The effects of whole-diet interactions on vascular health and inflammatory and fatty acid status.
type: CreativeWork
description: Introduction The proportion of people over 65 years in Europe is predicted to increase from 25 to 40% by 2030. Diet has an important modifiable influence on ageing and it is therefore, important to identify realistic dietary strategies that will contribute to healthy ageing. The NU-AGE project (EU FP7) aims to examine the impact of a year-long whole-diet intervention (including advice on intakes of the n-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)) on chronic low grade inflammation (primary end-point) in 1250 older adults (aged 65-79 years) in five EU centres. As part of this thesis, the impact of intervention on vascular ‘health’ was established. In addition, a diet score for older adults was designed based on the NU-AGE diet. The intake and status of EPA and DHA is being increasingly recognised as an important modulator of the risk of chronic disease. Potential determinants of fatty acid status, including other dietary components and genotype were investigated and represent the second major component of the thesis. The genotyping focussed on the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) enzymes which are responsible for the desaturation steps in the synthesis of EPA and DHA from α-linolenic acid (αLNA). Methods Diet, vascular and inflammatory health in NU-AGE; the effects of the one year NU-AGE intervention on vascular function and inflammatory and fatty acid status was investigated in 140 participants from the Norwich centre of NU-AGE. Vascular function was clinically measured using EndoPAT, Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) and Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index (CAVI). The NU-AGE diet score was designed and validated using both the TWIN UK cohort and the NU-AGE baseline data. EPA and DHA status; retrospective analysis of plasma samples from two completed rodent studies and one human clinical trial, which all included polyphenol-rich interventions, were used to investigate the impact of a range of polyphenols on plasma and tissue fatty acid status. In the NU-A…
abstract: Introduction The proportion of people over 65 years in Europe is predicted to increase from 25 to 40% by 2030. Diet has an important modifiable influence on ageing and it is therefore, important to identify realistic dietary strategies that will contribute to healthy ageing. The NU-AGE project (EU FP7) aims to examine the impact of a year-long whole-diet intervention (including advice on intakes of the n-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)) on chronic low grade inflammation (primary end-point) in 1250 older adults (aged 65-79 years) in five EU centres. As part of this thesis, the impact of intervention on vascular ‘health’ was established. In addition, a diet score for older adults was designed based on the NU-AGE diet. The intake and status of EPA and DHA is being increasingly recognised as an important modulator of the risk of chronic disease. Potential determinants of fatty acid status, including other dietary components and genotype were investigated and represent the second major component of the thesis. The genotyping focussed on the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) enzymes which are responsible for the desaturation steps in the synthesis of EPA and DHA from α-linolenic acid (αLNA). Methods Diet, vascular and inflammatory health in NU-AGE; the effects of the one year NU-AGE intervention on vascular function and inflammatory and fatty acid status was investigated in 140 participants from the Norwich centre of NU-AGE. Vascular function was clinically measured using EndoPAT, Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) and Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index (CAVI). The NU-AGE diet score was designed and validated using both the TWIN UK cohort and the NU-AGE baseline data. EPA and DHA status; retrospective analysis of plasma samples from two completed rodent studies and one human clinical trial, which all included polyphenol-rich interventions, were used to investigate the impact of a range of polyphenols on plasma and tissue fatty acid status. In the NU-A…
author: O'Neill, Colette
language: en
date published: 2015-08
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:12:13Z
provider: University of East Anglia
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of East Anglia