Among Chinese adults, a higher level of fruit consumption was associated with lower blood pressure and blood glucose levels and, largely independent of these and other dietary and nondietary factors, with significantly lower risks of major cardiovascular diseases. (Funded by the Wellcome Trust and others.).

Summary Background The fraily index is a useful proxy measure of accelerated biological ageing and in estimating all-cause and cause-specific mortality in older individuals in European and US populations. However, the predictive value of the frailty index in other populations outside of Europe and the USA and in adults younger than 50 years is unknown. We aimed to examine the association between the frailty index and mortality in a population of Chinese adults. Methods In this prospective cohort study, we used data from the China Kadoorie Biobank. We included adults aged 30–79 years from ten areas (five urban areas and five rural areas) of China who had no missing values for the items that made up the frailty index. We did not exclude participants on the basis of baseline morbidity status. We calculated the follow-up person-years from the baseline date to either the date of death, loss to follow-up, or Dec 31, 2017, whichever came first, through linkage with the registries of China's Disease Surveillance Points system and local residential records. Active follow-up visits to local communities were done annually for participants who were not linked to any established registries. Causes of death from official death certificates were supplemented, if necessary, by reviewing medical records or doing standard verbal autopsy procedures. The frailty index was calculated using 28 baseline variables, all of which were health status deficits measured by use of questionnaires and physical examination. We defined three categories of frailty status: robust (frailty index ≤0·10), prefrail (frailty index >0·10 to <0·25), and frail (frailty index ≥0·25). The primary outcomes were all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality in Chinese adults aged 30–79 years. We used a Cox proportional hazards model to estimate the associations between the frailty index and all-cause and cause-specific mortality, adjusting for chronological age, education, and lifestyle factors. Findings 512 723 participants, recruited between June 25, 2004, and July 15, 2008, were followed up for a median of 10·8 years (IQR 10·2–13·1; total follow-up 5 551 974 person-years). 291 954 (56·9%) people were categorised as robust, 205 075 (40·0%) people were categorised as prefrail, and 15 694 (3·1%) people were categorised as frail. Women aged between 45 years and 79 years had a higher mean frailty index and a higher prevalence of frailty than did men. During follow-up, 49 371 deaths were recorded. After adjustment for established and potential risk factors for death, each 0·1 increment in the frailty index was associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1·68, 95% CI 1·66–1·71). Such associations were stronger among younger adults than among older adults (p interaction <0·0001), with HRs per 0·1 increment of the frailty index of 1·95 (95% CI 1·87–2·03) for those younger than 50 years, 1·80 (1·76–1·83) for those aged 50–64...

SummaryBackgroundThe age-specific association between blood pressure and vascular disease has been studied mostly in high-income countries, and before the widespread use of brain imaging for diagnosis of the main stroke types (ischaemic stroke and intracerebral haemorrhage). We aimed to investigate this relationship among adults in China.Methods512 891 adults (59% women) aged 30–79 years were recruited into a prospective study from ten areas of China between June 25, 2004, and July 15, 2008. Participants attended assessment centres where they were interviewed about demographic and lifestyle characteristics, and their blood pressure, height, and weight were measured. Incident disease was identified through linkage to local mortality records, chronic disease registries, and claims to the national health insurance system. We used Cox regression analysis to produce adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) relating systolic blood pressure to disease incidence. HRs were corrected for regression dilution to estimate associations with long-term average (usual) systolic blood pressure.FindingsDuring a median follow-up of 9 years (IQR 8–10), there were 88 105 incident vascular and non-vascular chronic disease events (about 90% of strokes events were diagnosed using brain imaging). At ages 40–79 years (mean age at event 64 years [SD 9]), usual systolic blood pressure was continuously and positively associated with incident major vascular disease throughout the range 120–180 mm Hg: each 10 mm Hg higher usual systolic blood pressure was associated with an approximately 30% higher risk of ischaemic heart disease (HR 1·31 [95% CI 1·28–1·34]) and ischaemic stroke (1·30 [1·29–1·31]), but the association with intracerebral haemorrhage was about twice as steep (1·68 [1·65–1·71]). HRs for vascular disease were twice as steep at ages 40–49 years than at ages 70–79 years. Usual systolic blood pressure was also positively associated with incident chronic kidney disease (1·40 [1·35–1·44]) and diabetes (1·14 [1·12–1·15]). About half of all vascular deaths in China were attributable to elevated blood pressure (ie, systolic blood pressure >120 mm Hg), accounting for approximately 1 million deaths (<80 years of age) annually.InterpretationAmong adults in China, systolic blood pressure was continuously related to major vascular disease with no evidence of a threshold down to 120 mm Hg. Unlike previous studies in high-income countries, blood pressure was more strongly associated with intracerebral haemorrhage than with ischaemic stroke. Even small reductions in mean blood pressure at a population level could be expected to have a major impact on vascular morbidity and mortality.FundingUK Wellcome Trust, UK Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Kadoorie Charitable Foundation, Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, and the National Science Foundation of China.

Background: As protein is considered to increase thermogenesis and satiety more than other macronutrients, it may have beneficial effects on prevention of weight gain and weight maintenance. Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the association between the amount and type of dietary protein, and subsequent changes in weight and waist circumference (WC). Methods: 89 432 men and women from five countries participating in European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) were followed for a mean of 6.5 years. Associations between the intake of protein or subgroups of protein (from animal and plant sources) and changes in weight (g per year) or WC (cm per year) were investigated using gender and centre-specific multiple regression analyses. Adjustments were made for other baseline dietary factors, baseline anthropometrics, demographic and lifestyle factors and follow-up time. We used random effect meta-analyses to obtain pooled estimates across centres. Results: Higher intake of total protein, and protein from animal sources was associated with subsequent weight gain for both genders, strongest among women, and the association was mainly attributable to protein from red and processed meat and poultry rather than from fish and dairy sources. There was no overall association between intake of plant protein and subsequent changes in weight. No clear overall associations between intakes of total protein or any of the subgroups and changes in WC were present. The associations showed some heterogeneity between centres, but pooling of estimates was still considered justified. Conclusion: A high intake of protein was not found associated with lower weight or waist gain in this observational study. In contrast, protein from food items of animal origin, especially meat and poultry, seemed to be positively associated with long-term weight gain. There were no clear associations for waist changes.