Project Number: 1950-51530-009-01
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Mar 20, 2009
End Date: Mar 19, 2014

Objective:
1. Using an epidemiologic approach, investigate the role of whole grains, selected nutrients, other bioactive food components, and healthy dietary patterns in preventing the development of age-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, cancer, musculoskeletal disorders and age-related eye disease. 2. Determine the validity of biomarkers for whole grain intake, their use in assessing relationships between whole grain intake and disease risk, and the relationship between these biomarkers and insulin resistance phenotypes. 3. Using an epidemiologic approach, examine determinants of adherence to the recommended dietary patterns in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) and the relation between adherence to these patterns and prevention of age-related weight gain, abdominal obesity, and related metabolic disorders such as inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and insulin resistance. 4. Using an epidemiologic approach, investigate safe upper limits for the dietary intake of folic acid. 5. Using an epidemiologic approach, determine relationships between dietary intake and nutrient status and the prevention of age-related cognitive decline in humans. 6. Using an epidemiologic approach, investigate the role of nutritional factors in limiting the cormorbidities such as CVD and premature mortality in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Approach:
Many age-related conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dementia, cancer, musculoskeletal disorders and age-related eye disease, appear to have strong nutritional components. Improved nutrition through public health recommendations and interventions could have a tremendous impact on the economic and societal costs associated with these disabilities, but development of recommendations and interventions requires a greater understanding of the presumptive role that nutrition plays in delaying the onset of disease and disability. Epidemiologic methods applied to community-based investigations of aging populations provide a valuable tool to help meet this need. We will use these methods to address project objectives.