Dietary patterns and glycaemic control among Qatari adults with type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between dietary patterns and glycaemic control among Qatari adults with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis using data from the Qatar Biobank Study. Poor glycaemic control was defined as HbA1c ≥7·0 %. Dietary patterns were constructed using factor analysis based on habitual food intake assessed by a FFQ. Medication use was based on self-report. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association. SETTING: Qatar. PARTICIPANTS: Adults aged ≥18 years (n 1000) with known diabetes. RESULT: The mean age of the participants was 52·3 (sd 11·5) years. Overall, the prevalence of poor glycaemic control was 57·6 %, and 27·7 % of the participants were insulin users. Three dietary patterns were identified. The modern dietary pattern (high intake of fast food, croissants, white bread and cheese) was inversely associated with poor glycaemic control. The sd increments of the modern pattern had OR for poor glycaemic control of 0·86 (95 % CI 0·68, 1·08) in men and 0·76 (95 % CI 0·61, 0·95) in women. There was a significant interaction between the modern pattern and diabetes medication in men but not in women. In men without diabetes medication, the modern pattern was positively associated with poor glycaemic control with an OR of 2·35 (95 % CI 1·13, 4·87). CONCLUSIONS: Male diabetes patients took medication to control diabetes but ate more unhealthy food. In men who were not taking diabetes medication, modern dietary pattern was associated with poor glycaemic control. Promoting healthy eating should be encouraged especially among those under diabetes medication.

Disruption of biofilms from sewage pipes under physical and chemical conditioning.

Biofilms grown inside two sewage collecting pipes located in industrial and residential areas are studied. Bacterial biomass inside three layers of biofilms was evaluated. Biofilm cohesion under different mixing rate and ionic strength was also investigated. Effects of physical and chemical parameters in the biofilms were evaluated by monitoring turbidity, chemical and biochemical oxygen demands. Extracted organic matter from biofilms was partitioned to polar, aromatic and saturated fractions using activated silica column chromatography. Results revealed that bacterial biomass growth depending on biofilm thickness and stratification. The most loaded stratum in bacterial biomass was the sewage-biofilm interface stratum that represented 51% of the total bacterial biomass. Stirring rate and ionic strength of mono- and bivalent salts showed a major influence in biofilm disruption. The stirring time enhanced the exchange dynamic and matter capture between biofilm fragments at the critical stirring rate 90 r/min. Sodium chloride showed the dispersing effect on biofilms in suspension, and decreased the BOD5 (biochemical oxygen demand) beyond the physiological salt concentration.