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Purpose A growing body of evidence shows that consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) is associated with a higher risk of cardiometabolic diseases, which, in turn, have been linked to depression. This suggests that UPF might also be associated with depression, which is among the global leading causes of disability and disease. We prospectively evaluated the relationship between UPF consumption and the risk of depression in a Mediterranean cohort. Methods We included 14,907 Spanish university graduates [mean (SD) age: 36.7 year (11.7)] initially free of depression who were followed up for a median of 10.3 years. Consumption of UPF (industrial formulations made mostly or entirely from substances derived from foods and additives, with little, if any, intact food), as defined by the NOVA food classification system, was assessed at baseline through a validated semi-quantitative 136-item food-frequency questionnaire. Participants were classified as incident cases of depression if they reported a medical diagnosis of depression or the habitual use of antidepressant medication in at least one of the follow-up assessments conducted after the first 2 years of follow-up. Cox regression models were used to assess the relationship between UPF consumption and depression incidence. Results A total of 774 incident cases of depression were identified during follow-up. Participants in the highest quartile of UPF consumption had a higher risk of developing depression [HR (95% CI) 1.33 (1.07–1.64); p trend = 0.004] than those in the lowest quartile after adjusting for potential confounders. Conclusions In a prospective cohort of Spanish university graduates, we found a positive association between UPF consumption and the risk of depression that was strongest among participants with low levels of physical activity.

This review discusses the inconsistent recommendations on alcohol consumption and its association with chronic disease, highlighting the need for an evidence-based consensus. Alcohol is an addictive substance consumed worldwide, especially in European countries. Recommendations on alcohol consumption are controversial. On one hand, many nonrandomized studies defend that moderate consumption has a beneficial cardiovascular effect or a lower risk of all-cause mortality. On the other hand, alcohol is associated with an increased risk of cancer, neurological diseases, or injuries, among others. For years, efforts have been made to answer the question regarding the safe amount of alcohol intake, but controversies remain. Observational studies advocate moderate alcohol consumption following a Mediterranean pattern (red wine with meals avoiding binge drinking) as the best option for current drinkers. However, agencies such as the IARC recommend abstention from alcohol as it is a potent carcinogen. In this context, more randomized trial with larger sample size and hard clinical endpoints should be conducted to clarify the available evidence and provide clinicians with support for their clinical practice.

Background: A few observational studies have found an inverse association between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and the risk of depression. Randomized trials with an intervention based on this dietary pattern could provide the most definitive answer to the findings reported by observational studies. The aim of this study was to compare in a randomized trial the effects of two Mediterranean diets versus a low-fat diet on depression risk after at least 3 years of intervention. Methods: This was a multicenter, randomized, primary prevention field trial of cardiovascular disease (Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea (PREDIMED Study)) based on community-dwelling men aged 55 to 80 years and women aged 60 to 80 years at high risk of cardiovascular disease (51% of them had type 2 diabetes; DM2) attending primary care centers affiliated with 11 Spanish teaching hospitals. Primary analyses were performed on an intention-to-treat basis. Cox regression models were used to assess the relationship between the nutritional intervention groups and the incidence of depression. Results: We identified 224 new cases of depression during follow-up. There was an inverse association with depression for participants assigned to a Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts (multivariate hazard ratio (HR) 0.78; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.55 to 1.10) compared with participants assigned to the control group, although this was not significant. However, when the analysis was restricted to participants with DM2, the magnitude of the effect of the intervention with the Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts did reach statistical significance (multivariate HR = 0.59; 95% CI 0.36 to 0.98). Conclusions: The result suggest that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts could exert a beneficial effect on the risk of depression in patients with DM2.

The aim of this study was to assess the association between alcohol intake and premature mortality (younger than 65 years) and to explore the effect of potential alcohol underreporting by heavy drinkers. We followed-up 20 272 university graduates. Four categories of alcohol intake were considered (abstainer, light, moderate and heavy consumption). Repeated measurements of alcohol intake and updated information on confounders were used in time-dependent Cox models. Potential underreporting of alcohol intake by some heavy drinkers (likely misclassified as light or moderate drinkers) was explicitly addressed in an attempt to correct potential underreporting by using indirect information. During 12·3 years of median follow-up (interquartile range: 6·8–15·0), 226 participants died before their 65th birthday. A higher risk of early mortality was found for the highest category of alcohol intake (≥50 g/d) in comparison with abstention (multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 2·82, 95 % CI 1·38, 5·79). In analyses of alcohol as a continuous variable, the multivariable-adjusted HR was 1·17 (95 % CI 1·08, 1·26), for each 10 g/d of alcohol. This harmful linear association was present both in uncorrected models and in models corrected for potential underreporting. No significant inverse association between light or moderate alcohol intake and premature mortality was observed, even after correcting for potential misclassification. Alcohol intake exhibited a harmful linear dose–response association with premature mortality (<65 years) in this young and highly educated Mediterranean cohort. Our attempts to correct for potential misclassification did not substantially change these results.

Provegetarian diets (i.e., preference for plant-derived foods but not exclusion of animal foods) have been associated with a reduced risk of long-term weight gain and could be more easily embraced than strict vegetarian diets. However, not all plant-derived foods are equally healthy. In the “Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra” (SUN) cohort, we prospectively evaluated the association between different provegetarian food patterns and the incidence of overweight/obesity in 11,554 participants with initial body mass index <25 kg/m2. A provegetarian food pattern (FP) was built by assigning positive scores to plant foods and reverse scores to animal foods. A healthful and an unhealthful provegetarian FP, which distinguished between healthy (fruits/vegetables/whole grains/nuts/legumes/olive oil/coffee) and less-healthy plant foods (fruit juices/potatoes/refined grains/pastries/sugary beverages), were also built. A total of 2320 new cases of overweight or obesity were identified after a median follow-up of 10.3 years. Higher baseline conformity with the overall provegetarian FP was inversely associated with overweight/obesity (HR comparing extreme quintiles: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.75 to 0.96; p-trend: 0.014). This association was stronger for the healthful FP (HR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.67 to 0.90; p-trend: <0.001) and was not apparent for the unhealthful FP (HR: 1.07; 95% CI: 0.92 to 1.23; p-trend: 0.551). In a large prospective cohort of relatively young adults, better conformity with a healthy provegetarian diet was associated with a reduced long-term risk of overweight/obesity, whereas no consistent trend was found for a FP that emphasized less-healthy plant foods.

Empathy is a fundamental tool in clinical practice, but despite its importance and benefits, it is often underrepresented in medical curricula. This study explored the evolution of medical students' empathy longitudinally across six years of undergraduate training following the introduction of a curriculum with 4-hour workshops during each of the six clinical rotations from Years 4 to 6, complemented by self-reflections after each rotation. Students of the 2016 class (graduated 2022) completed the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Students (JSE-S) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) at the beginning of Year 1 (T0) of studies, beginning Year 3 (T1), end Year 3 (T2) and end Year 6 (T3). The NEO Five-Factor Personality Inventory was completed at T0. Empathy scores across timepoints were analyzed using repeated measured analyses of variance (ANOVA). 36.1% and 32.5% of 169 eligible students completed the JSE-S and IRI scores respectively at all four timepoints. The JSE-S total mean score increased significantly across the six years of medical course (p < 0.001), as did the IRI total mean score (p < 0.001). In addition, the mean JSE-S total score increased significantly between T3 vs T0 (p < 0.001), T3 vs T2 (p < 0.001 and T2 vs T1 (p = 0.028); and the mean IRI total increased significantly between T3 vs T0 (p < 0.001) and T3 vs T2 (p < 0.001). Medical students who experienced a new professionalism program increased their empathy as measured by the JSE-S and IRI instruments across the six years of curriculum.

We assessed the relationship between a healthy lifestyle and the subsequent risk of developing metabolic syndrome. The “Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra” (SUN) Project is a prospective cohort study, focused on nutrition, lifestyle, and chronic diseases. Participants (n = 10,807, mean age 37 years, 67% women) initially free of metabolic syndrome were followed prospectively for a minimum of 6 years. To evaluate healthy lifestyle, nine habits were used to derive a Healthy Lifestyle Score (HLS): Never smoking, moderate to high physical activity (>20 MET-h/week), Mediterranean diet (≥4/8 adherence points), moderate alcohol consumption (women, 0.1–5.0 g/day; men, 0.1–10.0 g/day), low television exposure (<2 h/day), no binge drinking (≤5 alcoholic drinks at any time), taking a short afternoon nap (<30 min/day), meeting up with friends >1 h/day, and working at least 40 h/week. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the harmonizing definition. The association between the baseline HLS and metabolic syndrome at follow-up was assessed with multivariable-adjusted logistic regressions. During follow-up, we observed 458 (4.24%) new cases of metabolic syndrome. Participants in the highest category of HLS adherence (7–9 points) enjoyed a significantly reduced risk of developing metabolic syndrome compared to those in the lowest category (0–3 points) (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.66, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.47–0.93). Higher adherence to the Healthy Lifestyle Score was associated with a lower risk of developing metabolic syndrome. The HLS may be a simple metabolic health promotion tool.

Only one prospective study has analysed the relationship between the inflammatory properties of diet and risk of depression thus far. The aim of this study was to assess the association between the dietary inflammatory index (DII) and the incidence of depression. In a cohort study of 15 093 university graduates, participants completed a validated FFQ at baseline and after 10 years of follow-up. The DII was calculated based on the FFQ. Each of the twenty-eight nutrients or foods received a score based on findings from the peer-reviewed literature reporting on the relationships between diet and inflammatory biomarkers (IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α and C-reactive protein). Participants were classified as having depression if they reported a new clinical diagnosis of depression by a physician, antidepressant drugs, or both. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) of depression according to quintiles of the DII. After a median 8·5 years of follow-up, we observed 1051 incident cases of depression. The HR for participants in the highest quintile of DII (strongly pro-inflammatory) was 1·47 (95 % CI 1·17, 1·85) compared with those in the bottom quintile, with a significant dose–response relationship (P trend=0·01). In the subgroup analyses, the association between DII and depression was stronger among participants >55 years and among those with cardiometabolic comorbidities (HR 2·70; 95 % CI 1·22, 5·97 and HR 1·80; 95 % CI 1·27, 2·57, respectively). A pro-inflammatory diet was associated with a significantly higher risk of depression in a Mediterranean population. This association was stronger among older subjects and subjects with cardiometabolic diseases.

Purpose The health benefits of the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) have been widely studied. However, controversy remains for one of its components: alcohol intake. We aimed to assess the joint effect of adherence to the MedDiet and alcohol-drinking pattern on all-cause mortality. Methods We used data from 20,506 subjects from a prospective cohort of Spanish university graduates, the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) cohort. Adherence to the MedDiet was operationalized using four different dietary indexes and then categorized in low or high adherence, according to the median score. Alcohol-drinking pattern was evaluated with the previously defined the Mediterranean alcohol-drinking pattern (MADP), grouped into three categories of adherence (low, moderate and high adherence) and a fourth category for abstainers. The outcome was all-cause mortality. Results During a median follow-up of 12.1 years, we observed 460 deaths. No statistically significant supra-multiplicative interaction between the two exposures was found. Low adherence to both the MedDiet and MADP was associated with higher all-cause mortality compared to high adherence to both exposures [multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 2.02, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.33–3.07]. Similar results were found for cancer mortality and cardiovascular mortality. Conclusions Although the combined effect of the MedDiet and MADP was not significantly higher than the product of their individual effects, a low adherence to both the MedDiet and MADP was associated with higher rates of all-cause mortality. This report also shows the usefulness of the dietary pattern approach applied to alcohol intake and of including the drinking pattern as another component of the MedDiet.

Background/Objectives: Since 1988, the IARC has classified alcohol as a type 1 carcinogen, causally linked to seven types of cancer (oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, colorectum, liver and breast carcinomas). Several agencies, such as the WHO and the IARC, hold that there is a direct monotonic association between any gram of alcohol consumed and the risk of cancer, regardless of the drinking pattern. On the other hand, an expanding body of evidence indicates that drinking pattern may substantially modify the effect of alcohol consumption. The Mediterranean alcohol-drinking pattern (MADP) includes different aspects of alcohol consumption, such as preference for red wine, moderate alcohol consumption with meals, spreading consumption over the week and avoiding binge drinking. Conformity to this pattern has shown inverse associations with all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. However, its relationship with cancer incidence has not been studied yet. Our objective was to assess how alcohol consumption patterns, with particular emphasis on the MADP, relate to the incidence of the seven alcohol-related cancers. This information is needed to support cancer prevention recommendations that may go beyond the amount of alcohol consumed to also include the drinking pattern. Methods: We prospectively followed 19,541 participants in the SUN (“Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra”) cohort for a median of 13.8 years. We classified participants into four groups, namely, abstainers and three further groups according to their adherence to the MADP score (low, moderate and high). Results: A substantial reduction in the risk of alcohol-related cancer incidence was observed only in men for high versus low adherence to the MADP, with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 0.44 (95% confidence intervals (CIs) (0.21–0.92)). The category of moderate adherence to the MADP showed a lower risk of cancer incidence with a tendency towards statistical significance (HR = 0.56, 95% CI, 0.30–1.06). For women, no result reached statistical significance. Conclusions: Based on the available evidence, separate messages by sex should be delivered. In men, the association between alcohol and cancer goes beyond the amount of alcohol consumed, and a Mediterranean drinking pattern may be beneficial even for alcohol-related cancers. Men should, therefore, receive an additional message: among alcohol consumers, greater adherence to the MADP may help lower their risk of developing alcohol-related cancers. No benefit is supported for the MADP against alcohol-related cancers in women.