Maria benedetta Donati

• MD,PhD
• Principal Investigator at IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo Neuromed

Background Artificial sweeteners (AS) are chemical substances developed by the food industry to reduce sugar and calories while maintaining sweetness. Cohort studies suggested an increased risk of certain cancers, including breast cancer (BC), associated with AS intake, however evidence exclusively relied on self-reported dietary data rather than o...

Background The COVID-19 disease pandemic highlighted the importance of healthy diets in the management of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease. Evidence suggests the influence of the diet and dietary patterns during post-COVID-19 disease, and the impact of the COVID-19 disease pandemic on dietary habits and quality. However, limited evidence e...

Background Cardiovascular disease and cancer share modifiable risk factors and, potentially, molecular mechanisms of disease, as postulated by the “common soil” hypothesis. We examined whether the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7 (LS7) metrics to assess and promote cardiovascular health, is associated with cancer risk, defined as first...

Background A healthy diet plays a major role in supporting the immune system which is critical to protect the host from pathogenic organisms. To date, evidence on the relationship between dietary habits and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection is still scarce. Methods Analyses on 1,096 participants from the Moli-sani Study (2005-2010) who were re-exam...

Background Ultra-processed food (UPF) is a major public health concern being reportedly associated with increased risk of non-communicable diseases and lower survival. However, most of the epidemiological evidence has been almost exclusively provided by research conducted in populations of youths or middle-aged adults. We tested the hypothesis that...

Background Depression has been associated with increased hospitalization and mortality risk, especially for cardiovascular causes. We previously found a composite circulating inflammation score (INFLA-score) to explain part of this link, although the role of its component and of depressive symptoms domains in this relationship is unexplored. Metho...

Background Economic downturns may have detrimental effects on mental health. We investigated whether economic hardship resulting from the late 2000s great recession is associated with long-term changes in mental health over 12.8 years of follow up. Methods We analysed data on 2,001 participants from the CASSIOPEA Study, a sub-cohort of the larger...

Background The confinement due to COVID-19 pandemic had adverse effects on mental health, but the relation between psychological distress resulting from lockdown measures and dietary habits needs to be elucidated. Methods We analysed 2,741 subjects (mean age 58.1±15.3 y) pooled from 2 retrospective Italian cohorts recruited from May to September 2...

Background The Nutri-Score front-of-pack label rates foods according to their nutritional quality while the NOVA classification is focused on degree of processing; both systems separately predicted mortality in epidemiological contexts. We evaluated whether ultra-processed food (UPF) modifies the association of the Nutri-Score with mortality. Meth...

Background Data on milk and other dairy products intake with health outcomes are inconsistent. We investigated the association of milk and total dairy consumption with the risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a Mediterranean population. Methods We performed a longitudinal analysis on 22,889 men and women (mean age 55.4±11.7 y; 52.3% w...

Aims Atrial fibrillation (AF) is becoming increasingly common and is associated with serious complications. Traditional cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) do not explain all AF cases. Blood-based biomarkers reflecting cardiac injury may help close this gap. High-sensitivity troponin I (hsTnI) has emerged as a potential predictor. Methods We invest...

Aim To test the association of alcohol consumption with total and cause-specific mortality risk Design Prospective observational multicentre population-based study Setting Sixteen cohorts (15 from Europe) in the MOnica Risk, Genetics, Archiving and Monograph (MORGAM) Project Participants A total of 142,960 individuals (mean age 50±13 y, 53.9% me...

Alongside their function in primary hemostasis and thrombo-inflammation, platelets are increasingly considered a bridge between mental, immunological and coagulation-related disorders. This review focuses on the link between platelets and the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) and its most frequent comorbidities. Platelet-and neuron...

Background Neuromedin U (NMU) is a hypothalamic neuropeptide with several functions, considered to be a potential therapeutic target for diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to analyse the association between genetic variants in NMU pathway genes and cardiovascular risk, in Italian adults from the general population recruited for the Moli-s...

Background A life course approach was used to explore the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on risk of hospitalizations for all-cause and for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods Longitudinal analyses on 19,999 subjects apparently free from CVD and cancer, recruited in the Moli-sani Study, Italy (2005-2010). Low and high SES in childhood, educ...

Background The association of health-related quality of life (HRQL) with total and cardiovascular (CVD) hospitalization was assessed in a population-based cohort of apparently healthy subjects; several pathways possibly accounting for such associations were also tested. Methods Longitudinal analysis on 16,849 subjects free from CVD and cancer from...

Background The relation between egg intake and health outcomes is controversial. We aimed to evaluate the association of egg consumption and risk of mortality in a large sample of an adult Mediterranean population. Methods We prospectively analyzed 22,849 men and women aged ≥35 y, recruited within the Moli-sani Study (2005-2010). Dietary data were...

Background We aimed to explore the association of a traditional Mediterranean diet (MD) with risk of first hospitalization for heart failure (HF) or atrial fibrillation (AF) in a population-based cohort from a southern Italian region. Methods Longitudinal analysis on 20,598 men and women (aged≥35 y) free from HF, AF and cardiovascular disease recr...

Mental health modulates the risk of common chronic conditions. Although inflammation is thought to partly explain this link, its relation with mental health is still unclear and largely unexplored. We investigated three scales assessing psychological resilience (CD-RISC), depression symptoms (PHQ9-6)and mental wellbeing (SF36-MCS)in an Italian adul...

Background There is poor knowledge on the association between combined lifestyles with mortality risk among individuals at high risk, and little is known on the biological mechanisms that could be on the pathway. Methods Longitudinal analysis on 22 839 individuals from the Moli‐sani Study (Italy, 2005–2010). Among them, we identified 5200 elderly...

Background/objective: Psychological resilience is a measure of stress coping ability and has been associated with favourable health outcomes. While evidence on the relationship of dietary habits with a number of psychosocial conditions is available, there is lack of studies on their association with psychological resilience in a general adult popu...

Background and aims: Evidence indicates that Vitamin D deficiency may be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, although findings on risk of heart failure (HF) are controversial. We investigated the relationship between serum Vitamin D and the incidence of hospitalization for HF in a large prospective cohort of Italian adults....

Background: There is lack of evidence about the likely impact of the economic crisis on dietary habits in Western societies. We aimed to assess dietary modifications that possibly occurred during the recession and to investigate major socioeconomic factors associated with such modifications. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis on 1829 subjects fro...

Objectives: The effect of the polyphenol content of the human diet on mortality risk is not yet fully understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of a polyphenol-rich diet with mortality rate and a possible mediation effect by inflammation, in what we believe to be a novel, holistic approach. Methods: We analyzed 21 302 par...

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common cardiac disease in aging populations with high comorbidity and mortality. Sex differences in AF epidemiology are insufficiently understood. Methods: In N=79 793 individuals without AF diagnosis at baseline (median age, 49.6 years; age range, 24.1-97.6 years; 51.7% women) from 4 community-based Eur...

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the hypothesis that alcohol consumption is associated with onset of atrial fibrillation (AF) and/or heart failure (HF). Background: The connection between ethanol intake and AF or HF remains controversial. Methods: The study population was 22,824 AF- or HF-free subjects (48% men, age ≥35 years) r...

Neuromedin U (NmU) is a pleiotropic hypothalamic neuropeptide involved in the gut–brain axis. It acts via both a Gαq/11-coupled receptor (NMUR1) and a Gαi-coupled receptor (NMUR2) in different cell types. Expression of both receptors was reported in platelets, but their significance for NmU signaling remains elusive. We studied the potential effect...

Background and aims: Fish consumption reportedly reduces the risk of heart disease, but the evidence of cardiovascular advantages associated with fish intake within Mediterranean cohorts is limited. The aim of this study was to test the association between fish intake and risk of composite coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke in a large populat...

Background: It is uncertain whether the cardiovascular benefits associated with Mediterranean diet (MD) may differ across socioeconomic groups. Methods: Prospective analysis on 18991 men and women aged ≥35 years from the general population of the Moli-sani cohort (Italy). Adherence to MD was appraised by the Mediterranean diet score (MDS). House...

Neuromedin U (NmU) is a pleiotropic hypothalamic neuropeptide involved in the gut–brain axis. It acts via both a Gαq/11-coupled receptor (NMUR1) and a Gαi-coupled receptor (NMUR2) in different cell types. Expression of both receptors was reported in platelets, but their significance for NmU signaling remains elusive. We studied the potential effect...

Background and aims: The orientation of the frontal plane T-wave axis (T axis) is a reliable measure of ventricular repolarisation. We investigated the association between T-axis and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), heart failure (HF), atrial fibrillation (AF), stroke and cardiovascular (CVD) mortality. Methods: A sample of 21,287 Moli-...

Meta-analytic data on the effect of coffee in prostate cancer risk are controversial. Caffeine as a bioactive compound of coffee has not yet been studied in deep in vitro. Our study aimed at evaluating in a population cohort the effect of Italian-style coffee consumption on prostate cancer risk and at investigating in vitro the potential antiprolif...

Larger mean platelet volume (MPV) has been associated with adverse health outcomes in high-risk populations or patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). We tested the association of MPV with mortality in a prospective cohort study including 17,402 subjects randomly recruited from an adult general population within the Moli-sani study (2005-2010)....

Objectives: To test the association of low-grade inflammation with socioeconomic status (SES) and determine the relative contribution of prevalent chronic diseases and health-related behaviours in explaining such association. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis on 19,867 subjects (age ≥35, 48.1% men) recruited within the Moli-sani study from 2005...

Background and aim: Dietary habits evolve over time, being influenced by many factors and complex interactions. This work aimed at evaluating the updated information on food group consumption in Italy. Methods and results: A total of 8944 (4768 women and 4176 men) participants aged >18 years from all over Italy recruited in 2010-13 (Italian Nutr...

D-dimer is a high molecular weight fibrinogen derivative resulting from the cleavage of cross-linked fibrin that reflects both thrombin production and/or activation of fibrinolysis.[1][1] Elevated D-dimer levels have been reportedly associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease[2][2],[3

Low-grade inflammation is associated with increased risk of chronic degenerative disease but its relationship with mortality is less explored. We aimed at evaluating, at a large epidemiological level, the possible association of low-grade inflammation, as measured by a composite score, with overall mortality risk. We conducted a population-based pr...

Objective: We aimed at investigating the prevalence and the prognostic significance for fatal and non fatal cardiovascular (CV) events of different electrocardiographic (ECG) criteria for left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in normal weight, overweight and obese subjects in an adult Italian population. Design and method: 18330 adults (mean age 54...

Aim: Our aim was to investigate the prevalence and the prognostic significance for fatal and nonfatal cerebrovascular and cardiovascular events of different ECG criteria for left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in normal weight, overweight and obese patients in an adult Italian population. Methods: A total of 18 330 adults (mean age 54 ± 11 years,...

Background/objectives: Pasta as a traditional component of Mediterranean diet (MeD) in Italy has not been studied in detail in the management of body weight. This study aimed at evaluating the association of pasta intake with body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio, in two large epidemiological datasets. Subjects/methods: A total of 14 402...

Objectives: To investigate the separate and inter-related associations of education and household income in relation to all-cause mortality. Methods: Prospective study on 16,247 men and women (≥35 years), a sub-sample of the MOLI-SANI cohort that had been randomly recruited within an Italian general population. Both education and income were use...

Adherence to a "Mediterranean diet" has been shown to be beneficial to human health. Fruit and vegetables represent some of the main components of the Mediterranean diet and their role has been increasingly considered in the process of preventing or reducing the risk of chronic degenerative diseases, such as cerebrovascular or coronary heart disord...

A large evidence-based review on the effects of a moderate consumption of beer on human health has been conducted by an international panel of experts who reached a full consensus on the present document.

To the editor: Platelet count has been reportedly associated in a nonlinear way with a number of health outcomes among older subjects[1][1],[2][2] or in high-risk groups.[3][3] One early study has investigated the involvement of platelet count for cardiovascular mortality in a general middle-aged

Low-grade inflammation is characterised by raised concentrations of inflammatory markers in the absence of any overt symptoms and is recognized as a risk factor for a number of chronic diseases including cancer, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Many studies suggest that low-grade inflammation is mitigated by health-pr...

The Mediterranean diet (MeD) is recognized as a traditional dietary pattern with strong health associations. It has long been studied by nutritionists who have associated adherence to the MeD with reduced risk of chronic non-communicable diseases, not least cardiovascular and related diseases and cancer. Although possessing unique features and asso...

Despite it having been proven to be strongly associated with a reduction of major chronic diseases (coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer and neurodegenerative disease), the Mediterranean diet is disappearing from the dietary habits of people. The reasons for this have been ascribed to a wide panel of factors, and among them socioeconomic aspects...

Background/objectives: The objective of this study is to extract and assess data on the dietary intake of flavonoids and lignans in a healthy free-living Mediterranean population, using newly updated harmonized European Union food composition data. This work also aimed at analyzing in a holistic way the total content of the diet in major classes o...

The association of polyphenol content of human diet with low-grade inflammation is not yet fully understood. It was the objective of this study to evaluate the association of flavonoid and lignan intake with frequently used and easily applicable in clinical practice low-grade inflammation biomarkers, in a novel holistic approach. A total of 5,948 w...

We determined incidence and intra-hospital mortality rate of stroke in Molise, Italy, to provide information for planning regional healthcare facilities and to ameliorate stroke management in this region. This study is part of the "Rete Molisana dell’Ictus Cerebrale (REMOLIC)” study, a population-based Cerebrovascular Registry in Molise, from 2009...

Nut intake has been associated with reduced inflammatory status and lower risk of CVD and mortality. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between nut consumption and mortality and the role of inflammation. We conducted a population-based prospective investigation on 19 386 subjects enrolled in the Moli-sani study. Food intake was r...

T-wave axis deviation (TDev) may help identifying subjects at risk for major cardiac events and mortality, but the pathogenesis of TDev is not well established; in particular, the possible association between TDev and inflammation is unexplored and unknown. We aimed at investigating the association between low-grade inflammation and TDev abnormalit...

Tissue factor (TF) expression is increased in inflammatory atherosclerotic plaques and has been related to their thrombogenicity. Blood-borne TF has been also demonstrated to contribute to thrombogenesis. However, few studies have evaluated the association of circulating levels of TF with stroke. We investigated the association of baseline circulat...

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with lower mortality in a general population but limited evidence exists on the effect of a Mediterranean diet on mortality in subjects with diabetes. We aim to examine the association between the Mediterranean diet and mortality in diabetic individuals. Prospective cohort study on 1995 type 2 diabe...

Postoperative atrial fibrillation is a major cause of morbidity and mortality for stroke after cardiac surgery. Both systemic inflammation and oxidative stress play a role in the initiation of postoperative atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery. The possible association between long-term intake of antioxidant-rich foods and postoperative atrial...

Background and Aims Differences in blood fatty acids (FAs) profile among populations with different lifestyle have partly been attributed to differences in food intake. A holistic approach in dietary guidance through dietary patterns is essential. This study aimed at evaluating the main plasma and red blood cell (RBC) FAs in three European populati...

Background and aims Adherence to Mediterranean diet (MD) is reportedly declining in the last decades. We aimed to investigate the adherence to MD over the period 2005-2010 and exploring the possible role of the global economic crisis in accounting for the changing in the dietary habits in Italy. Methods and results Cross-sectional analysis in a po...

The Italian Hub of Population Biobanks (HIBP) includes both ongoing and completed studies that are heterogeneous in both their purpose and in the specimens collected. The heterogeneity in starting conditions makes sharing study data very difficult because of technical, ethical, and collection rights issues that hamper collaboration and synergy. Wit...

Elevated D-dimer levels are reportedly associated with coronary artery disease. It was the study objective to investigate the association of baseline D-dimer levels with strokes that occurred in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Italy cohort. Using a nested case-cohort design, a centre--stratified sample of 832 subjec...

Computerized electrocardiogram (ECG) may be extremely useful to develop new tools for the definition of the risk and the prevention of cardiovascular disease. The Moli-sani project (http://www.moli-sani.org) is a population-based cohort study that recruited over 24.000 men and women, aged >35 year, from the general population. The aim was the evalu...

Platelet (PLT) and white blood cell (WBC) counts are 2 markers of inflammation and have been linked to the risk for cerebrovascular and coronary heart disease. A Mediterranean diet (MD) has been associated with reduced inflammation and mortality for major chronic diseases. We aimed at evaluating the association between the MD and both PLT and WBC c...

Biobanks for medical research are organized collections of biological samples associated with personal data and information on their donors, to be stored for an indefinite period of time. The storage of biological samples has varied considerably over time, ranging from the informal storage of tissue specimens in a researcher's freezer in the past,...

Edible algae, rich in biologically active components, may influence glycaemic control, lower blood lipids and increase antioxidant activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of prolonged supplementation with an extract of the brown edible seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum on anthropometric indexes and biomarkers of metabolic risk for ca...

We examined the association of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) levels with colorectal cancer, breast cancer, acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and ischaemic stroke. Nested case-cohort study. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Italy cohort. A centre-stratified random sample of 850 participants (286 men, 564 women)...

Mediterranean diet (MD) has been associated with lower risk of ischemic cerebro- and cardio-vascular disease, neurological degenerative disease, and breast and colonrectal cancers. Nevertheless, adherence to this pattern has decreased. Food labels are a potentially valid means to encourage towards healthier dietary behavior. This study, conducted o...

Mediterranean diet (MD) is associated with a reduced risk of major chronic disease. Health-related quality of life (HRQL) is a valid predictor of mortality. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between MD and HRQL and to examine the possible role of dietary antioxidants, fibre content and/or fatty acid components. Cross-sectional...

Electrocardiographic signs of left ventricular hypertrophy (ECG-LVH) and T-wave axis (TA) deviation are independent predictors of fatal and non fatal events. We assessed the prevalence of ECG-LVH, TA abnormalities and their combination according to the presence or absence of diabetes and/or hypertension in a large sample of the adult general Italia...

A Mediterranean dietary pattern has been associated with reducing the risk of cardiovascular and chronic disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of nutrition knowledge in determining possible differences among dietary patterns in a general population from a Mediterranean region. We conducted a cross-sectional study on a subsample of...

Elevated D-dimer levels are reportedly associated with higher risk of total mortality in patients with different diseases. We investigated if a similar association could be found in a large apparently healthy population. A large sample of individuals (N=17,359, 47% men, age≥35) free of clinically recognized cardiovascular and cancer disease, for wh...

Background: Several randomized clinical trials evaluated whether preoperative supplementation of omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids protects against postoperative atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery, a condition associated with increased cardiac and cerebral mortality. However, their efficacy remains still controversial. An updated me...

Objectif Les champignons contribuent à l’apport de sélénium. Une hausse des niveaux plasmatiques de sélénium a été associée à la prévalence de diabète. Dans cette étude, nous avons évalué l’association de la consommation de champignons, et de l’apport de sélénium, avec la glycémie chez une population générale d’adultes italiens. Méthodes Dans cett...

Background/objectives: To categorize healthy food groups into categories of low-antioxidant (LAC) or high-antioxidant vitamins and phytochemicals content (HAC) and comparatively associate them with metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Subjects/methods: A total of 6879 women (55±12 years) and 6892 men (56 ± 12 years) were anal...

Aim: We aimed at investigating the association between T-wave axis deviation, metabolic syndrome (MetS), its components and estimated risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) at 10 years in an adult Italian population. Methods: 11,143 women (54 ± 11 years) and 9742 men (55 ± 11 years) were analyzed from the Moli-sani cohort, randomly recruited from...

Lysozyme is an enzyme that hydrolyzes bacterial peptidoglicans. For this reason, it is used in cheese manufacturing in order to prevent a defect of long-ripened hard cheese called "late blowing" due to the outgrowth of spores of Clostridium tyrobutyricum and Clostridium butyricum. Moreover, germination of Listeria monocytogenes spores into vegetati...

During our PhD thesis in Leuven (Belgium), we chose the path of biomedical research, not as an intellectual enterprise, but as a concrete full time choice for the person. We worked at Mario Negri, Milan, a non-profit institution, convinced that independent research should offer health benefit to the population, rather than economically exploiting t...

Early recognition of patients at increased cardiovascular risk is a major challenge. The surface electrocardiogram provides a useful platform and it has been used to propose several indexes. T wave axis abnormality is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality, independently of other risk factors and can be associated with the pr...

Objectives To examine cross-sectional associations of socioeconomic status (ie, income and education) with an adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern and obesity prevalence. Design Cross-sectional study on a sample of Italian subjects enrolled in the Moli-sani Project, a population-based cohort study. The Italian EPIC food frequency questionna...