Page 18 - CIBEROBN-2015-eng

Scientific Programmes
Nutrition
In 2015, the groups in the Nutrition Programme at- tained some important milestones. These are some of their achievements:
As regards the PREDIMED cooperative study, in which 11 CIBEROBN groups are taking part, over 40 scientific articles have been published in the best in- ternational journals (many of which are in the first quartile and first decile), This thus meets the diffe- rent objectives set in the programme referring to the relationship between nutrition and chronic diseases including obesity, cardiovascular and neurodegene- rative diseases, total mortality and cause-specific mortality and incidence of breast cancer. Several of these articles have had great scientific and media repercussions: we should stress for example the publication of the protective effects of the Medite- rranean diet (particularly supplemented with virgin olive oil) in the prevention of breast cancer (JAMA Intl Med); also the publication on the prevention of microvascular complications of diabetes in patients suffering from this disease with a Mediterranean diet (Diabetes Care). Both studies were presented at a press conference at the Instituto Carlos III, with a great impact in the general and specialised press. The beneficial effects of the Mediterranean diet on cognitive deterioration have also been made known with a high level of scientific evidence (JAMA Int Med). This publication has been included among the 100 most relevant worldwide in 2015 in Altmetric. In 2015 the results of the PREDIMED study were incor- porated in the general directives of several guides for diet recommendations, including the renowned American Dietary Guidelines.
2015 could be considered a key year for consolida- tion of the new PREDIMED-PLUS study which was started in 2014. This project, led by CIBEROBN, is currently being taken part in by 22 research cen- tres, most of which belong to CIBEROBN but also to other CIBERs (Epidemiology and Public Health, Dia- betes and Metabolic Diseases) or other institutions. In December 2016, 22 centres had joined the project randomising participants. This is a project which is proving to be of great interest for the international scientific community. At present over half (>3000) of the participants covered by the study (n=6000) have been randomised) and the interventions stipu- lated in the protocol are being carried out.
Another project to be stressed led by the researchers from this programme is the SUN, carried out on uni- versity students, in which researchers from Navarre University have described the association between diet patterns and the incidence of depression (BMC Med), amongst other recent findings published.
In parallel, the most basic research groups of the nutrition programme have continued to contribute new laboratory evidence on the possible mecha- nisms by means of which the Mediterranean diet or its components can provide protective action in different health phenotypes. These studies also in- cluded different OMICS analysis also including the analysis of the length of telomeres (CirCardGenet and AJCN). There has also been cooperation with other Programmes.
Several groups from the programme have published different clinical trials or nutritional intervention tests cooperating with companies. Large numbers of Doctoral theses have been read, and there has been great participation as speakers at relevant international congresses, all of which places our groups in a leading position in Europe.
18 I Annual report 2015 I CIBEROBN