Dietary studies on two rural Italian population groups of the Seven Countries Study. 1. Food and nutrient intake at the thirty-first year follow-up in 1991.

The food and nutrient intake at the thirty-first follow-up in 1991 of 16 surviving elderly from Crevalcore and Montegiorgio, two Italian rural ares of the Seven Countries Study, are reported. For dietary appraisal the individual weighed record method for 3 and 9 days in three seasons was used. In autumn the dietary history method was also used. Because the number of survivors was small, 15 additional elderly subjects in both areas were surveyed. Then, to detect any change related to age in food intake, 41 younger subjects were assessed with the dietary history method. The results in both areas showed in general a high intra-individual variability and no statistically significant difference in food group and nutrient intake between seasons. Between the two methods for dietary survey no statistically significant difference, in general, was observed (P > 0.05 only for a few items). The diet of the subjects of Crevalcore was characterized by a rather high intake of milk and meat and a low intake of fish and legumes. In Montegiorgio the picture was similar to that of Crevalcore, but at a lower level of intake. In both areas, but particularly in Montegiorgio, these subjects have been abandoning the traditional Mediterranean diet.

Dietary studies on two rural Italian population groups of the Seven Countries Study. 2. Concurrent validation of protein, fat and carbohydrate intake.

On 18 subjects from two rural areas in Italy which were part of the Seven Countries Study (Crevalcore and Montegiorgio), we carried out the concurrent validation of protein, fat, fatty acid and carbohydrate intake in the diet at the thirty-first year follow-up in 1991. The values of the above nutrients obtained using food composition tables from the weighted record method for dietary surveys were compared with the values from chemical analysis of food composites. In both areas for protein, fat and carbohydrate intake the inter-individual variation was large. For protein intake the mean difference was statistically significant but not for fat intake. From 1960 to 1991 protein and fat intake tended to decrease and for protein the means of differences between analysis and calculation were, in general, statistically different. For dietary saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, the means of differences were statistically significant in Crevalcore, but this was not the case in Montegiorgio for polyunsaturated fatty acids. The intake of trans fatty acids in both areas was rather low. Available and unavailable carbohydrate intake of both areas showed no statistically significant difference. The mean differences between analysis and calculation for both areas were statistically significant with the exception of cellulose in Crevalcore and sugars in Montegiorgio.