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Frank B. Hu

Bio: Frank B. Hu is an academic researcher from Harvard University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Type 2 diabetes & Diabetes mellitus. The author has an hindex of 250, co-authored 1675 publications receiving 253464 citations. Previous affiliations of Frank B. Hu include Southwest University & Brigham and Women's Hospital.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: These ongoing large cohort studies have provided convincing epidemiologic evidence that a healthy diet, together with regular physical activity, maintenance of a healthy weight, moderate alcohol consumption, and avoidance of prolonged sedentary behaviors and smoking would prevent the majority of type 2 diabetes cases.
Abstract: The vast amount of epidemiological evidence from three large US cohorts (Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study 2, and Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study) has yielded important information regarding the roles of overall diet, individual foods and nutrients, physical activity, and other lifestyle factors in the development of type 2 diabetes. Excess adiposity is a major risk factor for diabetes, and thus maintaining a healthy body weight and avoidance of excess weight gain during adulthood is the cornerstone of diabetes prevention. Independent of body weight, the quality or type of dietary fat and carbohydrates is more crucial than the quantity in determining diabetes risk. Higher consumption of coffee, whole grains, fruits, and nuts is associated with lower risk of diabetes, whereas regular consumption of refined grains, red and processed meats, and sugar-sweetened beverages including fruits juices is associated with increased risk. Dietary patterns rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and nuts and legumes, but lower in red and processed meats, refined grains, and sugar-sweetened beverages are consistently associated with reduced diabetes risk, even after adjustment for body mass index. The genome-wide association studies conducted in these cohorts have contributed substantially to the discoveries of novel genetic loci for type 2 diabetes and other metabolic traits, although the identified common variants explain only a small proportion of overall diabetes predisposition. Taken together, these ongoing large cohort studies have provided convincing epidemiologic evidence that a healthy diet, together with regular physical activity, maintenance of a healthy weight, moderate alcohol consumption, and avoidance of prolonged sedentary behaviors and smoking would prevent the majority of type 2 diabetes cases.

118 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: To achieve the goals set by the Healthy China 2020 programme, prevention of chronic diseases should be elevated to a national public policy priority.
Abstract: Fuelled by rapid urbanization and changes in dietary and lifestyle choices, chronic diseases have emerged as a critical public health issue in China. The Healthy China 2020 programme recently announced by the Chinese government has set an overarching goal of promoting public health and making health care accessible and affordable for all Chinese citizens by year 2020. One of important components of the programme is to reduce chronic diseases by promoting healthy eating and active lifestyles. Chronic diseases not only affect health and quality of life, but also have economical and social consequences. With a limited infrastructure for chronic disease care, China is ill-equipped to deal with the escalating chronic disease epidemic, which threatens to reverse the gains of economic development in recent decades. Population-based intervention studies conducted in China and elsewhere have demonstrated the efficacy and effectiveness of several preventive strategies to reduce risk of chronic diseases in high-risk individuals and the general population. However, translating these findings into practice requires changes in health systems and public policies. To achieve the goals set by the Healthy China 2020 programme, prevention of chronic diseases should be elevated to a national public policy priority.

118 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A metabolic signature is identified that robustly reflects adherence and metabolic response to a Mediterranean diet, and predicts future CVD risk independent of traditional risk factors, in Spanish and US cohorts.
Abstract: AIMS To investigate whether metabolic signature composed of multiple plasma metabolites can be used to characterize adherence and metabolic response to the Mediterranean diet and whether such a metabolic signature is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. METHODS AND RESULTS Our primary study cohort included 1859 participants from the Spanish PREDIMED trial, and validation cohorts included 6868 participants from the US Nurses' Health Studies I and II, and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (NHS/HPFS). Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was assessed using a validated Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS), and plasma metabolome was profiled by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We observed substantial metabolomic variation with respect to Mediterranean diet adherence, with nearly one-third of the assayed metabolites significantly associated with MEDAS (false discovery rate < 0.05). Using elastic net regularized regressions, we identified a metabolic signature, comprised of 67 metabolites, robustly correlated with Mediterranean diet adherence in both PREDIMED and NHS/HPFS (r = 0.28-0.37 between the signature and MEDAS; P = 3 × 10-35 to 4 × 10-118). In multivariable Cox regressions, the metabolic signature showed a significant inverse association with CVD incidence after adjusting for known risk factors (PREDIMED: hazard ratio [HR] per standard deviation increment in the signature = 0.71, P < 0.001; NHS/HPFS: HR = 0.85, P = 0.001), and the association persisted after further adjustment for MEDAS scores (PREDIMED: HR = 0.73, P = 0.004; NHS/HPFS: HR = 0.85, P = 0.004). Further genome-wide association analysis revealed that the metabolic signature was significantly associated with genetic loci involved in fatty acids and amino acids metabolism. Mendelian randomization analyses showed that the genetically inferred metabolic signature was significantly associated with risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke (odds ratios per SD increment in the genetically inferred metabolic signature = 0.92 for CHD and 0.91 for stroke; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS We identified a metabolic signature that robustly reflects adherence and metabolic response to a Mediterranean diet, and predicts future CVD risk independent of traditional risk factors, in Spanish and US cohorts.

117 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A panel of acylcarnitines, mainly involving mitochondrial lipid dysregulation, significantly improved predictive ability for type 2 diabetes beyond conventional risk factors, and need to be replicated in other populations.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE Acylcarnitines were suggested as early biomarkers even prior to insulin resistance in animal studies, but their roles in predicting type 2 diabetes were unknown. Therefore, we aimed to determine whether acylcarnitines could independently predict type 2 diabetes by using a targeted metabolic profiling approach. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A population-based prospective study was conducted among 2,103 community-living Chinese individuals aged 50–70 years from Beijing and Shanghai with a mean follow-up duration of 6 years. Fasting glucose, glycohemoglobin, and insulin were determined at baseline and in a follow-up survey. Baseline plasma acylcarnitines were profiled by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS Over the 6-year period, 507 participants developed diabetes. A panel of acylcanitines, especially with long chain, was significantly associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The relative risks of type 2 diabetes per SD increase of the predictive model score were 2.48 (95% CI 2.20–2.78) for the conventional and 9.41 (95% CI 7.62–11.62) for the full model including acylcarnitines, respectively. Moreover, adding selected acylcarnitines substantially improved predictive ability for incident diabetes, as area under the receiver operator characteristic curve improved to 0.89 in the full model compared with 0.73 in the conventional model. Similar associations were obtained when the predictive models were established separately among Beijing or Shanghai residents. CONCLUSIONS A panel of acylcarnitines, mainly involving mitochondrial lipid dysregulation, significantly improved predictive ability for type 2 diabetes beyond conventional risk factors. These findings need to be replicated in other populations, and the underlying mechanisms should be elucidated.

117 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The data support the conclusion that metabolite profiles characterized by elevated concentrations of acylcarnitines are independently associated with risks of total CVD and stroke alone in participants at high risk of CVD.

117 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The role of vitamin D in skeletal and nonskeletal health is considered and strategies for the prevention and treatment ofitamin D deficiency are suggested.
Abstract: Once foods in the United States were fortified with vitamin D, rickets appeared to have been conquered, and many considered major health problems from vitamin D deficiency resolved. But vitamin D deficiency is common. This review considers the role of vitamin D in skeletal and nonskeletal health and suggests strategies for the prevention and treatment of vitamin D deficiency.

11,849 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Abnormal lipids, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, abdominal obesity, psychosocial factors, consumption of fruits, vegetables, and alcohol, and regular physical activity account for most of the risk of myocardial infarction worldwide in both sexes and at all ages in all regions.

10,387 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This statement from the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is intended to provide up-to-date guidance for professionals on the diagnosis and management of the metabolic syndrome in adults.
Abstract: The metabolic syndrome has received increased attention in the past few years. This statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is intended to provide up-to-date guidance for professionals on the diagnosis and management of the metabolic syndrome in adults. The metabolic syndrome is a constellation of interrelated risk factors of metabolic origin— metabolic risk factors —that appear to directly promote the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).1 Patients with the metabolic syndrome also are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. Another set of conditions, the underlying risk factors , give rise to the metabolic risk factors. In the past few years, several expert groups have attempted to set forth simple diagnostic criteria to be used in clinical practice to identify patients who manifest the multiple components of the metabolic syndrome. These criteria have varied somewhat in specific elements, but in general they include a combination of both underlying and metabolic risk factors. The most widely recognized of the metabolic risk factors are atherogenic dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, and elevated plasma glucose. Individuals with these characteristics commonly manifest a prothrombotic state and a pro-inflammatory state as well. Atherogenic dyslipidemia consists of an aggregation of lipoprotein abnormalities including elevated serum triglyceride and apolipoprotein B (apoB), increased small LDL particles, and a reduced level of HDL cholesterol (HDL-C). The metabolic syndrome is often referred to as if it were a discrete entity with a single cause. Available data suggest that it truly is a syndrome, ie, a grouping of ASCVD risk factors, but one that probably has more than one cause. Regardless of cause, the syndrome identifies individuals at an elevated risk for ASCVD. The magnitude of the increased risk can vary according to which components of the syndrome are …

9,982 citations