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Dietary heterogeneity among Western industrialized countries reflected in the stable isotope ratios of human hair.

ABSTRACT: Although the globalization of food production is often assumed to result in a homogenization of consumption patterns with a convergence towards a Western style diet, the resources used to make global food products may still be locally produced (glocalization). Stable isotope ratios of human hair can quantify the extent to which residents of industrialized nations have converged on a standardized diet or whether there is persistent heterogeneity and glocalization among countries as a result of different dietary patterns and the use of local food products. Here we report isotopic differences among carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotope ratios of human hair collected in thirteen Western European countries and in the USA. European hair samples had significantly lower ?(13)C values (-22.7 to -18.3‰), and significantly higher ?(15)N (7.8 to 10.3‰) and ?(34)S (4.8 to 8.3‰) values than samples from the USA (?(13)C: -21.9 to -15.0‰, ?(15)N: 6.7 to 9.9‰, ?(34)S: -1.2 to 9.9‰). Within Europe, we detected differences in hair ?(13)C and ?(34)S values among countries and covariation of isotope ratios with latitude and longitude. This geographic structuring of isotopic data suggests heterogeneity in the food resources used by citizens of industrialized nations and supports the presence of different dietary patterns within Western Europe despite globalization trends. Here we showed the potential of stable isotope analysis as a population-wide tool for dietary screening, particularly as a complement of dietary surveys, that can provide additional information on assimilated macronutrients and independent verification of data obtained by those self-reporting instruments.

SUBMITTER: Valenzuela LO

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3316624 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Dietary heterogeneity among Western industrialized countries reflected in the stable isotope ratios of human hair.

Valenzuela Luciano O LO Chesson Lesley A LA Bowen Gabriel J GJ Cerling Thure E TE Ehleringer James R JR

PloS one 20120330 3

Although the globalization of food production is often assumed to result in a homogenization of consumption patterns with a convergence towards a Western style diet, the resources used to make global food products may still be locally produced (glocalization). Stable isotope ratios of human hair can quantify the extent to which residents of industrialized nations have converged on a standardized diet or whether there is persistent heterogeneity and glocalization among countries as a result of di ...[more]

PMID: 22479574

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Project description:BackgroundDespite the potential of prenatal care for addressing many pregnancy complications and concurrent health problems, non-western women in industrialized western countries more often make inadequate use of prenatal care than women from the majority population do. This study aimed to give a systematic review of factors affecting non-western women's use of prenatal care (both medical care and prenatal classes) in industrialized western countries.MethodsEleven databases (PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane, Sociological Abstracts, Web of Science, Women's Studies International, MIDIRS, CINAHL, Scopus and the NIVEL catalogue) were searched for relevant peer-reviewed articles from between 1995 and July 2012. Qualitative as well as quantitative studies were included. Quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Factors identified were classified as impeding or facilitating, and categorized according to a conceptual framework, an elaborated version of Andersen's healthcare utilization model.ResultsSixteen articles provided relevant factors that were all categorized. A number of factors (migration, culture, position in host country, social network, expertise of the care provider and personal treatment and communication) were found to include both facilitating and impeding factors for non-western women's utilization of prenatal care. The category demographic, genetic and pregnancy characteristics and the category accessibility of care only included impeding factors.Lack of knowledge of the western healthcare system and poor language proficiency were the most frequently reported impeding factors. Provision of information and care in women's native languages was the most frequently reported facilitating factor.ConclusionThe factors found in this review provide specific indications for identifying non-western women who are at risk of not using prenatal care adequately and for developing interventions and appropriate policy aimed at improving their prenatal care utilization.

Project description:Knowledge about the primary factor controlling stable isotope ratios of particulate nitrogen (?15NPN) and total dissolved nitrogen (?15NTDN) in a subtropical reservoir can improve the understanding of regional and global nitrogen cycles. Taking Lianhe Reservoir as a representative subtropical reservoir, we studied the spatial and temporal distributions of ?15NPN and?15NTDN and their relationships with the surrounding physicochemical factors and phytoplankton. The results showed that variations in ?15NPN and ?15NTDN followed seasonal thermal cycles. The values of ?15NTDN were inversely proportional to those of ?15NPN. PCA showed that phytoplankton cell density and pH were the primary drivers of the variation of ?15NPN (45.2%). The primary factors influencing ?15NTDN were Chl a and phytoplankton cell density, which both indicated phytoplankton biomass. We also determined that the dominant species was Microcystis densa during the thermal stratification period and Staurodesmus aristiferus during the mixing period. Laboratory experiments showed that ?15NPN values in both M. densa (from 19.5 to 14.6‰) and S. aristiferus (from 19.4 to 16.0 ‰) media decreased significantly as the algal cells grew. Furthermore, the ?15NTDN values increased from 4.9 to 7.9‰ and from 4.7 to 6.9‰ in M. densa and S. aristiferus media, respectively, when the ?15NPN values decreased. These experimental results were consistent with field investigation results and indicated that variations in ?15NPN and ?15NTDN were mainly controlled by phytoplankton cell density, especially the cell density of the dominant species, in both the thermal stratification and mixing periods. The results also suggested that cell density, not phytoplankton species, was the key factor regulating the distribution of nitrogen stable isotopes. These results together indicated that phytoplankton cell density is the primary factor in the regulation of nitrogen stable isotope composition and that its influence is greater than that of other physical and chemical factors. This study provided detailed information supporting the primary role of phytoplankton in the nitrogen geochemical cycle and improved the understanding of biochemical processes in natural subtropical reservoirs.

Dataset Information

Dietary heterogeneity among Western industrialized countries reflected in the stable isotope ratios of human hair.

Publications

Dietary heterogeneity among Western industrialized countries reflected in the stable isotope ratios of human hair.

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