions: We developed and validated the NLQ-E and found that the nutrition literacy level of the Chinese elderly was generally low. This study is of great value to improve the nutrition literacy of the elderly and effectively prevent nutrition-related chronic diseases and multimorbidity.

Background: Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) scores have been consistently associated with several chronic diseases. This study explored the correlation between the DII and hyperuricemia in Chinese adult residents. Methods: The study included 7880 participants from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), which was taken in in 2009. A 3-day 24 h meal review method was used to collect diet data and to calculate the DII score. Serum uric acid was obtained to determine hyperuricemia levels. Subjects were divided into a hyperuricemia group and a non-hyperuricemia group, according to their serum uric acid level. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to examine the association between DII scores and hyperuricemia. Results: After adjusting for covariates, a higher DII score was determined to be associated with a higher risk of hyperuricemia. Compared to those in the highest DII score group, the lower DII score group had an inverse association with hyperuricemia risk (Q2: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.70–0.99; Q3: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.60–0.86; Q4: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.61–0.88). The intake of energy-adjusted protein, total fat, MUFAs, PUFAs and saturated fatty acid was higher in the hyperuricemia group. Conclusions: A higher DII score is significantly associated with a higher risk of hyperuricemia. Controlling the intake of pro-inflammatory food may be beneficial to reduce the risk of hyperuricemia.

Background: The association between childhood food deprivation (FD) and health in later life has been extensively studied; however, studies on the association between childhood food deprivation and frailty are scarce. This study assessed the associations between childhood FD and the risk of frailty at middle-age and old age. Methods: Three waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), including 11,615 individuals aged over 45 years, were used for this research. Frailty was operationalized according to the FRAIL scale as a sum of fatigue, resistance, ambulation, illness, and the loss of weight. Childhood FD experiences and levels were measured by self-reported FD and historical content. Logistic mixed-effects models and proportional odds ordered logistic regression models were used to analyse the association between childhood FD and frailty. Findings: Childhood FD increased the odds of frailty at old age (1.30, 95% CI: 1.26–1.36). Compared with subjects with mild FD, those with extreme FD experiences had increased risks of frailty (1.34, 95% CI: 1.26–1.43). Subjects exposed to hunger at different ages all had an increased risk of frailty, and subjects who had FD during ages 6–12 (1.15, 95% CI: 1.09–1.22) were more likely to have an increased risk of frailty than those who had experienced FD in younger ages. The interaction of experience of FD at ages 0–6 and the experience of FD at ages 6–12 is not statistically significant after adjusting all covariates. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that childhood FD exerts long-lasting effects on frailty among older adults in China. The prevention of childhood FD may delay or even avert the emergence of frailty in people of middle-age and old age.

Objective: To explore the correlation between purine-rich food intake and hyperuricemia in Chinese adult residents. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the purine-rich food intake of Chinese adult residents based on the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) in 2009. The subjects were divided into hyperuricemia group and nonhyperuricemia group according to serum uric acid level, and the differences of the sociodemographic information (age, gender, and region), health status (weight status, blood pressure, blood sugar status), living habits (alcohol consumption, smoking status) and food intake (purine-rich food, other food) were compared between the two groups. Logistic regressions investigated the associations between the daily intake of purine-rich food (animal-derived food and legumes) and hyperuricemia. Results: Eventually, 6813 subjects were included in our study, 1111 of them had hyperuricemia. The intake of seafood, legumes, red meat, and poultry all increased the risk of hyperuricemia (p < 0.05), while the intake of purine-rich fungi and purine-rich vegetables did not affect the occurrence of hyperuricemia. Animal-derived food was the main source of purine-rich food consumed by Chinese adult residents (140.67g/day), which had a great impact on hyperuricemia. Finally, after adjusting for gender, age, region, body mass index (BMI), alcohol consumption, hypertension, and refined grains intake, the risk of hyperuricemia increased by 2.40% and 1.10% for each increase of 10 g in animal-derived food intake (OR = 1.024, 95% CI: 1.018–1.030) and legumes intake (OR = 1.011, 95% CI: 1.003–1.019), respectively. Conclusion: The intake of animal-derived food and legumes were positively correlated with the occurrence of hyperuricemia. Controlling the intake of animal-derived food and legumes would be more beneficial to controlling the risk of hyperuricemia.

Objective: To establish core items of nutrition literacy for general population in China. Methods: The framework system and preliminary items of nutrition literacy were established through literature review and experts' consultation. Content validity test was used to determine the nutrition literacy item. Thirteen experts in the field of human nutrition, health education and nutrition and diseases were invited to score the importance of each nutrition literacy item via Email. The judgment basis and familiarity of experts towards the items, active coefficient, and content validity were analyzed to generate the final list of nutrition literacy items. Results: 92.3% of questionnaires in two rounds were collected.The active coefficient of experts was satisfied and the authority coefficient was 0.96.In the content validity evaluation, the correlation I-CVI value of each item was above 0.83 and the κ value was above 0.74. The evaluation result was excellent.After the second round of expert consultation, all selected items met the inclusion criteria. We identified the final list of nutrition literacy items consisting of three scales (knowledge and concepts, lifestyles and dietary behaviors, and basic skills), ten subscales (basic nutrition philosophy, food classification and nutrition knowledge, healthy weight, eating behavior and culture, balanced diet, exercise health, food assessment, nutrition information acquisition and decision, nutrition safety, and weight management)with 25 items in total. Conclusions: The framework system and core items of nutrition literacy are established for Chinese people based on the content validity evaluation. The experts involved in the consultation process present a performance with good representativeness, enthusiasm and authority, and the content validity evaluation result is satisfied.

Objective: To establish the nutrition literacy core items for older people in China. Methods: The framework system and preliminary items of nutrition literacy were established through literature review and experts consultation. Content validity test was used to determine the nutrition literacy items. Seven experts in the field of human nutrition, health education and nutrition and diseases were invited to score the importance of each nutrition literacy item via Email. The judgment basis and familiarity of expertstowards the items, active coefficient, and content validitywere evaluated and analyzed to generate the final list of nutritionliteracy items. Results: A total of 85.7% (6/7) of questionnaires in two rounds were collected.The active coefficient of experts was satisfied and the authority coefficient was 0.96. In the content validity evaluation, the correlation I-CVI value of each item was above 0.90 and theκvalue was above 0.74. The evaluation result was excellent. After the second round of consultation, all selected items met the inclusion criteria. We identified the final list of nutrition literacy items consisting of three scales (knowledge and concepts, lifestyles and dietary behaviors, and basic skills), twelve subscales (reasonable nutrition, healthy weight, environment of dining, food classification, nutrition and disease, eat regularly, balanced diet, exercise health, information getting, household food measurement, reading nutrition label and calculating, and food safety)with 20 items in total. Conclusions: The framework system and core items of nutrition literacy are established for Chinese older people based on the content validity evaluation. The experts involved in the consultation process present a performance with good representativeness, enthusiasm and authority, and the content validity evaluation result is satisfied.