Willett Walter
Harvard School of Public Health and the Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Sep;78(3 Suppl):539S-543S. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/78.3.539S.
Comparisons of diets and disease rates between Adventists and non-Adventists, and prospective cohort studies among Adventists, have contributed greatly to our general understanding of nutrition and health. The most fundamental conclusion drawn from the Adventist Health Studies has been that maintaining a lean body weight throughout life is central for optimal health. Other contributions have included the value of nut consumption for prevention of coronary artery disease, and the roles of red meat and dairy products in the etiologies of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Although much progress has been made, many issues remain unresolved. In particular, rates of breast and prostate cancers remain high among Adventist populations despite an overall healthy lifestyle and long life expectancy. There is even some suggestion that risk of breast cancer may increase with duration of being a vegetarian. One topic that may be uniquely studied among an Adventist population is the effect of soy phytoestrogens in disease prevention. Although soy consumption has been hypothesized to contribute to the low rates of breast cancer in Asian populations, several intervention studies using high doses of soy estrogens have shown changes in breast nipple fluid that would predict higher rates of breast cancer. Also, high dairy product consumption has been associated with risk of prostate and ovarian cancers in some but not all studies. The unusually wide range of milk consumption in Adventists will be particularly informative with regard to these relations. Resolution of these issues is needed to provide optimal guidance regarding healthy diets, and the newly funded Adventist Health Study will contribute importantly in this effort.
对基督复临安息日会信徒与非信徒的饮食和疾病发生率进行比较，以及在基督复临安息日会信徒中开展的前瞻性队列研究，极大地增进了我们对营养与健康的总体认识。从基督复临安息日会健康研究得出的最基本结论是，终生保持苗条体重对最佳健康至关重要。其他贡献还包括食用坚果对预防冠状动脉疾病的价值，以及红肉和乳制品在心血管疾病和癌症病因中的作用。尽管已经取得了很大进展，但许多问题仍未得到解决。特别是，尽管基督复临安息日会信徒总体生活方式健康且预期寿命长，但乳腺癌和前列腺癌的发病率仍然很高。甚至有一些迹象表明，患乳腺癌的风险可能会随着素食时间的延长而增加。在基督复临安息日会信徒群体中可能独特研究的一个主题是大豆植物雌激素在疾病预防中的作用。尽管有人假设食用大豆有助于亚洲人群乳腺癌发病率较低，但几项使用高剂量大豆雌激素的干预研究显示，乳房乳头液发生了变化，这预示着乳腺癌发病率会更高。此外，在一些但并非所有研究中，高乳制品消费与前列腺癌和卵巢癌风险相关。基督复临安息日会信徒中牛奶消费量异常广泛，这对于这些关系将特别有参考价值。需要解决这些问题，以提供关于健康饮食的最佳指导，而新获得资助的基督复临安息日会健康研究将在这项工作中发挥重要作用。
