Nicola P. Bondonno

University of Western Australia | UWA · Centre for Medical Research

Background: Plant-based diets have been associated with a lower risk of several chronic diseases, but the relationship with PD is unknown. Objectives: We examined the association of three different plant-based diets with PD incidence in the UK Biobank cohort. Methods: We conducted a prospective study among 126,283 participants from the UK Biob...

Background: Phenyl-γ-valerolactones (PVLs) have been identified as biomarkers of dietary flavan-3-ol exposure, though their utility requires further characterisation. Objectives: We investigate the performance of a range of PVLs as biomarkers indicative of flavan-3-ol intake. Methods: We report results of two companion studies: a 5-way randomi...

Background & aims: Dietary nitrate improves cardiovascular health via a nitric oxide (NO) pathway. NO is key to both cardiovascular and brain health. There is also a strong association between vascular risk factors and brain health. Dietary nitrate intake could therefore be associated with better cognitive function and reduced risk of cognitive de...

Context: Observational studies have reported lower risks of type 2 diabetes with higher vitamin K1 intakes, but these studies overlook effect modification due to known diabetes risk factors. Objective: To identify subgroups that might benefit from vitamin K1 intakes, we examined associations between vitamin K1 intake and incident diabetes overal...

Background Higher baseline intakes of flavonoid-rich foods and beverages are associated with a lower risk of chronic disease and mortality in observational studies. However, associations between changes in intakes and mortality remain unclear. We aimed to evaluate associations between 8-year changes in intakes of (1) individual flavonoid-rich foods...

Observational studies have observed lower risks of type 2 diabetes (T2D) with higher vitamin K1 intakes,(Reference Ibarrola-Jurado, Salas-Salvadó and Martínez-González1,Reference Beulens, van der and Grobbee2) but these studies have lacked power to investigate effect modification due to known risk factors for diabetes. Thus, we aimed to examine ass...

Background Phenyl- γ- valerolactones (PVLs) have been proposed as potential biomarkers of dietary flavan-3-ol exposure. Objective We investigate the performance of a range of PVLs as biomarkers indicative of flavan-3-ol intake. Methods We report results of two companion studies: a 5-way randomised cross-over trial (RCT) and an observational cross...

Background and aims: Polyphenol-rich foods have beneficial properties that may lower cardiometabolic risk. We aimed to prospectively investigate the relationship between intakes of dietary polyphenols, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components, in 676 Danish residents from the MAX study, a subcohort of the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health-Nex...

Background Dietary nitrate has a controversial role in human health. For over half a century, the nitrate content of the three major dietary sources – vegetables, meat, and water – has been legislated, regulated, and monitored due to public health concerns over cancer risk. In contrast, a growing and compelling body of evidence indicates that dieta...

The assessment of dietary patterns comprehensively represents the totality of the diet, an important risk factor for many chronic diseases. This study aimed to characterise and compare four dietary pattern indices in middle-aged Australian adults. In 3458 participants (55% female) from the Busselton Healthy Ageing Study (Phase Two), a validated foo...

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations among the intake of total polyphenols, polyphenol classes, and polyphenol subclasses and body weight change over 5 years. Methods: A total of 349,165 men and women aged 25 to 70 years were recruited in the Physical Activity, Nutrition, Alcohol, Cessation of Smoking, Eating Out of...

Objective: To examine the relationship between intake of vegetables/potatoes and incident type 2 diabetes (T2D) and explore whether the relationship between vegetable intake and incident T2D is mediated by baseline BMI. Research design and methods: Cross-sectional associations between exposure (baseline intake of total vegetables, vegetable subg...

Dietary nitrate, found predominantly in green leafy vegetables and other vegetables such as radish, celery, and beetroot, has been shown to beneficially modulate inflammatory processes and immune cell function in animals and healthy individuals. The impact of increased nitrate intake on soluble inflammatory mediators in individuals with hypertensio...

There is currently no effective treatment for dementia, of which Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form. It is, therefore, imperative to focus on evidence-based preventive strategies to combat this extremely debilitating chronic disease. Nitric oxide (NO) is a key signalling molecule in the cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and central ner...

Background The extent of abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) is a major predictor of vascular disease events. We have previously found regular apple intake, a major source of dietary flavonoids, associates with lower AAC. Whether total dietary flavonoid intake impacts AAC remains unknown. Here, we extend our observations to habitual intakes of tot...

Background/Objectives Few studies have investigated the association between dietary flavonoid intake, including all major subclasses, and the long-term risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD). We examined whether dietary flavonoid intake associated with IHD incidence, assessing the possible modifying role of sex and smoking, in participants from the D...

This study examined the association between dietary Vitamin K1 intake with fracture-related hospitalizations over 14.5 years in community-dwelling older Australian women (n = 1373, ≥70 years). Dietary Vitamin K1 intake at baseline (1998) was estimated using a validated food frequency questionnaire and a new Australian Vitamin K nutrient database, w...

Purpose Higher total fruit and vegetable (FV) intakes have been associated with lower perceived stress. The relationship between specific types of FV and perceived stress remains uncertain. The aims of this cross-sectional study were to explore the relationship between consumption of specific types of FV with perceived stress in a population-based...

Objectives Prolonged exposure to stress is a risk factor for mental and physical health problems (i.e., depression, cardiovascular disease). Although higher consumption of fruit and vegetables (FV) has been associated with lower perceived stress (PS), the relationship between specific FV types and PS remains uncertain. The aim of this cross-section...

Objectives Higher vegetable intakes are hypothesized to reduce the risk of developing diabetes but the findings are weak. Using Diet, Cancer and Health cohort, we aimed to 1) analyze the relationship between intakes of total vegetable, vegetable subgroups and incident diabetes, 2) analyze separately the association between intakes of total potatoes...

Purpose Dietary flavonoids are bioactive compounds that have been widely investigated for their associations with vascular health outcomes. As the development of tinnitus has been linked to vascular pathways, dietary flavonoids may have role in the prevention of tinnitus symptoms. This study reports the associations between the intakes of major cla...

An up-to-date nitrate food composition database of plant-based foods is lacking. Such a resource is imperative to obtain a robust assessment of dietary nitrate intakes and facilitate more empirical evaluation of health implications. We updated and expanded our 2017 vegetable nitrate database by including data published between 2016 – 2021 and data...

Background and Aims Higher total fruit and vegetable (FV) intakes have been associated with lower perceived stress. However, the relationship of FV intake with domains of perceived stress is unclear. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore the relationship between consumption of FV and four perceived stress domains (worries, tension, l...

This study provides evidence that consuming flavonoid-rich food may be protective against type 2 diabetes (T2DM) through mechanisms related to better glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity.

Flavonoids are bioactive plant compounds that are widely present in the human diet. Estimating flavonoid intake with a high degree of certainty is challenging due to the inherent limitations of dietary questionnaires and food composition databases. This study aimed to evaluate the degree of reliability among flavonoid intakes estimated using four d...

Introduction Higher flavonoid intakes are beneficially associated with pulmonary function parameters, however, their association with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is unknown. This study aimed to examine associations between intakes of 1) total flavonoids, 2) flavonoid subclasses, and 3) major flavonoid compounds and incident COPD in...

Background: Dialysis treatments weigh heavily on patients' physical and psychosocial health. Multiple studies have assessed the potential for exercise training to improve outcomes in adults undergoing dialysis. However, uncertainties exist in its relevance and sustainable benefits for patient-important outcomes. This is an update of a review first...

PurposeTo assess whether dietary intake of flavonoids are associated with longitudinal treatment outcomes of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Methods547 participants with nAMD were recruited at baseline, 494 were followed-up after receiving 12 months of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy. B...

Scope Nitrate and nitrite are approved food additives in some animal-based food products. However, nitrate and nitrite in foods are strictly regulated due to health concerns over methaemoglobinaemia and the potential formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines. In contrast, plants (like leafy vegetables) naturally accumulate nitrate ions; a growing body...

Background: Coronary and aortic artery calcifications are generally slow to develop, and their burden predicts cardiovascular disease events. In patients with diabetes mellitus, arterial calcification is accelerated and calcification activity can be detected using 18F-sodium fluoride positron emission tomography (18F-NaF PET). Objectives: We aim...

PurposeTo investigate the relationship of habitual FV intake, different types of FV, and vegetable diversity with depressive symptoms.Methods Australian men and women (n = 4105) aged > 25 years from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study were included. Dietary intake was assessed using a Food Frequency Questionnaire at baseline, 5 and...

Reported associations between vitamin K 1 and both all-cause and cause-specific mortality are conflicting. The 56,048 participants from the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health prospective cohort study, with a median [IQR] age of 56 [52–60] years at entry and of whom 47.6% male, were followed for 23 years, with 14,083 reported deaths. Of these, 5015 dea...

Background Flavonoid-rich foods may contribute to a lower risk of ischemic stroke through their anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic, and anti-thrombotic properties. We aimed to examine the relationship between flavonoid intake and ischemic stroke incidence in participants from the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health study. Methods In this prospective...

Flavonoids have shown anti-hypertensive and anti-atherosclerotic properties: the impact of habitual flavonoid intake on vascular function, central hemodynamics and arterial stiffness may be important. We investigated the relationship between habitual flavonoid consumption and measures of central blood pressure and arterial stiffness. We performed c...

Background Dietary vitamin K (K 1 and K 2 ) may reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk via several mechanisms. However, studies linking vitamin K intake with incident ASCVD are limited. We aimed to determine the relationship between dietary vitamin K intake and ASCVD hospitalizations. Methods and Results In this prospective coh...

Whether the vascular effects of inorganic nitrate, observed in clinical trials, translate to a reduction in cardiovascular disease (CVD) with habitual dietary nitrate intake in prospective studies warrants investigation. We aimed to determine if vegetable nitrate, the major dietary nitrate source, is associated with lower blood pressure (BP) and lo...

Background Higher flavonoid intakes are hypothesised to confer protection against type 2 diabetes mellitus. Objective We aimed to 1) investigate associations between flavonoid intakes and diabetes, 2) examine the mediating impact of body fat, and 3) identify subpopulations that may receive the greatest benefit from higher flavonoid intakes in part...

Objectives Our objective was to examine whether dietary intakes of vitamin K1 and vitamin K2 were associated with all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related and cancer-related mortality and to identify subpopulations that may benefit the most from higher vitamin K intakes. Methods Participants from the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study co...

Background Fruit, but not fruit juice, intake is inversely associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, questions remain about the mechanisms by which fruits may confer protection. Aims were to examine associations between intake of fruit types and 1) measures of glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and 2) diabetes at follow-up....

Introduction: The promotion of evidence-based diets is an important s trategy to mitigate the global health and economic burden of diabetes. Higher flavonoid intakes are associated with a lower risk of obesity and diabetes. Less clear are associations of the flavonoid subclasses with diabetes, the mediating impact of body fat, and the identificatio...

Introduction: Prospective studies investigating flavonoid intake and dementia risk are scarce. The aims of this study were to examine associations between flavonoid intake and the risk of incident dementia and to investigate whether this association differs in the presence of lifestyle risk factors for dementia. Methods: We examined associations...

Background Flavonoid-rich foods have antiinflammatory, antiatherogenic, and antithrombotic properties that may contribute to a lower risk of ischemic stroke. Objectives We aimed to investigate the relationship between habitual flavonoid consumption and incidence of ischemic stroke in participants from the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health Study. Des...

Backgrounds and aims Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) is associated with weaker grip strength, an established risk factor for fall-related hospitalizations. However, its association with long-term fall-related hospitalisations remains unknown. This study investigated the association between AAC and long-term fall-related hospitalizations in com...

Background & aims Poor nutritional habits are linked to higher perceived stress, but the relationship between fruit and vegetable (FV) intake and stress is uncertain. The primary aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore the relationship between FV intake and perceived stress in a population-based cohort of men and women aged ≥25 years from...

Background Nitrate supplements can improve vascular and muscle function. Whether higher habitual dietary nitrate is associated with better muscle function remains underexplored. Objective The aim was to examine whether habitual dietary nitrate intake is associated with better muscle function in a prospective cohort of men and women, and whether th...

Objectives Cardiovascular and neurocognitive responses to chewing gum have been reported, but the mechanisms are not well understood. Chewing gum after a nitrate-rich meal may upregulate the reduction of oral nitrate to nitrite and increase nitric oxide (NO), a molecule important to cardiovascular and neurocognitive health. We aimed to explore effe...

Background The prognostic importance of abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) viewed on noninvasive imaging modalities remains uncertain. Methods and Results We searched electronic databases (MEDLINE and Embase) until March 2018. Multiple reviewers identified prospective studies reporting AAC and incident cardiovascular events or all‐cause mortalit...

Background The role of nutrition in the primary prevention of peripheral artery disease (PAD), the third leading cause of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, is undetermined. Flavonoids may attenuate atherosclerosis and therefore persons who consume flavonoid-rich foods may have a lower risk of developing PAD. Objectives We aimed to examine th...

Introduction The Modification of Diet, Exercise and Lifestyle (MODEL) study aims to examine the impact of providing visualisation and pictorial representation of advanced structural vascular disease (abdominal aortic calcification or AAC), on “healthful” improvements to diet and lifestyle. This paper reports the protocol for the process evaluation...

Introduction Most cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related events could be prevented or substantially delayed with improved diet and lifestyle. Providing information on structural vascular disease may improve CVD risk factor management, but its impact on lifestyle change remains unclear. This study aims to determine whether providing visualisation and...

Dietary flavonoids are vasoactive phytochemicals with promising anti-inflammatory properties. We aimed to assess the associations between baseline intakes of six commonly consumed flavonoid subclasses and 10-year incidence of age-related hearing loss. At baseline, 1691 participants aged 50+ years had information on dietary intakes and hearing statu...

Purpose In this study, we assessed whether there are independent associations between dietary total flavonoid intake and major flavonoid classes with retinal arteriolar and venular calibre. Methods Blue Mountains Eye Study participants aged 49+ years who had complete data on diet and retinal vessel measures were analysed (n = 2821). Dietary intake...

Purpose Chronic inflammation plays a role in the pathogenesis of age-related renal disease and the diet can moderate systemic inflammation. The primary objective of this study was to examine the associations between a dietary inflammatory index (DII®) score and renal function, the trajectory of renal function decline, and renal disease-related hosp...

Introduction: Apples, an important contributor to total dietary phenolic intake, are associated with cardiovascular health benefits. Determining the phenolic composition of apples, their individual variation across varieties, and the phenolic compounds present in plasma after apple consumption is integral to understanding the effects of apple phen...

There is an accumulating body of literature reporting on dietary flavonoid intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in prospective cohort studies. This makes apparent the need for an overview and update on the current state of the science. To date, at least 27 prospective cohorts (in 44 publications) have evaluated the association betwee...

We have previously shown higher intake of cruciferous vegetables is inversely associated with carotid artery intima-media thickness. To further test the hypothesis that an increased consumption of cruciferous vegetables is associated with reduced indicators of structural vascular disease in other areas of the vascular tree, we aimed to investigate...

Background: A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is recommended for cardiovascular health. However, the majority of Australians do not consume the recommended number of vegetable servings each day. Furthermore, intakes of vegetables considered to have the greatest cardiovascular benefit are often very low. Results from prospective observational st...

Background & Aims Primary prevention of atrial fibrillation (AF) through behavioural and dietary modification is a critically important and unmet need. Flavonoids are bioactive dietary compounds with promising cardiovascular health benefits. Our aim was to investigate the association between flavonoid intake and clinically apparent AF. Methods Bas...

Background: High vegetable intake is associated with beneficial effects on bone. However, the mechanisms remain uncertain. Green leafy vegetables are a rich source of vitamin K1, which is known to have large effects on osteoblasts and osteocalcin (OC) metabolism. Objective: To examine the effects of consumption of two to three extra serves of gr...

Background: Flavonoids, compounds found in plant-based foods and beverages, might ameliorate vascular damage and atherosclerosis. Therefore, our aim was to assess the association between flavonoid intake and hospital admissions due to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Methods: In this prospective cohort study, participants from the Danish...

Background Our understanding of how diet affects future risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) is limited. Evidence suggests that higher habitual intakes of flavonoids, bio-active compounds found in plant-based foods and beverages, lower cardiovascular disease risk, attenuate inflammation, and may have anti-arrhythmic properties. Purpose To investigate...

A higher intake of foods rich in flavonoids such as quercetin can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Enzymatically modified isoquercitrin (EMIQ®) has a bioavailability 17-fold higher than quercetin aglycone and has shown potential cardiovascular disease moderating effects in animal studies. The present study aimed to determine if acute inge...

Flavonoids, plant-derived polyphenolic compounds, have been linked with health benefits. However, evidence from observational studies is incomplete; studies on cancer mortality are scarce and moderating effects of lifestyle risk factors for early mortality are unknown. In this prospective cohort study including 56,048 participants of the Danish Die...

Background: Higher intakes of flavonoids provide health benefits, however, the importance of each flavonoid class and which population groups may receive the greatest protection from higher flavonoid intake warrants further investigation. Objective: To explore the associations of flavonoid and flavonoid-rich wholefood intakes with all-cause mort...

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that increasing intakes of nitrate-rich vegetables may be an effective approach to reduce blood pressure. Objective: Our primary aim was to determine whether daily consumption of nitrate-rich vegetables over 4 wk would result in lower blood pressure. Design: Thirty participants with prehypertension or unt...

Adequate vegetable consumption is one of the cornerstones of a healthy diet. The recommendation to increase vegetable intake is part of most dietary guidelines. Despite widespread and long-running public health messages to increase vegetable intake, similar to other countries worldwide, less than 1 in 10 adult Australians manage to meet target advi...

Background: Dietary patterns rich in fruits and vegetables are considered to reduce atherosclerotic disease presentation and are reported to be inversely associated with subclinical measures of atherosclerosis, such as carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque. However, the effect of vegetable intake alone, and relationships to specif...

Background Dietary nitrate is an important source of nitric oxide (NO), a molecule critical for cardiovascular health. Nitrate is sequentially reduced to NO through an enterosalivary nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway that involves the oral microbiome. This pathway is considered an important adjunct pathway to the classical l-arginine–NO synthase pathway....

Scope: The cardioprotective effects of apples are primarily attributed to flavonoids, found predominantly in the skin. This study aimed to determine if acute and/or chronic (4 weeks) ingestion of flavonoid-rich apples improves endothelial function, blood pressure (BP) and arterial stiffness in individuals at risk for CVD. Methods and results: In...

Vegetable derived nitrate is now recognised as an important bioactive phytochemical with cardioprotective properties. Nitrate, through the recently described enterosalivary nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide (NO) pathway, increases NO, a molecule pivotal for cardiovascular health. Clinical trials have observed that dietary nitrate has similar effects to...

Arterial wall thickening, stimulated by low-grade systemic inflammation, underlies many cardiovascular events. As diet is a significant moderator of systemic inflammation, the dietary inflammatory index (DII TM ) has recently been devised to assess the overall inflammatory potential of an individual’s diet. The primary objective of this study was t...