A diet rich in phyto-oestrogens has been suggested to protect against a variety of common diseases but UK intake data on phyto-oestrogens or their food sources are sparse. The present study estimates the average intakes of isoflavones, lignans, enterolignans and coumestrol from 7 d food diaries and provides data on total isoflavone, lignan and phyto-oestrogen consumption by food group.

Development of a food composition database for twelve phyto-oestrogens and analysis of soya food and phyto-oestrogen consumption in a population-based study.

Men and women, aged 40–79 years, from the general population participating in the Norfolk arm of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Norfolk) between 1993 and 1997, with nutrient and food data from 7 d food diaries.

A subset of 20 437 participants.

The median daily phyto-oestrogen intake for all men was 1199 μg (interquartile range 934–1537 μg; mean 1504 μg, sd 1502 μg) and 888 μg for all women (interquartile range 710–1135 μg; mean 1205 μg, sd 1701 μg). In soya consumers, median daily intakes were higher: 2861 μg in men (interquartile range 1304–7269 μg; mean 5051 μg, sd 5031 μg) and 3142 μg in women (interquartile range 1089–7327 μg; mean 5396 μg, sd 6092 μg). In both men and women, bread made the greatest contribution to phyto-oestrogen intake – 40·8 % and 35·6 %, respectively. In soya consumers, vegetable dishes and soya/goat's/sheep's milks were the main contributors – 45·7 % and 21·3 % in men and 38·4 % and 33·7 % in women, respectively.

The ability to estimate phyto-oestrogen intake in Western populations more accurately will aid investigations into their suggested effects on health.

There is increasing evidence for a significant effect of processed meat (PM) intake on cancer risk. However, refined knowledge on how components of this heterogeneous food group are associated with cancer risk is still missing. Here, actual data on the intake of PM subcategories is given; within a food-based approach we considered preservation methods, cooking methods and nutrient content for stratification, in order to address most of the aetiologically relevant hypotheses.

Standardised computerised 24-hour diet recall interviews were collected within the framework of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), a prospective cohort study in 27 centres across 10 European countries.

Subjects were 22 924 women and 13 031 men aged 35–74 years.

Except for the so-called ‘health-conscious’ cohort in the UK, energy-adjusted total PM intake ranged between 11.1 and 47.9 g day−1 in women and 18.8 and 88.5 g day−1 in men. Ham, salami-type sausages and heated sausages contributed most to the overall PM intake. The intake of cured (addition of nitrate/nitrite) PM was highest in the German, Dutch and northern European EPIC centres, with up to 68.8 g day−1 in men. The same was true for smoked PM (up to 51.8 g day−1). However, due to the different manufacturing practice, the highest average intake of NaNO2 through PM consumption was found for the Spanish centres (5.4 mg day−1 in men) as compared with German and British centres. Spanish centres also showed the highest intake of NaCl-rich types of PM; most cholesterol- and iron-rich PM was consumed in central and northern European centres. Possibly hazardous cooking methods were more often used for PM preparation in central and northern European centres.

We applied a food-based categorisation of PM that addresses aetiologically relevant mechanisms for cancer development and found distinct differences in dietary intake of these categories of PM across European cohorts. This predisposes EPIC to further investigate the role of PM in cancer aetiology.

To describe the average consumption of carbohydrate-providing food groups among study centres of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

Of the 27 redefined EPIC study centres, 19 contributed subjects of both genders and eight centres female participants only (men, n=13 031; women, n=22924, after exclusion of subjects under 35 and over 74 years of age from the original 36 900 total). Dietary data were obtained using the 24-hour recall methodology using the EPIC-SOFT software. The major sources of dietary carbohydrate were identified, and 16 food groups were examined.

The 10 food groups contributing most carbohydrate were bread; fruit; milk and milk products; sweet buns, cakes and pies; potato; sugar and jam; pasta and rice; vegetables and legumes; crispbread; and fruit and vegetable juices. Consumption of fruits as well as vegetables and legumes was higher in southern compared with northern centres, while soft drinks consumption was higher in the north. Italian centres had high pasta and rice consumption, but breakfast cereal, potato, and sweet buns, cakes and pies were higher in northern centres. In Sweden, lower bread consumption was balanced with a higher consumption of crispbread, and with sweet buns, cakes and pies. Overall, men consumed higher amounts of vegetables and legumes, bread, soft drinks, potatoes, pasta and rice, breakfast cereal and sugar and jam than women, but fruit consumption appeared more frequent in women.

The study supports the established idea that carbohydrate-rich foods chosen in northern Europe are different from those in the Mediterranean region. When comparing and interpreting diet–disease relationships across populations, researchers need to consider all types of foods.

The aim of this study was to describe the variation of soy product intake in 10 European countries by using a standardised reference dietary method. A subsidiary aim was to characterise the pattern of soy consumption among a sub-group of participants with a habitual health-conscious lifestyle (HHL), i.e. non-meat eaters who are fish eaters, vegetarians and vegans.

A 24-hour dietary recall interview (24-HDR) was conducted among a sample (5–12%) of all cohorts (n = 36 900) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Study participants totalled 35 955 after exclusion of subjects younger than 35 or older than 74 years of age. Soy products were subdivided into seven sub-groups by similarity. Distribution of consumption and crude and adjusted means of intake were computed per soy product group across countries. Intake of soy products was also investigated among participants with an HHL.

In total, 195 men and 486 women reported consuming soy products in the 24-HDR interview. Although soy product intake was generally low across all countries, the highest intake level was observed in the UK, due to over-sampling of a large number of participants with an HHL. The most frequently consumed soy foods were dairy substitutes in the UK and France and beans and sprouts among mid-European countries. For both genders, the sub-group of soy dairy substitutes was consumed in the highest quantities (1.2 g day−1 for men; 1.9 g day−1 for women). Participants with an HHL differed substantially from others with regard to demographic, anthropometric and nutritional factors. They consumed higher quantities of almost all soy product groups.

Consumption of soy products is low in centres in Western Europe. Soy dairy substitutes are most frequently consumed. Participants with an HHL form a distinct sub-group with higher consumptions of fruit, vegetables, legumes, cereals and soy products compared with the other participants.

To describe and compare the consumption of dairy products in cohorts included in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

Data from single 24-hour dietary recall interviews collected through a highly standardised computer-based program (EPIC-SOFT) in 27 redefined centres in 10 European countries between 1995 and 2000. From a total random sample of 36 900, 22 924 women and 13 031 men were selected after exclusion of subjects under 35 and over 74 years of age.

A high total consumption of dairy products was reported in most of the centres in Spain and in the UK cohort sampled from the general population, as well as in the Dutch, Swedish and Danish centres. A somewhat low consumption was reported in the Greek centre and in some of the Italian centres (Ragusa and Turin). In all centres and for both sexes, milk constituted the dairy sub-group with the largest proportion (in grams) of total dairy consumption, followed by yoghurt and other fermented milk products, and cheese. Still, there was a wide range in the contributions of the different dairy sub-groups between centres. The Spanish and Nordic centres generally reported a high consumption of milk, the Swedish and Dutch centres reported a high consumption of yoghurt and other fermented milk products, whereas the highest consumption of cheese was reported in the French centres.

The results demonstrate both quantitative and qualitative disparities in dairy product consumption among the EPIC centres. This offers a sound starting point for analyses of associations between dairy intake and chronic diseases such as cancer.

A new data-entry system (DINER – Data Into Nutrients for Epidemiological Research) for food record methods has been devised for the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC) cohort study of 25 000 men and women in Norfolk. DINER has been developed to address the problems of efficiency and consistency of data entry, comparability of data, maximising information and future flexibility in large long-term population studies of diet and disease that use record methods to assess dietary intakes. DINER captures more detail than traditional systems and enables provision of new variables for specific food types or groups. The system has been designed to be fully flexible and easy to update. Analysis of consistency of data entry was tested in a group of 3525 participants entered by 25 coders.

A food list of 9000 food items and values for 24 000 portion sizes have been incorporated into the database, using information from the 5979 diaries coded since 1995. Analysis of consistency of entry indicated that this has largely been achieved. The effect of coders in a multivariate regression model was significant only if the three coders involved in early use of the program were included (P<0.013).

The development of DINER has facilitated the use of more accurate record methods in large-scale epidemiological studies of diet and disease. Furthermore, the retention of original information as an extensive food list allows greater flexibility in later analyses of data of multiple dietary hypotheses.

To describe methods and dietary habits of a large population cohort.

Prospective assessment of diet using diet diaries and food-frequency questionnaires, and biomarkers of diet in 24-h urine collections and blood samples.

Free living individuals aged 45 to 75 years living in Norfolk, UK.

Food and nutrient intake from a food-frequency questionnaire on 23 003 men and women, and from a 7-day diet diary from 2117 men and women. Nitrogen, sodium and potassium excretion was obtained from single 24-h urine samples from 300 individuals in the EPIC cohort. Plasma vitamin C was measured for 20 846 men and women.

The food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and the food diary were able to determine differences in foods and nutrients between the sexes and were reliable as judged by repeated administrations of each method. Plasma vitamin C was significantly higher in women than men. There were significant (P<0.001) differences in mean intake of all nutrients measured by the two different methods in women but less so in men. The questionnaire overestimated dairy products and vegetables in both men and women when compared with intakes derived from the diary, but underestimated cereal and meat intake in men. There were some consistent trends with age in food and nutrient intakes assessed by both methods, particularly in men. Correlation coefficients between dietary intake assessed from the diary and excretion of nitrogen and potassium in a single 24-h urine sample ranged from 0.36 to 0.47. Those comparing urine excretion and intake assessed from the FFQ were 0.09 to 0.26. The correlations between plasma vitamin C and dietary intake from the first FFQ, 24-h recall or diary were 0.28, 0.35 and 0.40.

EPIC Norfolk is one of the largest epidemiological studies of nutrition in the UK and the largest on which plasma vitamin C has been obtained. Methods for obtaining food and nutrient intake are described in detail. The results shown here for food and nutrient intakes can be compared with results from other population studies utilising different methods of assessing dietary intake. The utility of different methods used in different settings within the main EPIC cohort is described. The FFQ is to be used particularly in pooled analyses of risk from diet in relation to cancer incidence within the larger European EPIC study, where measurement error is more likely to be overcome by large dietary heterogeneity on an international basis. Findings in the UK, where dietary variation between individuals is smaller and hence the need to use a more accurate individual method greater, will be derived from the 7-day diary information on a nested case–control basis. 24-h recalls can be used in the event that diary information should not be forthcoming from some eventual cases. Combinations of results utilising all dietary methods and biomarkers may also be possible.