Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Interventions and public health nutrition

Dietary patterns and type 2 diabetes in Japanese men and women: the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study

Abstract

Background/objective:

Dietary patterns in Western populations have been linked to type 2 diabetes, but the association of distinctive dietary patterns of Japanese population remains unclear. We prospectively investigated the association between dietary patterns and risk of developing type 2 diabetes among Japanese adults.

Subjects/methods:

Participants were 27 816 men and 36 889 women aged 45–74 years who participated in the second survey of the Japan Public Health Center-based prospective study and had no history of diabetes. Dietary patterns were derived by using principal component analysis of the consumption of 134 food and beverage items ascertained by a food frequency questionnaire. Odds ratios of self-reported physician-diagnosed type 2 diabetes over 5 year were estimated using logistic regression analysis.

Results:

A total of 1194 new cases (692 men and 502 women) of type 2 diabetes were self-reported. We identified three dietary patterns: prudent, westernized and traditional Japanese patterns. Any dietary pattern was not significantly associated with type 2 diabetes risk after adjustment for covariates in both men and women. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for type 2 diabetes for the highest versus lowest quartile of each dietary pattern score in men and women, respectively, were 0.93 (0.74–1.16) and 0.90 (0.69–1.16) for the prudent pattern, 1.15 (0.90–1.46) and 0.81 (0.61–1.08) for the westernized pattern, and 0.97 (0.74–1.27) and 0.87 (0.66–1.15) for the traditional pattern.

Conclusions:

Although a small protective effect of the prudent dietary pattern cannot be excluded, dietary patterns may not be appreciably associated with type 2 diabetes risk in Japanese.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Wild S, Roglic G, Green A, Sicree R, King H . Global prevalence of diabetes: estimates for the year 2000 and projections for 2030. Diabetes Care 2004; 27: 1047–1053.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Kenko Eiyo Joho Kenkyukai. The National Health and Nutrition Survey in Japan, 2007. Daiichi-shuppan: Tokyo, Japan, 2010.

  3. Huxley R, Omari A, Caterson ID . Obesity and diabetes. In: Ekoe JM, Rewers M, Williams R, Zimmet P, (eds). The Epidemiology of Diabetes Mellitus 2nd edn. Wiley-Blackwell: West Sussex, UK, 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  4. International Diabetes Federation. IDF Diabetes Atlas 4th edn. International Diabetes Federation, 2009.

  5. Yazaki Y, Kadowaki T . Combating diabetes and obesity in Japan. Nat Med 2006; 12: 73–74.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Hu EA, Pan A, Malik V, Sun Q . White rice consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: meta-analysis and systematic review. BMJ 2012; 344: e1454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Morimoto Y, Steinbrecher A, Kolonel LN, Maskarinec G . Soy consumption is not protective against diabetes in Hawaii: the Multiethnic Cohort. Eur J Clin Nutr 2011; 65: 279–282.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Mueller NT, Odegaard AO, Gross MD, Koh WP, Yu MC, Yuan JM et al. Soy intake and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Chinese Singaporeans: soy intake and risk of type 2 diabetes. Eur J Nutr 2011 e-pub ahead of print 18 November 2011; doi:10.1007/s00394-011-0276-2.

  9. Nanri A, Mizoue T, Takahashi Y, Kirii K, Inoue M, Noda M et al. Soy product and isoflavone intakes are associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes in overweight Japanese women. J Nutr 2010; 140: 580–586.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Villegas R, Gao YT, Yang G, Li HL, Elasy TA, Zheng W et al. Legume and soy food intake and the incidence of type 2 diabetes in the Shanghai Women's Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2008; 87: 162–167.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Feskens EJ, Bowles CH, Kromhout D . Inverse association between fish intake and risk of glucose intolerance in normoglycemic elderly men and women. Diabetes Care 1991; 14: 935–941.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Nanri A, Mizoue T, Noda M, Takahashi Y, Matsushita Y, Poudel-Tandukar K et al. Fish intake and type 2 diabetes in Japanese men and women: the Japan Public Health Center-Based Prospectuve Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2011; 94: 884–891.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Patel PS, Forouhi NG, Kuijsten A, Schulze MB, van Woudenbergh GJ, Ardanaz E et al. The prospective association between total and type of fish intake and type 2 diabetes in 8 European countries: EPIC-InterAct Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2012; 95: 1445–1453.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Villegas R, Xiang YB, Elasy T, Li HL, Yang G, Cai H et al. Fish, shellfish, and long-chain n-3 fatty acid consumption and risk of incident type 2 diabetes in middle-aged Chinese men and women. Am J Clin Nutr 2011; 94: 543–551.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Wallin A, Di Giuseppe D, Orsini N, Patel PS, Forouhi NG, Wolk A . Fish consumption, dietary long-chain n-3 fatty acids, and risk of type 2 diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Diabetes Care 2012; 35: 918–929.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Erber E, Hopping BN, Grandinetti A, Park SY, Kolonel LN, Maskarinec G . Dietary patterns and risk for diabetes: the multiethnic cohort. Diabetes Care 2010; 33: 532–538.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Montonen J, Knekt P, Härkänen T, Järvinen R, Heliövaara M, Aromaa A et al. Dietary patterns and the incidence of type 2 diabetes. Am J Epidemiol 2005; 161: 219–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Williams DE, Prevost AT, Whichelow MJ, Cox BD, Day NE, Wareham NJ . A cross-sectional study of dietary patterns with glucose intolerance and other features of the metabolic syndrome. Br J Nutr 2000; 83: 257–266.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Fung TT, Schulze M, Manson JE, Willett WC, Hu FB . Dietary patterns, meat intake, and the risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Arch Intern Med 2004; 164: 2235–2240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Gittelsohn J, Wolever TM, Harris SB, Harris-Giraldo R, Hanley AJ, Zinman B . Specific patterns of food consumption and preparation are associated with diabetes and obesity in a Native Canadian community. J Nutr 1998; 128: 541–547.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Hodge AM, English DR, O’Dea K, Giles GG . Dietary patterns and diabetes incidence in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study. Am J Epidemiol 2007; 165: 603–610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Kim HS, Park SY, Grandinetti A, Holck PS, Waslien C . Major dietary patterns, ethnicity, and prevalence of type 2 diabetes in rural Hawaii. Nutrition 2008; 24: 1065–1072.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Nettleton JA, Steffen LM, Ni H, Liu K, Jacobs DR . Dietary patterns and risk of incident type 2 diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Diabetes Care 2008; 31: 1777–1782.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. van Dam RM, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB . Dietary patterns and risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus in U.S. men. Ann Intern Med 2002; 136: 201–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Mizoue T, Yamaji T, Tabata S, Yamaguchi K, Ogawa S, Mineshita M et al. Dietary patterns and glucose tolerance abnormalities in Japanese men. J Nutr 2006; 136: 1352–1358.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Tsugane S, Sobue T . Baseline survey of JPHC study--design and participation rate. Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study on cancer and cardiovascular diseases. J Epidemiol 2001; 11: S24–S29.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Sasaki S, Kobayashi M, Ishihara J, Tsugane S . Self-administered food frequency questionnaire used in the 5-year follow-up survey of the JPHC Study: questionnaire structure, computation algorithms, and area-based mean intake. J Epidemiol 2003; 13: S13–S22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Ishihara J, Sobue T, Yamamoto S, Yoshimi I, Sasaki S, Kobayashi M et al. Validity and reproducibility of a self-administered food frequency questionnaire in the JPHC Study Cohort II: study design, participant profile and results in comparison with Cohort I. J Epidemiol 2003; 13: S134–S147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Sasaki S, Ishihara J, Tsugane S . Reproducibility of a self-administered food frequency questionnaire used in the 5-year follow-up survey of the JPHC Study Cohort I to assess food and nutrient intake. J Epidemiol 2003; 13: S115–S124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Sasaki S, Kobayashi M, Tsugane S . Validity of a self-administered food frequency questionnaire used in the 5-year follow-up survey of the JPHC Study Cohort I: comparison with dietary records for food groups. J Epidemiol 2003; 13: S57–S63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Nanri A, Shimazu T, Ishihara J, Takachi R, Mizoue T, Inoue M et al. Reproducibility and validity of dietary patterns assessed by a food frequency questionnaire used in the 5-year follow-up survey of the Japan Public Health Center-Based Prospective Study. J Epidemiol 2012; 22: 205–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Kato M, Noda M, Inoue M, Kadowaki T, Tsugane S . Psychological factors, coffee and risk of diabetes mellitus among middle-aged Japanese: a population-based prospective study in the JPHC study cohort. Endocr J 2009; 56: 459–468.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Carter P, Gray LJ, Troughton J, Khunti K, Davies MJ . Fruit and vegetable intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ 2010; 341: c4229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Kurotani K, Nanri A, Goto A, Mizoue T, Noda M, Kato M et al. Vegetable and fruit intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study. Br J Nutr 2012; 9: 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Aune D, Ursin G, Veierod MB . Meat consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Diabetologia 2009; 52: 2277–2287.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Tong X, Dong JY, Wu ZW, Li W, Qin LQ . Dairy consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of cohort studies. Eur J Clin Nutr 2011; 65: 1027–1031.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. van Dam RM, Hu FB . Coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review. JAMA 2005; 294: 97–104.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Willi C, Bodenmann P, Ghali WA, Faris PD, Cornuz J . Active smoking and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA 2007; 298: 2654–2664.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Hirose K, Matsuo K, Iwata H, Tajima K . Dietary patterns and the risk of breast cancer in Japanese women. Cancer Sci 2007; 98: 1431–1438.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Kim MK, Sasaki S, Sasazuki S, Tsugane S . Prospective study of three major dietary patterns and risk of gastric cancer in Japan. Int J Cancer 2004; 110: 435–442.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Monma Y, Niu K, Iwasaki K, Tomita N, Nakaya N, Hozawa A et al. Dietary patterns associated with fall-related fracture in elderly Japanese: a population based prospective study. BMC Geriatr 2010; 10: 31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Masaki M, Sugimori H, Nakamura K, Tadera M . Dietary patterns and stomach cancer among middle-aged male workers in Tokyo. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 2003; 4: 61–66.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Nanri A, Kimura Y, Matsushita Y, Ohta M, Sato M, Mishima N et al. Dietary patterns and depressive symptoms among Japanese men and women. Eur J Clin Nutr 2010; 64: 832–839.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Nanri A, Mizoue T, Yoshida D, Takahashi R, Takayanagi R . Dietary patterns and A1C in Japanese men and women. Diabetes Care 2008; 31: 1568–1573.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Sadakane A, Tsutsumi A, Gotoh T, Ishikawa S, Ojima T, Kario K et al. Dietary patterns and levels of blood pressure and serum lipids in a Japanese population. J Epidemiol 2008; 18: 58–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Shimazu T, Kuriyama S, Hozawa A, Ohmori K, Sato Y, Nakaya N et al. Dietary patterns and cardiovascular disease mortality in Japan: a prospective cohort study. Int J Epidemiol 2007; 36: 600–609.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Nanri A, Mizoue T, Noda M, Takahashi Y, Kato M, Inoue M et al. Rice intake and type 2 diabetes in Japanese men and women: the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2010; 92: 1468–1477.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Hu FB . Dietary pattern analysis: a new direction in nutritional epidemiology. Curr Opin. Lipidol 2002; 13: 3–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Martinez ME, Marshall JR, Sechrest L . Invited commentary: Factor analysis and the search for objectivity. Am J Epidemiol 1998; 148: 17–19.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Cancer Research (19 shi–2) and a Health Sciences Research Grant (Research on Comprehensive Research on Cardiovascular Diseases H19-016) from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Consortia

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A Nanri.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Appendix

Appendix

Study group members: Members of the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study (JPHC Study, principal investigator: S Tsugane) Group are: S Tsugane, M Inoue, T Sobue and T Hanaoka, National Cancer Center, Tokyo, Japan; J Ogata, S Baba, T Mannami, A Okayama and Y Kokubo, National Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan; K. Miyakawa, F Saito, A Koizumi, Y Sano, I Hashimoto, T Ikuta and Y Tanaba, Iwate Prefectural Ninohe Public Health Center, Iwate, Japan; Y Miyajima, N Suzuki, S Nagasawa, Y Furusugi and N Nagai, Akita Prefectural Yokote Public Health Center, Akita, Japan; H Sanada, Y Hatayama, F Kobayashi, H Uchino, Y Shirai, T Kondo, R Sasaki, Y Watanabe, Y Miyagawa and Y Kobayashi, Nagano Prefectural Saku Public Health Center, Nagano, Japan; Y Kishimoto, E Takara, T Fukuyama, M Kinjo, M Irei and H. Sakiyama, Okinawa Prefectural Chubu Public Health Center, Okinawa, Japan; K Imoto, H Yazawa, T Seo, A Seiko, F Ito, F Shoji and R Saito, Katsushika Public Health Center, Tokyo, Japan; A Murata, K Minato, K Motegi and T Fujieda, Ibaraki Prefectural Mito Public Health Center, Ibaraki, Japan; K Matsui, T Abe, M Katagiri and M Suzuki, Niigata Prefectural Kashiwazaki and Nagaoka Public Health Center, Niigata, Japan; M Doi, A Terao, Y Ishikawa and T Tagami, Kochi Prefectural Chuo-higashi Public Health Center, Kochi, Japan; H Sueta, H Doi, M Urata, N Okamoto and F Ide, Nagasaki Prefectural Kamigoto Public Health Center, Nagasaki, Japan; H Sakiyama, N Onga, H. Takaesu and M Uehara, Okinawa Prefectural Miyako Public Health Center, Okinawa, Japan; F Horii, I Asano, H Yamaguchi, K Aoki, S Maruyama, M Ichii and M Takano, Osaka Prefectural Suita Public Health Center, Osaka, Japan; Y Tsubono, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan; K. Suzuki, Research Institute for Brain and Blood Vessels Akita, Akita, Japan; Y Honda, K Yamagishi, S Sakurai and N Tsuchiya, Tsukuba University, Ibaraki, Japan; M Kabuto, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Ibaraki, Japan; M Yamaguchi, Y Matsumura, S Sasaki and S Watanabe, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, Tokyo, Japan; M Akabane, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan; T. Kadowaki, Tokyo University, Tokyo, Japan; M Noda and T Mizoue, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Y Kawaguchi, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan; Y. Takashima and M Yoshida, Kyorin University, Tokyo, Japan; K. Nakamura, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan; S Matsushima and S Natsukawa, Saku General Hospital, Nagano, Japan; H Shimizu, Sakihae Institute, Gifu, Japan; H Sugimura, Hamamatsu University, Shizuoka, Japan; S Tominaga, Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute, Aichi, Japan; H Iso, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan; M Iida, W Ajiki and A Ioka, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease, Osaka, Japan; S Sato, Chiba Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Chiba, Japan; E. Maruyama, Kobe University, Hyogo, Japan; M Konishi, K Okada and I Saito, Ehime University, Ehime, Japan; N Yasuda, Kochi University, Kochi, Japan; and S. Kono, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nanri, A., Shimazu, T., Takachi, R. et al. Dietary patterns and type 2 diabetes in Japanese men and women: the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study. Eur J Clin Nutr 67, 18–24 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2012.171

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2012.171

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links