Objectives-(a) To characterise the lipid profile in psoriatic arthritis and investigate whether there are similarities to the dyslipoproteinaemia reported in rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory forms of joint disease; (b) to investigate whether there is an atherogenic lipid profile in psoriatic arthritis, which may have a bearing on mortality. Methods-Fasting lipids, lipoproteins, and their subfractions were measured in 50 patients with psoriatic arthritis and their age and sex matched controls. Results-High density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) and its third subfraction, HDL 3 cholesterol, were significantly reduced and the most dense subfraction of low density lipoprotein (LDL), LDL 3 , was significantly increased in the patients with psoriatic arthritis. Twenty patients with active synovitis had significantly lower total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and HDL 3 cholesterol than their controls. 25% of the patients with psoriatic arthritis had raised Lp(a) lipoprotein levels (>300 mg/l) compared with 19% of controls, but this was not statistically significant. Conclusion-Raised levels of LDL 3 and low levels of HDL cholesterol are associated with coronary artery disease. Such an atherogenic profile in a chronic inflammatory form of arthritis is reported, which may be associated with accelerated mortality.

BackgroundUnderstanding changes in dietary intake during puberty could aid the mapping of dietary interventions for primary prevention. The present study describes dietary changes from childhood to adolescence, and their associations with parental education, family income, child education, body mass index (BMI), pubertal onset and screen-time sedentary behaviour.MethodsDietary data (n = 1232) were obtained from food frequency questionnaires at the 10- and 15-year follow-ups of the GINIplus birth cohort study. Intakes of 17 food groups, macronutrients and antioxidant vitamins, were described by a) paired Wilcoxon rank sum tests, comparing average intakes at each time-point, and b) Cohen’s kappa “tracking” coefficients, measuring stability of intakes (maintenance of relative tertile positions across time). Further, associations of changes (tertile position increase or decrease vs. tracking) with parental education, family income, child education, pubertal onset, BMI, and screen-time, were assessed by logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression models stratified by baseline intake tertile.ResultsBoth sexes increased average intakes of water and decreased starchy vegetables, margarine and dairy. Females decreased meat and retinol intakes and increased vegetables, grains, oils and tea. Males decreased fruit and carbohydrates and increased average intakes of meat, caloric drinks, water, protein, fat, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), vitamin C and alpha-tocopherol. Both sexes presented mainly “fair” tracking levels [κw = 0.21–0.40]. Females with high (vs. low) parental education were more likely to increase their nut intake [OR = 3.8; 95 % CI = (1.7;8.8)], and less likely to decrease vitamin C intakes [0.2 (0.1;0.5)], while males were less likely to increase egg consumption [0.2 (0.1;0.5)] and n3 PUFAs [0.2 (0.1;0.5)]. Females with a higher (vs. low) family income were more likely to maintain medium wholegrain intakes [0.2 (0.1;0.7) for decrease vs. tracking, and 0.1 (0.0;0.5) for increase vs. tracking], and were less likely to decrease vitamin C intakes [0.2 (0.1;0.6)]. Males with high education were less likely to increase sugar-sweetened foods [0.1 (0.1;0.4)]. Finally, BMI in females was negatively associated with decreasing protein intakes [0.7 (0.6;0.9)]. In males BMI was positively associated with increasing margarine [1.4 (1.1;1.6)] and vitamin C intakes [1.4 (1.1;1.6)], and negatively associated with increasing n3 PUFA.ConclusionsAverage dietary intakes changed significantly, despite fair tracking levels, suggesting the presence of trends in dietary behaviour during puberty. Family income and parental education predominantly influenced intake changes. Our results support the rationale for dietary interventions targeting children, and suggest that sex-specific subpopulations, e.g. low socio-economic status, should be considered for added impact.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2189-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to ...

High dietary acid load may have detrimental effects on mental health during childhood and adolescence. We examined cross-sectional and prospective associations of dietary acid load and mental health problems in a population-based sample, using data from the German birth cohort studies GINIplus (German Infant Nutritional Intervention plus environmental and genetic influences on allergy development) and LISA (Influences of lifestyle-related factors on the immune system and the development of allergies in childhood). These studies included detailed assessments of dietary intake through a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), mental health outcomes measured through the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and covariates. Using logistic regression, cross-sectional associations between dietary acid load measured as potential renal acid load (PRAL) and SDQ subscales were assessed at age 10 years (N = 2350) and 15 years (N = 2061). Prospective associations were assessed, considering PRAL at 10 years as exposure and SDQ subscales at 15 years as outcome (N = 1685). Results indicate that children with a diet higher in PRAL have more emotional problems (OR = 1.33 (95% CI = 1.15; 1.54); p < 0.001), and show hyperactivity more often (1.22 (1.04; 1.43); p = 0.014) at 10 years. No significant associations were present either cross-sectionally at age 15 years, nor prospectively. Results were confirmed in sensitivity analyses. These findings reveal first evidence for potential relationships between PRAL and mental health in childhood, although we cannot exclude reverse causality, i.e., that dietary behavior and PRAL are influenced by mental status. Future studies should address confirmation and identify biological mechanisms.