Air pollutants such as NO2 and PM2.5 have consistently been linked to mortality, but only few previous studies have addressed associations with long-term exposure to black carbon (BC) and ozone (O3).
...We investigated the association between PM2.5, PM10, BC, NO2, and O3 and mortality in a Danish cohort of 49,564 individuals who were followed up from enrollment in 1993–1997 through 2015. Residential address history from 1979 onwards was combined with air pollution exposure obtained by the state-of-the-art, validated, THOR/AirGIS air pollution modelling system, and information on residential traffic noise exposure, lifestyle and socio-demography.
We observed higher risks of all-cause as well as cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality with higher long-term exposure to PM2.5, PM10, BC, and NO2. For PM2.5 and CVD mortality, a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.29 (95% CI: 1.13–1.47) per 5 μg/m3 was observed, and correspondingly HRs of 1.16 (95% CI: 1.05–1.27) and 1.11 (95% CI: 1.04–1.17) were observed for BC (per 1 μg/m3) and NO2 (per 10 μg/m3), respectively. Adjustment for noise gave slightly lower estimates for the air pollutants and CVD mortality. Inverse relationships were observed for O3. None of the investigated air pollutants were related to risk of respiratory mortality. Stratified analyses suggested that the elevated risks of CVD and all-cause mortality in relation to long-term PM, NO2 and BC exposure were restricted to males.
This study supports a role of PM, BC, and NO2 in all-cause and CVD mortality independent of road traffic noise exposure.
•Higher exposure to PM2.5, PM10, NO2 and black carbon was associated with mortality.•Associations of air pollutants and CVD mortality were independent of noise exposure.•O3 exposure was not associated with increased mortality risk.
Flavonoids, plant-derived polyphenolic compounds, have been linked with health benefits. However, evidence from observational studies is incomplete; studies on cancer mortality are scarce and ...moderating effects of lifestyle risk factors for early mortality are unknown. In this prospective cohort study including 56,048 participants of the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health cohort crosslinked with Danish nationwide registries and followed for 23 years, there are 14,083 deaths. A moderate habitual intake of flavonoids is inversely associated with all-cause, cardiovascular- and cancer-related mortality. This strong association plateaus at intakes of approximately 500 mg/day. Furthermore, the inverse associations between total flavonoid intake and mortality outcomes are stronger and more linear in smokers than in non-smokers, as well as in heavy (>20 g/d) vs. low-moderate (<20 g/d) alcohol consumers. These findings highlight the potential to reduce mortality through recommendations to increase intakes of flavonoid-rich foods, particularly in smokers and high alcohol consumers.
Type 2 diabetes is a major health concern worldwide. Whole grains and cereal fiber may offer protective effects on type 2 diabetes risk. However, few studies have been conducted in cohorts with ...detailed information on whole-grain cereal intakes and product types and with wide ranges of intake.
We investigated the associations between whole-grain intake, including intakes of different cereal types and products, and the risk of type 2 diabetes in a population with wide and diverse whole-grain intake.
We used data from the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health cohort including 55,465 participants aged 50–65 y at baseline. Of these, 7417 participants were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes during follow-up (median: 15 y). Detailed information on the intake of whole-grain products was available from a food-frequency questionnaire, and total whole-grain intake and whole-grain cereal types (wheat, rye, oats) were calculated in grams per day. Associations were examined by using Cox proportional hazards models with adjustment for potential confounders.
Whole-grain intake was associated with an 11% and 7% lower risk of type 2 diabetes per whole-grain serving (16 g) per day for men and women, respectively HR (95% CI)—men: 0.89 (0.87, 0.91); women: 0.93 (0.91, 0.96). For men, the intake of all whole-grain cereal types investigated (wheat, rye, oats) was significantly associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, but only wheat and oats intake was significantly associated for women. Among the different whole-grain products, rye bread, whole-grain bread, and oatmeal/muesli were significantly associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes for both men and women.
In this cohort study, we found consistent associations between high whole-grain intake and lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Overall, an association was found for all different cereals and whole-grain products tested.
Abstract Background Obesity is repeatedly emphasized as a risk factor for atrial fibrillation or flutter (AF). However, the underlying evidence may be questioned, as the obvious correlations between ...various anthropometric measures hamper identification of the characteristics that are biologically driving AF risk, and recent studies suggest that fat carries limited or no independent risk of AF. Objectives This study sought to assess mutually adjusted associations among AF risk and height, weight, body mass index, hip and waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and bioelectrical impedance-derived measures of fat mass, lean body mass, and fat percentage. Methods Anthropometric measures and self-reported life-style information were collected from 1993 to 1997 in a population-based cohort including 55,273 persons age 50 to 64 years who were followed in Danish registers until June 2013. Results During a median of 17 years of follow-up, 3,868 persons developed AF. Adjusted hazard ratios per population SD difference (HRs) showed highly statistically significant, positive associations for all 9 anthropometric measures (HRs ranging from 1.08 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05 to 1.12 for waist-to-hip ratio to 1.37 95% CI: 1.33 to 1.42 for lean body mass). Pairwise mutual adjustment of the 9 measures left the association for lean body mass virtually unchanged (lowest HR: 1.33 95% CI: 1.28 to 1.39 when adjusting for height), whereas no other association remained substantial when adjusted for lean body mass (highest HR: 1.05 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.10 for height). Conclusions Lean body mass was the predominant anthropometric risk factor for AF, whereas no association was observed for either of the obesity-related anthropometric measures after adjustment for lean body mass.
We investigated the association between adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet, a sustainable and mostly plant-based diet, and risk of stroke and subtypes of stroke in a Danish population. For comparison, ...we also investigated the Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI).
We used the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health cohort (n=55 016) including adults aged 50 to 64 years at baseline (1993-1997). A food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake and group participants according to adherence to the diets. Stroke cases were identified using a national registry and subsequently validated by review of medical records (n=2253). Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% CIs for associations with the EAT-Lancet diet or the AHEI and risk of stroke and stroke subtypes.
Adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet was associated with a lower risk of stroke, although not statistically significant (highest versus lowest adherence: hazard ratio, 0.91 95% CI, 0.76-1.09). A lower risk was observed for AHEI (0.75 95% CI, 0.64-0.87). For stroke subtypes, we found that adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet was associated with a lower risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage (0.30 95% CI, 0.12-0.73), and the AHEI was associated with a lower risk of ischemic stroke (0.76 95% CI, 0.64-0.90) and intracerebral hemorrhage (0.58 95% CI, 0.36-0.93).
Adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet in midlife was associated with a lower risk of subarachnoid stroke, and the AHEI was associated with a lower risk of total stroke, mainly ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage.
Although lifestyle factors have been studied in relation to individual non-communicable diseases (NCDs), their association with development of a subsequent NCD, defined as multimorbidity, has been ...scarcely investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between five lifestyle factors and incident multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases.
In this prospective cohort study, 291,778 participants (64% women) from seven European countries, mostly aged 43 to 58 years and free of cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and type 2 diabetes (T2D) at recruitment, were included. Incident multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases was defined as developing subsequently two diseases including first cancer at any site, CVD, and T2D in an individual. Multi-state modelling based on Cox regression was used to compute hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of developing cancer, CVD, or T2D, and subsequent transitions to multimorbidity, in relation to body mass index (BMI), smoking status, alcohol intake, physical activity, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and their combination as a healthy lifestyle index (HLI) score. Cumulative incidence functions (CIFs) were estimated to compute 10-year absolute risks for transitions from healthy to cancer at any site, CVD (both fatal and non-fatal), or T2D, and to subsequent multimorbidity after each of the three NCDs.
During a median follow-up of 11 years, 1910 men and 1334 women developed multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases. A higher HLI, reflecting healthy lifestyles, was strongly inversely associated with multimorbidity, with hazard ratios per 3-unit increment of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.71 to 0.81), 0.84 (0.79 to 0.90), and 0.82 (0.77 to 0.88) after cancer, CVD, and T2D, respectively. After T2D, the 10-year absolute risks of multimorbidity were 40% and 25% for men and women, respectively, with unhealthy lifestyle, and 30% and 18% for men and women with healthy lifestyles.
Pre-diagnostic healthy lifestyle behaviours were strongly inversely associated with the risk of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases, and with the prognosis of these diseases by reducing risk of multimorbidity.
•Primary carbonaceous particle and SOA exposure was associated with mortality.•Primary carbonaceous particle and SIA exposure was associated with CVD mortality.•Sea salt exposure was not associated ...with increased mortality risk.
Studies on health effects of long-term exposure to specific PM2.5 constituents are few. Previous studies have reported an association between black carbon (BC) exposure and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and a few studies have found an association between sulfate exposure and mortality. These studies, however, relied mainly on exposure data from centrally located air-monitoring stations, which is a crude approximation of personal exposure.
We focused on specific chemical constituents of PM2.5, i.e. elemental and primary organic carbonaceous particles (BC/OC), sea salt, secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA, i.e. NO3–, NH4+, and SO42-), and secondary organic aerosols (SOA), in relation to all-cause, CVD and respiratory disease mortality.
We followed a Danish cohort of 49,564 individuals from enrollment in 1993–1997 through 2015. We combined residential address history from 1979 onwards with mean annual air pollution concentrations obtained by the AirGIS air pollution modelling system, lifestyle information from baseline questionnaires and socio-demography obtained by register linkage.
During 895,897 person-years of follow-up, 10,193 deaths from all causes occurred – of which 2319 were CVD-related and 870 were related to respiratory disease. The 15-year time-weighted average concentrations of PM2.5, BC/OC, sea salt, SIA and SOA were 13.8, 2.8, 3.4, 4.9, and 0.3 µg/m3, respectively. For all-cause mortality, a higher risk was observed with higher exposure to PM2.5, BC/OC and SOA with adjusted hazard ratios of 1.03 (95% confidence intervals: 1.01, 1.05), 1.06 (1.03, 1.09), and 1.08 (1.03, 1.13) per interquartile range, respectively. The associations for BC/OC and SOA remained after adjustment for PM2.5 in two-pollutant models. For CVD mortality, we observed elevated risks with higher exposure to PM2.5, BC/OC and SIA. The results showed no clear relationship between sea salt and mortality.
In this study, we observed a relationship between long-term exposure to PM2.5, BC/OC, and SOA and all-cause mortality and between PM2.5, BC/OC, and SIA and CVD mortality.
Health-promoting effects of the Mediterranean diet have been in focus for decades, whereas less interest has been given to existing healthy dietary habits within other Western cultures. The aim of ...the study was to develop a food index based on traditional Nordic food items with expected health-promoting effects and relate this to all-cause mortality in a cohort of Danes. Detailed information about diet, lifestyle, and anthropometry was provided by 57,053 Danes aged 50-64 y. During 12 y of follow-up, 4126 of the cohort participants died. A healthy Nordic food index, consisting of traditional Nordic food items with expected health-promoting effects (fish, cabbages, rye bread, oatmeal, apples and pears, and root vegetables), was extracted and associated with mortality by Cox proportional hazard models. Mortality rate ratios (MRR) with 95% CI were used to associate the index to mortality. In an adjusted model, a 1-point higher index score was associated with a significantly lower MRR for both men 0.96 (0.92-0.99) and women 0.96 (0.92-1.00) (P = 0.03). When the index components were evaluated separately, whole grain rye bread intake was the factor most consistently associated with lower mortality in men. In conclusion, an index based on traditional healthy Nordic foods was found to be related to lower mortality among middle-aged Danes, in particular among men. This study indicates that traditional, healthy food items should be considered before public recommendations for major dietary changes are made.
Physical activity enhances uptake of air pollutants in the lung, possibly augmenting their harmful effects on chronic lung disease during exercise.
To examine whether benefits of physical activity ...with respect to the risk of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are moderated by exposure to high air pollution levels in an urban setting.
A total of 53,113 subjects (50-65 yr) from the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health cohort reported physical activity at recruitment (1993-1997) and were followed until 2013 in the National Patient Register for incident hospitalizations for asthma and COPD. Levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO
) were estimated at subject residences at the time of recruitment. We used Cox regression to associate physical activities and NO
(high/medium/low) with asthma and COPD, and then introduced an interaction term between each physical activity and NO
.
A total of 1,151 subjects were hospitalized for asthma and 3,225 for COPD during 16 years. We found inverse associations of participation in sports (hazard ratio 95% confidence interval: 0.85 0.75-0.96) and cycling (0.85 0.75-0.96) with incident asthma, and of participation in sports (0.82 0.77-0.89), cycling (0.81 0.76-0.87), gardening (0.88 0.81-0.94), and walking (0.85 0.75-0.95) with incident COPD admissions. We found positive associations between NO
and incident asthma (1.23 1.04-1.47) and COPD (1.15 1.03-1.27) hospitalizations (comparing ≥21.0 μg/m
to <14.3 μg/m
). We found no interaction between associations of any physical activity and NO
on incident asthma or COPD hospitalizations.
Increased exposure to air pollution during exercise does not outweigh beneficial effects of physical activity on the risk of asthma and COPD.