Determining the importance of iron nutrition in optimizing immune health in particular ethnic groups (FoodBioSystems DTP)

Iron deficiency anaemia is a huge problem in the world. It is particularly a public health issue in certain demographic groups – in women of child-bearing age and in older men and women from Black and South Asian populations. The World Health Organization estimates that around two billion people are anaemic globally, which makes it one of the most common nutrition disorders. Anaemia can lead to significant health consequences including increased susceptibility to infection and illness, cardiovascular complications and poor brain development. What we also know is that vitamin D deficiency is becoming increasingly common in the UK, EU and worldwide and that there may well be a synergistic effect between iron and vitamin D, where both nutrients complement one another and being vitamin D deficient results in an individual being more at risk of iron deficiency and vice-versa. However we have no where near enough data to clarify how these two nutrients work together and what is the best nutritional strategy to avoid deficiency in both.

This project will investigate the extent of iron deficiency/insufficiency (through assessment of iron dietary intake and nutritional status) of ethnic groups worldwide. We will use two approaches:

1) population-based/’big data’: (i) systematic review/meta-analysis of globally available data on iron intake and status and immune health; (ii) analysis of iron intake and its interaction with respiratory tract infections in the UK Biobank and the USA NHANES datasets. We will specifically focus on South Asian, Black African-Caribbean and Black African American men and women;

2) mechanistic studies – (i) to examine the relationship between intake and nutritional status of iron and 25OHD status on specific markers of immune function in ethnic groups using samples already collected; (ii) an iron/vitamin D supplementation randomised controlled trial (RCT) on markers of immune function in ethnic groups.

We hypothesise that (1) the studied ethnic groups will be iron deficient/insufficient and there will be a strong (synergistic) interaction between low iron dietary intake/ nutritional status and poor vitamin D status; and (2) the studied ethnic groups require both a higher iron intake and a higher dietary vitamin D intake than the majority of the UK population to maintain optimal immune health throughout the whole year.

In order to address the key questions we have a number of important objectives. These include:

• Conducting a systematic review to examine the extent of low dietary intake and low nutritional status of iron in specific ethnic groups in relation to immune status;
• Performing a meta-analysis on iron dietary intake and nutritional status, vitamin D status and immune markers in specific ethnic groups;
• Exploring the associations between iron intake, iron status, vitamin D intake, vitamin D status and immune markers using big data' including using the UK Biobank and the USA NHANES cohorts;
• Investigating the link between iron intake & status, vitamin D status and markers of immune function in stored samples from ethnic groups;
• Determining whether increasing both iron and vitamin D status will positively impact markers of immune function in specific ethnic groups.

This study will address, using a combination of analysis of novel ‘big data’ and experimental approaches, the link between low iron and low vitamin D and their impact on immune health. The project will provide key scientific data for the field whilst giving the student a well-rounded experience in nutritional sciences, spanning clinical research, data analysis, industry and policy.

About the FoodBioSystems DTP

The FoodBioSystems Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) brings together six university partners: University of Reading, Cranfield University, University of Surrey, Queen’s University Belfast, Aberystwyth University, and Brunel University London. The Partnership’s vision is to develop the next generation of bioscientists with in-depth knowledge and technical expertise of food systems and biological processes across the Agri-Food system from pre-farm to post-fork. They will become the urgently needed experts - able to transform the food value chain and address challenges of sustainability, efficacy, authenticity and safety in food production systems whilst delivering better nutrition and concomitant health benefits for society. The DTP is currently advertising 36 projects. From these, it is expected 24 studentships will be awarded to the strongest application to start their studies in October 2022.

This project would be suitable for students with a degree in nutrition, epidemiology, food science or a closely related subject.

This studentship is available for UK and international students.

IELTS requirements: The standard requirement is for a score of 6.5 or above (or equivalent) with 6.0 in each individual category, in an IELTS Academic test taken in the last 2 years. 

Department of Nutritional Sciences.

References

• Buttriss JL, Lanham-New SA, Steenson et al. Implementation strategies for improving vitamin D status and increasing vitamin D intake in the UK: current controversies and future perspectives: proceedings of the 2nd Rank Prize Funds Forum on vitamin D. British Journal of Nutrition 2021; 1 - 21 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114521002555
• Lanham-New Susan A., Webb Ann R., Cashman Kevin et al. Vitamin D and SARS-CoV2 virus/COVID-19 disease (2020). British Medical Journal (Nutrition, Health & Prevention). DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjnph-2020-000089
• Darling Andrea L., Blackbourn David J., Ahmadi Kourosh R., Lanham-New Susan A. (2020) Very High Prevalence of 25- hydroxyvitamin D Deficiency in n 6433 UK South Asian adults: analysis of the UK Biobank Cohort. British Journal of Nutrition pp. 1-34 Cambridge University Press DOI: 10.1017/S0007114520002779.