Cohort profile: the CARTaGENE Cohort Nutrition Study (Quebec, Canada)

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Epidemiology
• Public Health Research
• Canadian Population Health Studies

Background:

• Contemporary cohort data are essential for advancing nutritional epidemiology.
• CARTaGENE is Québec's largest prospective cohort study, encompassing diverse men and women.
• Dietary information collected makes CARTaGENE a rich resource for diet-health outcome research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the CARTaGENE Cohort Nutrition Study as a resource for nutritional epidemiological research.
• To analyze dietary intake and diet quality in a large, contemporary Canadian population.
• To provide data for exploring the role of diet in the etiology of various health outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Recruited over 43,000 participants aged 40-69 in two phases.
• Collected dietary data from 9,379 participants using the Canadian Diet History Questionnaire II.
• Assessed usual intake of foods, beverages, supplements, and calculated diet quality using the Canadian Healthy Eating Index 2005 (C-HEI 2005).

Main Results:

• Dietary intake and quality varied among participants, generally meeting recommended intakes.
• The mean C-HEI 2005 score was 61.5, comparable to the general Canadian population.
• Higher C-HEI scores were associated with non-smoking, higher education, and high physical activity.

Conclusions:

• The CARTaGENE Cohort Nutrition Study is a valuable international resource for diet and health research.
• Future annual diet assessments will further enhance its utility for dietary research.
• Findings highlight associations between lifestyle factors and diet quality in a contemporary Canadian cohort.