Although previous studies reported the associations between the intakes of individual foods or nutrients and the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the relationship between dietary patterns and NAFLD in the Chinese population has been rarely studied to date. This study aimed to investigate the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of NAFLD in a middle-aged Chinese population. The Study subjects were 999 Chinese adults aged 45–60 years in the Anhui province who participated in the Hefei Nutrition and Health Study. Dietary intake was collected by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. NAFLD was defined as the presence of moderate-severe hepatic steatosis (by B-ultrasonic examination); the absence of excessive alcohol use (>20 g day⁻¹ in men and 10 g day⁻¹ in women); no use of steatogenic medications within the past six months; no exposure to hepatotoxins; and no history of bariatric surgery. Log-binomial regression analysis was used to examine the association between dietary patterns and NAFLD with adjustment of potential confounding variables. Out of 999 participants, 345 (34.5%) were classified as having NAFLD. Four major dietary patterns were identified: “Traditional Chinese”, “Animal food”, “Grains-vegetables” and “High-salt” dietary patterns. After adjusting for potential confounders, subjects in the highest quartile of the “Animal food” pattern scores had greater prevalence ratio for NAFLD (prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.354; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.063–1.724; p < 0.05) than did those in the lowest quartile. After adjustment for body mass index (BMI), compared with the lowest quartile of the “Grains-vegetables” pattern, the highest quartile had a lower prevalence ratio for NAFLD (PR = 0.777; 95% CI: 0.618–0.977, p < 0.05). However, the “traditional Chinese” and “high-salt” dietary patterns showed no association with the risk of NAFLD. Our findings indicated that the “Animal food” dietary pattern was associated with an increased risk of NAFLD.

No previous study has investigated dietary pattern in association with obesity risk in a middle-aged Chinese population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of obesity in the city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, east China. In this cross-sectional study of 2560 subjects aged 45–60 years, dietary intakes were evaluated using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). All anthropometric measurements were obtained using standardized procedures. The partial correlation analysis was performed to assess the associations between dietary patterns and body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist to hip ratio (WHR). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the associations between dietary patterns and obesity, with adjustment for potential confounders. Four major dietary patterns were extracted by means of factor analysis: animal food, traditional Chinese, western fast-food, and high-salt patterns. The animal food pattern was positively associated with BMI (r = 0.082, 0.144, respectively, p < 0.05) and WC (r = 0.102, 0.132, respectively, p < 0.01), and the traditional Chinese pattern was inversely associated with BMI (r = −0.047, −0.116, respectively, p < 0.05) and WC (r = −0.067, −0.113, respectively, p < 0.05) in both genders. After controlling for potential confounders, subjects in the highest quartile of animal food pattern scores had a greater odds ratio for abdominal obesity (odds ratio (OR) = 1.67; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.188–2.340; p < 0.01), in comparison to those from the lowest quartile. Compared with the lowest quartile of the traditional Chinese pattern, the highest quartile had a lower odds ratio for abdominal obesity (OR = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.441–0.901, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings indicated that the animal food pattern was associated with a higher risk of abdominal obesity, while the traditional Chinese pattern was associated with a lower risk of abdominal obesity. Further prospective studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

Background: A number of studies have reported the association between dietary patterns and the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD), however a consistent perspective hasn’t been established to date. Herein, we conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies to assess the association between dietary patterns and CKD. Methods: MEDLINE, EBSCO and references from eligible studies were searched for relevant articles published up to 9 May 2020 that examined the association of common dietary patterns and CKD. The heterogeneity among studies was assessed by Cochran’s Q test and I² methods. Results: Seventeen eligible studies, involving 149,958 participants, were included in our systematic review and meta-analysis. The highest compared with the lowest category of healthy dietary pattern was significantly associated with a lower risk of CKD (OR=0.69; CI: 0.57, 0.84; P=0.0001). A higher risk of CKD was shown for the highest compared with the lowest categories of Western-type dietary pattern (OR=1.86; CI: 1.21, 2.86; P=0.005). There were evidence of a lower risk of CKD in the highest compared with the lowest categories of light-moderate drinking pattern (OR=0.76; CI: 0.71, 0.81; P< 0.0001) and heavy drinking pattern (OR=0.67; CI: 0.56, 0.80; P< 0.0001). Conclusions: The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis show that a healthy dietary pattern and alcohol drinking were associated with lower risk of CKD, whereas a Western-type dietary pattern was associated with higher risk of CKD.

A number of studies have examined the associations between dietary patterns and pancreatic cancer risk, but the findings have been inconclusive. Herein, we conducted this meta-analysis to assess the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of pancreatic cancer. MEDLINE (provided by the National Library of Medicine) and EBSCO (Elton B. Stephens Company) databases were searched for relevant articles published up to May 2016 that identified common dietary patterns. Thirty-two studies met the inclusion criteria and were finally included in this meta-analysis. A reduced risk of pancreatic cancer was shown for the highest compared with the lowest categories of healthy patterns (odds ratio, OR = 0.86; 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.77–0.95; p = 0.004) and light–moderate drinking patterns (OR = 0.90; 95% CI: 0.83–0.98; p = 0.02). There was evidence of an increased risk for pancreatic cancer in the highest compared with the lowest categories of western-type pattern (OR = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.06–1.45; p = 0.008) and heavy drinking pattern (OR = 1.29; 95% CI: 1.10–1.48; p = 0.002). The results of this meta-analysis demonstrate that healthy and light–moderate drinking patterns may decrease the risk of pancreatic cancer, whereas western-type and heavy drinking patterns may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. Additional prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Although some studies have shown the associations between dietary patterns and the risk T2DM in a general population, the associations in middle-aged Chinese have been rarely studied to date. In this study, we aimed to characterize dietary patterns in Chinese adults aged 45-59y (n = 1918) and to evaluate the relationship between dietary patterns and the risk of T2DM. The study population was a part of the population-based the Nutrition and Health Study conducted in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Dietary intake was assessed by using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of T2DM, adjusting for potential confounders. Three major dietary patterns were identified using factor analysis, including the traditional southern Chinese, the Western, and the grains-vegetables patterns. After adjusting for the potential confounders, subjects in the highest quartile of the Western dietary pattern scores had greater odds ratio(OR) for T2DM(OR = 1.28; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.103–1.697; P = 0.02) than did those in the lowest quartile. Compared with those in the lowest quartile, subjects in the highest quartile of the grains-vegetables dietary pattern scores had a lower OR for T2DM (OR = 0.72; 95% CI:0.596–0.952; P = 0.04). Moreover, no significant association was found between the traditional southern Chinese dietary pattern and risk of developing T2DM. Our findings indicated that the Western dietary pattern was associated with an elevated risk, whereas the grains-vegetables dietary pattern was associated with a reduced risk of T2DM. Further researches are needed to confirm these findings.

Epidemiological studies of different dietary patterns and the risk of hypertension among a middle-aged Chinese population remain extremely scare. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify dietary patterns and investigate the relationship between dietary patterns and the risk of hypertension among Chinese adults aged 45–60 years. The present cross-sectional study includes 2560 participants who reported their dietary intake using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Dietary patterns were identified using factor analysis. Anthropometric measurements were obtained using standardized procedures. We used log-binomial regression analysis to examine the associations between dietary patterns and hypertension risk. Four major dietary patterns were identified and labeled as traditional Chinese, animal food, western fast-food, and high-salt patterns. After adjusting for potential confounders, participants in the highest quartile of animal food pattern scores had a greater prevalence ratio (PR) for hypertension (PR = 1.26; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.064–1.727; p < 0.05) in comparison to those from the lowest quartile. Compared with the lowest quartile of high-salt pattern, the highest quartile had a higher prevalence ratio for hypertension (PR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.013–1.635; p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings indicated that animal food and high-salt patterns were associated with increased risk of hypertension, while traditional Chinese and western fast-food patterns were not associated with the risk of hypertension. Further prospective studies are warranted to confirm these findings.