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Background Although several studies have evaluated the relationship between adult height and mortality, their results have not been entirely consistent. Little is known about components of adult height in relation to mortality, particularly in developing countries.Methods We examined the association of adult height and its components (leg and trunk length) with mortality using data from 74 869 Chinese women and 61 333 men in the Shanghai Women's (1996–2008) and Men's (2002–2008) Health Studies. Anthropometric measurements, including standing and sitting height and weight, were taken at baseline by trained interviewers according to a standard protocol. Deaths were ascertained by biennial home visits and linkage with the vital statistics registry. Cox regression models were used to evaluate the associations.Results Neither height nor its components were associated with all-cause mortality. Height and, less consistently, its components were positively associated with cancer mortality, but inversely associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Hazard ratios (HRs) [95% confidence intervals (CIs)] for cancer mortality per 1-SD increment in height, trunk and leg length were 1.06 (1.01–1.12), 1.07 (1.01–1.12) and 1.03 (0.98–1.08), respectively, in women, and 1.13 (1.05–1.22), 1.09 (1.00–1.19) and 1.10 (1.03–1.16), respectively, in men. The corresponding HRs for CVD mortality were 0.89 (0.84–0.95), 0.93 (0.87–0.99) and 0.91 (0.86–0.98) in women, and 0.93 (0.86–1.02), 0.89 (0.81–0.98) and 0.99 (0.92–1.06) in men.Conclusions Our results suggest that different mechanisms may be involved in linking height and its components with cancer and CVD mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Data linking risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and dietary patterns in Chinese populations are scarce.Methods: A population-based prospective study of 64,191 middle-aged women in urban Shanghai, China, who were free of T2D and other chronic diseases at study recruitment, was conducted. Dietary intake, physical activity and anthropometric measurements were assessed through in-person interviews. Dietary patterns were assessed by using K-means cluster analysis. Cox regression model was used to evaluate the association of dietary patterns with the risk of T2D.Results: We identified three dietary clusters in this population. Cluster 1 (56.3%; N = 36,159) had the highest intake of staples, cluster 2 (40.4%: N = 25,948) had the highest intake of dairy milk, and cluster 3 (2.9%; N = 1843) had the highest energy intake. Participants in cluster 2 had lower prevalence of obesity, central obesity and hypertension at baseline. Using cluster 1 as the reference, participants in cluster 2 had a lower incidence of T2D after 6.9 years of follow-up [relative risk (RR) 0.78; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.71-0.86]. The RR for the incidence of T2D for cluster 3 compared with cluster 1 was 1.05 (95% CI 0.81-1.35). The association was not modified by age category, body mass index category, waist-to-hip ratio category or exercise participation.Conclusions: We identified and characterized dietary patterns in middle-aged Chinese women by using cluster analysis. We identified a dietary pattern low in staple foods and high in dairy milk, which was associated with lower risk of T2D. Study of dietary patterns will help elucidate links between diet and disease, and contribute to the development of healthy eating guidelines for health promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Epidemiological evidence on the association between tea consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is inconsistent. This study prospectively investigated whether green tea drinking affects the risk of T2D., Methods: This study included participants from the Shanghai Women's Health Study (N = 67 058) and the Shanghai Men's Health Study (N  =  52 315) without diabetes at study enrolment. Details of tea consumption, including types and amounts, were collected at the baseline and follow-up survey. Incident T2D was identified through follow-up surveys. Plasma level of caffeine metabolite was measured in a nested case-control study involving 592 diabetes case-control pairs. Cox regression analysis, with tea drinking as a time-dependent variable and covariates adjusted for by a propensity score, was applied to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for T2D risk. Logistic regression analysis was applied to evaluate the association between caffeine metabolites and T2D risk., Results: Current green tea drinkers had an increased risk of T2D compared with non-current drinkers [HR = 1.20 (95% CI = 1.14-1.27)], and a dose-response relationship was observed for duration of drinking tea and the amount of tea consumed [P for trend <0.001]. The increased risk associated with green tea drinking was observed in both women and men, across the entire period of follow-up, with HR (95% CI) of 1.08 (0.97-1.19) within 5 years of follow-up, 1.22 (1.12-1.32) during the period of 5-10 years of follow-up and 1.16 (1.03-1.30) after 10 years of follow-up. This association did not vary significantly by body mass index, waist-to-hip circumference ratio or smoking status. Plasma level of caffeine was also associated with increased diabetes risk (P  =  0.03), confirming the results based on self-reported tea drinking., Conclusions: Green tea drinking was associated with an increased risk of T2D in Chinese adults. The mechanisms underlying the association need to be elucidated.

Background: Resting heart rate has been shown to predict risk of cardiovascular disease; its association with diabetes remains unclear, particularly in non-Western populations., Methods: We evaluated the association between resting heart rate and risk of type 2 diabetes in the Shanghai Women's Health Study, a population-based prospective cohort study. The analysis included 47 571 Chinese women with no prior history of diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease or thyroid dysfunction at the time when resting heart rate was measured. Incident diabetes was ascertained through biennial in-person interviews., Results: During a mean follow-up of 4.9 years, 849 women developed type 2 diabetes. For heart rate categories of < or =68, 69-72, 73-76, 77-80 and >80 beats/min, the incidence rates of diabetes per 1000 person-years were 2.91, 3.31, 3.71, 4.16 and 5.34, respectively. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) [95% confidence intervals (CIs)] for diabetes across increasing heart rate categories were 1, 1.21 (0.99-1.47), 1.30 (1.05-1.62), 1.37 (1.12-1.69) and 1.60 (1.28-2.00), respectively. Further analyses of the joint effects of heart rate with body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR) and blood pressure (BP) showed increased risk of diabetes with increasing heart rate in all categories of BMI, WHR or BP. The combinations of the highest heart rate category with highest BMI, WHR or BP category were associated with the highest HRs, ranging from 4.81 to 6.34., Conclusions: A high resting heart rate is independently associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in women. The combinations of high heart rate with high BMI, WHR or BP level are associated with a substantially increased risk.

Background: Leisure-time physical activity (LPA) has been associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. However, the potential effect of other types of physical activity on type 2 diabetes is still uncertain. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of occupational, commuting, daily living, and LPA on the incidence of type 2 diabetes in a cohort of middle-aged women., Methods: We prospectively followed 70,658 women who had no prior history of diabetes at study recruitment for 4.6 years. Participants completed in-person interviews at baseline that collected information on diabetes risk factors including physical activity habits. Anthropometric measurements were taken by trained interviewers. Multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios were estimated by levels of occupational, commuting, daily living, and LPA., Results: We documented 1973 incident cases of diabetes during 326,625 person-years of follow-up. LPA and daily living physical activity (DPA) were associated with a moderately reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. The relative risk for type 2 diabetes associated with LPA and DPA categories were 1.00, 0.89, 1.05, and 0.83, (P trend = 0.12) and 1.00, 0.98, 0.95, and 0.88, (P trend = 0.06) respectively. LPA was associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes in employed participants (P trend = 0.09) while DPA was mainly associated with a reduction in risk in non-employed participants (P trend <0.01). While occupational physical activity was not associated with type 2 diabetes risk in this population, commuting to work was associated with a reduction in risk. A combination of DPA and LPA was associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes., Conclusions: This study suggests that physical activity, either from leisure-time exercise or daily activity reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes in women, supporting the current health promotion efforts encouraging both exercise and non-exercise activity levels.