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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #316764
Title: Differing statistical approaches affect the relation between egg consumption, adiposity, and cardiovascular risk factors in adults

Author
item NICKLAS, THERESA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item O'NEIL, CAROL - LSU Agcenter
item FULGONI III, VICTOR - Nutrition Impact, Llc

Submitted to: Journal of Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/15/2014
Publication Date: 12/3/2014
Citation: Nicklas, T.A., O'Neil, C.E., Fulgoni III, V.L. 2014. Differing statistical approaches affect the relation between egg consumption, adiposity, and cardiovascular risk factors in adults. Journal of Nutrition. 145(1):170S-176S.

Interpretive Summary: Associations between food patterns and adiposity are poorly understood. Two statistical approaches were used to examine the potential association between egg consumption and adiposity. The relation between egg consumption and cardiovascular risk factors varied considerably depending on the statistical approach and the covariates used in the analyses. All traditional dietary analyses in epidemiology share one strong but incorrect assumption: that exposures, such as foods or nutrients, were measured with great accuracy. Care needs to be taken with data interpretation of diet and health risk factors and the choice of statistical approaches because these epidemiologic studies are used to generate hypotheses. More studies are needed to develop statistical methods that reduce bias when evaluating dietary hypotheses in more detail. A number of methods are being explored, yet they are usually complicated and will not provide a simple solution.

Technical Abstract: Associations between food patterns and adiposity are poorly understood. Two statistical approaches were used to examine the potential association between egg consumption and adiposity. Two statistical approaches were used to examine the potential association between egg consumption and adiposity. Participants (n = 18,987) aged >/=19 years of age were from the 2001–2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who provided 24-hour diet recall data, body mass index and waist circumference –determined adiposity measures, and blood pressure, circulating insulin, glucose, and lipid concentrations were considered cardiovascular risk factors. Covariate-adjusted least-squares means +/- standard errors were generated. The first statistical approach categorized participants into egg consumers or nonconsumers. Consumers had higher mean body mass index (in kg/m2; 28.7 +/- 0.19; P = 0.006) and waist circumference (98.26 +/- 0.43 cm; P = 0.002) than did nonconsumers (28.26 +/- 0.10 and 96.9 +/- 0.23 cm, respectively). Second, cluster analysis identified 8 distinct egg consumption patterns (explaining 39.5% of the variance in percentage of energy within the food categories).Only 2 egg patterns [egg/meat, poultry, fish/ grains/vegetables and egg/meat, poultry,fish/ grains], consumed by