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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (2 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
California Agriculture, Volume 65, Issue 3 (2011)

California is a major producer of tangerines and oranges, which contain carotenoids that form vitamin A. Deficiencies of this vitamin are common in southern Asia and Africa, causing blindness and more than one-half million deaths each year. We evaluated the potential of tangerines and oranges to prevent vitamin A deficiency worldwide by measuring their carotenoid concentrations, estimating the amounts needed to meet the recommended safe nutrient intake for vitamin A and determining their availability in countries with vitamin A deficiency. We conclude that tangerines — particularly Satsuma mandarins, which have high concentrations of the carotenoid beta-cryptoxanthin — but not oranges, could be useful in preventing vitamin A deficiency, though not as the sole source.

    Cover page: Citrus can help prevent vitamin A deficiency in developing countries
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC Davis Previously Published Works (2017)

    Background

    Dietary energy density, or energy available in relation to gram intake, can inform disease risk.

    Objective

    The objective of this study was to investigate the association between baseline dietary energy density and risk of incident type 2 diabetes in postmenopausal women.

    Design

    Dietary energy density, weight status, and type 2 diabetes incidence were prospectively characterized in a large cohort of postmenopausal women participating in one or more clinical trials or an observational study.

    Participants/setting

    The study involved 161,808 postmenopausal women recruited to the Women's Health Initiative observational study or clinical trials at 40 centers across the United States between 1993 and 1998.

    Main outcome measures

    The primary outcome was incident type 2 diabetes.

    Statistical analyses performed

    The association between dietary energy density quintiles and incident diabetes was tested using Cox proportional hazards regression.

    Results

    A total of 143,204 participants without self-reported diabetes at enrollment completed baseline dietary assessment and were followed for 12.7±4.6 years. Risk of diabetes developing was 24% greater for women in the highest dietary energy density quintile compared with the lowest after adjusting for confounders (95% CI 1.17 to 1.32). Body mass index (calculated as kg/m2) and waist circumference mediated the relationship between dietary energy density and diabetes. In waist circumference-stratified analysis, women in dietary energy density quintiles 2 to 5 with waist circumferences >88 cm were at 9% to 12% greater risk of diabetes developing compared with women with waist circumference ≤88 cm.

    Conclusions

    In this prospective study, a higher baseline dietary energy density was associated with higher incidence of type 2 diabetes among postmenopausal women, both overall, and in women with elevated waist circumference.
      Cover page: Association between Dietary Energy Density and Incident Type 2 Diabetes in the Women’s Health Initiative
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