Irene G M Van Valkengoed
Biographic Data
| ID | 2342509 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Irene G M Van Valkengoed |
| GIVEN NAMES | Irene G M |
| FAMILY NAME | Van Valkengoed |
| SIGNATURE | VAN VALKENGOED I G M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Amsterdam |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9306-7831 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 5 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 21 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Gender differences in smoking cessation support
Effectiveness of smoking cessation support differs between men and women. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the gender differences, this study aimed to investigate the experiences of professionals providing support, focusing on perceived variations by clients’ and professionals’ gender. In 2024, qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 professionals providing smoking cessation support in the Netherlands. Inter…
The association and contribution of gender-related characteristics to prevalent chronic kidney disease in women and men in a multi-ethnic population - The Helius study
In chronic kidney disease (CKD), prevalence differences between sexes have been reported. While biological factors have been investigated, research on sociocultural factors is scarce. We explore the extent gender-related characteristics associate with, and contribute to, CKD prevalence in women and men in a multi-ethnic population. Cross-sectional analyses were performed on data of 12,221 women and 8,930 men aged 18-70 years across six ethnic gro…
Dutch translation and validation of the Stanford Gender-Related Variables for Health Research questionnaire
This study aimed to validate the Dutch version of the Stanford Gender-Related Variables for Health Research (GVHR) questionnaire and explore sex differences in lifestyle factors, mental health, and health status. In 2021, 569 Dutch participants (54% women, 45% men, aged 20–80) completed the survey. Sex-stratified analyses examined associations with lifestyle (obesity, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity), mental health (depression, anxiety, s…
Care and decision-making at the end of life for migrants living in the Netherlands
Gender roles and gender norms associated with psychological distress in women and men among the Dutch general population
Women report more psychological distress than men, which may be related to both biological sex and socio-cultural gender. We tested whether associations between gender and distress differ for women and men. The cross-sectional sample consisted of 678 Dutch people (54% women). Gender roles were assessed as masculinity and femininity. A composite gender norm score was calculated by summing gendered sociodemographics. Multivariate regressions examin…
The Covid-19 pandemic and temporal change in metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including the restrictive measures taken to reduce the spread of the virus, negatively affected people's health behavior. We explored whether the pandemic also had an effect on metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women and men. We conducted a natural experiment, using data from 6962 participants without CVD at baseline (2011-2015) of six ethnic groups of the HELIUS study in …
Education and age trajectories of chronic conditions
Underreporting affected conclusions about the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes, but it did not affect conclusions about the CAD hypothesis for either condition
Gender-related factors and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest incidence in women and men
BACKGROUND: The incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) differs consistently between women and men. Besides sex-related (biological) factors, OHCA risk may relate to gender-related (sociocultural) factors. We explored the association of selected gender-related factors with OHCA incidence in women and men. METHODS: We combined data on emergency medical services-attended OHCA with individual-level data from all women and men aged ≥25 yea…
Effects of a lifestyle intervention programme after 1 year of follow-up among South Asians at high risk of type 2 diabetes
INTRODUCTION: South Asians are at high risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). We assessed whether intensive family-based lifestyle intervention leads to significant weight loss, improved glycaemia and blood pressure in adults at elevated risk for T2D. METHODS: This cluster randomised controlled trial (iHealth-T2D) was conducted at 120 locations across India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UK. We included 3684 South Asian men and women, aged 40-70 years, wit…
Socioeconomic Differences in Sympathovagal Balance
OBJECTIVE: Alterations in sympathovagal balance are associated with cardiovascular disease. If sympathovagal balance differs across socioeconomic groups, it may reflect a mechanism through which disparities in cardiovascular disease occur. We therefore assessed the association between education and occupation with measures of sympathovagal balance in a large multiethnic sample. METHODS: We included cross-sectional data of 10,202 South Asian Surin…
Serum carotenoid concentrations and their association with ethnic differences in type 2 diabetes within the Healthy Life in an Urban Setting (Helius) study
Objective: Studies have reported an inverse association between a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and type 2 diabetes (T2D), but data on high-risk ethnic minority groups is limited. We investigated whether serum carotenoids, as biomarkers for fruit and vegetable intake, mediate ethnic differences in the prevalence of T2D. Design: Age-adjusted serum carotenoid concentrations were compared using ANCOVA. A cross-sectional analysis was performed u…
Sarcopenia and its relation to protein intake across older ethnic populations in the Netherlands
Objective : To examine the prevalence of sarcopenia and its association with protein intake in men and women in a multi-ethnic population. Design: We used cross-sectional data from the HELIUS (Healthy Life in an Urban Setting) study, which includes nearly 25,000 participants (aged 18-70 years) of Dutch, South-Asian Surinamese, African Surinamese, Turkish, Moroccan, and Ghanaian ethnic origin. For the current study, we included 5161 individuals ag…
Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults
Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities 1,2 . This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity 3–6 . Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean B…
Ethnic differences in infectious burden and the association with metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease
Our study showed that Turkish and Moroccan adults in Amsterdam have a higher IB than Dutch adults, which was associated with the differences in type 2 diabetes. Due to the cross-sectional nature of the study, we cannot draw a conclusions with regards to the time-sequence of cause and effect. Nevertheless, the findings ask for further research into the nature of association of IB with metabolic risk factors in a longitudinal setting
Risk perception is not associated with attendance at a preventive intervention for type 2 diabetes mellitus among South Asians at risk of diabetes
Objective To evaluate the association between risk perception and attendance in a diabetes prevention programme among South Asians with a high risk for diabetes. Design An observational study. We measured risk perception during the baseline interview with causal beliefs, perceived susceptibility and perceived controllability. We used logistic regression to examine the relationship between risk perception and attendance. We adjusted for relevant s…
Development of a diabetes prevention program for Surinamese South Asians in the Netherlands
Type 2 diabetes is highly prevalent among South Asian origin groups around the world. Not only is prevalence higher than in other ethnic groups, age at presentation is lower and these groups are more likely to experience complications. Evidence suggests that lifestyle interventions may prevent or delay the onset of diabetes. However, little is known about diabetes prevention in South Asians (SA). DH!AAN is a diabetes prevention program designed f…
The association of leisure-time physical activity and active commuting with measures of socioeconomic position in a multiethnic population living in the Netherlands
The positive gradient for socioeconomic position observed in European-Dutch was less strong, in particular for active commuting, among the South Asian-Surinamese and the African-Surinamese. This indicates that the typical focus on physical activity interventions in lower socioeconomic groups could work for European-Dutch populations, but this strategy may not be entirely applicable in the ethnic minority groups
Feasibility and effectiveness of a targeted diabetes prevention program for 18 to 60-year-old South Asian migrants
Dutch Trial Register: NTR1499
Social and cultural factors underlying generational differences in overweight
The higher socio-economic position of second generation Turkish and Moroccan women may partly account for the lower prevalence of overweight in this group compared to first generation women. Further research is necessary to elucidate whether any postulated socio-biological or other processes are relevant to the opposite pattern of overweight among men
P2-3 A cross-national comparative study of diabetes prevalence between English and Dutch South Asian Indian and African origin populations
Background Ethnic minority groups in western European countries tend to have higher levels of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) than the majority populations for reasons that are poorly understood. Investigating differences between countries could enable an investigation of the importance of national context in determining these inequalities. We determined whether the lower prevalence of DM in England vs the Netherlands is also observed in South-Asia…
Prevalence of diabetes mellitus and the performance of a risk score among Hindustani Surinamese, African Surinamese and ethnic Dutch
In Hindustani Surinamese and African Surinamese populations, screening for DM should not be limited to those over 45 years, as is advocated in several guidelines. If selective screening is indicated, our ethnicity based risk score performs well as a screening test for DM among these groups, particularly compared to the criteria based on age and/or body mass index derived from current guidelines
Gender roles and gender norms associated with psychological distress in women and men among the Dutch general population
Women report more psychological distress than men, which may be related to both biological sex and socio-cultural gender. We tested whether associations between gender and distress differ for women and men. The cross-sectional sample consisted of 678 Dutch people (54% women). Gender roles were assessed as masculinity and femininity. A composite gender norm score was calculated by summing gendered sociodemographics. Multivariate regressions examin…
Dutch translation and validation of the Stanford Gender-Related Variables for Health Research questionnaire
This study aimed to validate the Dutch version of the Stanford Gender-Related Variables for Health Research (GVHR) questionnaire and explore sex differences in lifestyle factors, mental health, and health status. In 2021, 569 Dutch participants (54% women, 45% men, aged 20–80) completed the survey. Sex-stratified analyses examined associations with lifestyle (obesity, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity), mental health (depression, anxiety, s…
Care and decision-making at the end of life for migrants living in the Netherlands
Sarcopenia and its relation to protein intake across older ethnic populations in the Netherlands
Objective : To examine the prevalence of sarcopenia and its association with protein intake in men and women in a multi-ethnic population. Design: We used cross-sectional data from the HELIUS (Healthy Life in an Urban Setting) study, which includes nearly 25,000 participants (aged 18-70 years) of Dutch, South-Asian Surinamese, African Surinamese, Turkish, Moroccan, and Ghanaian ethnic origin. For the current study, we included 5161 individuals ag…
Prevalence of diabetes mellitus and the performance of a risk score among Hindustani Surinamese, African Surinamese and ethnic Dutch
In Hindustani Surinamese and African Surinamese populations, screening for DM should not be limited to those over 45 years, as is advocated in several guidelines. If selective screening is indicated, our ethnicity based risk score performs well as a screening test for DM among these groups, particularly compared to the criteria based on age and/or body mass index derived from current guidelines
Social and cultural factors underlying generational differences in overweight
The higher socio-economic position of second generation Turkish and Moroccan women may partly account for the lower prevalence of overweight in this group compared to first generation women. Further research is necessary to elucidate whether any postulated socio-biological or other processes are relevant to the opposite pattern of overweight among men
P2-3 A cross-national comparative study of diabetes prevalence between English and Dutch South Asian Indian and African origin populations
Background Ethnic minority groups in western European countries tend to have higher levels of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) than the majority populations for reasons that are poorly understood. Investigating differences between countries could enable an investigation of the importance of national context in determining these inequalities. We determined whether the lower prevalence of DM in England vs the Netherlands is also observed in South-Asia…
The association of leisure-time physical activity and active commuting with measures of socioeconomic position in a multiethnic population living in the Netherlands
The positive gradient for socioeconomic position observed in European-Dutch was less strong, in particular for active commuting, among the South Asian-Surinamese and the African-Surinamese. This indicates that the typical focus on physical activity interventions in lower socioeconomic groups could work for European-Dutch populations, but this strategy may not be entirely applicable in the ethnic minority groups
Feasibility and effectiveness of a targeted diabetes prevention program for 18 to 60-year-old South Asian migrants
Dutch Trial Register: NTR1499
Development of a diabetes prevention program for Surinamese South Asians in the Netherlands
Type 2 diabetes is highly prevalent among South Asian origin groups around the world. Not only is prevalence higher than in other ethnic groups, age at presentation is lower and these groups are more likely to experience complications. Evidence suggests that lifestyle interventions may prevent or delay the onset of diabetes. However, little is known about diabetes prevention in South Asians (SA). DH!AAN is a diabetes prevention program designed f…
Risk perception is not associated with attendance at a preventive intervention for type 2 diabetes mellitus among South Asians at risk of diabetes
Objective To evaluate the association between risk perception and attendance in a diabetes prevention programme among South Asians with a high risk for diabetes. Design An observational study. We measured risk perception during the baseline interview with causal beliefs, perceived susceptibility and perceived controllability. We used logistic regression to examine the relationship between risk perception and attendance. We adjusted for relevant s…
Ethnic differences in infectious burden and the association with metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease
Our study showed that Turkish and Moroccan adults in Amsterdam have a higher IB than Dutch adults, which was associated with the differences in type 2 diabetes. Due to the cross-sectional nature of the study, we cannot draw a conclusions with regards to the time-sequence of cause and effect. Nevertheless, the findings ask for further research into the nature of association of IB with metabolic risk factors in a longitudinal setting
Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults
Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities 1,2 . This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity 3–6 . Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean B…
Sarcopenia and its relation to protein intake across older ethnic populations in the Netherlands
Objective : To examine the prevalence of sarcopenia and its association with protein intake in men and women in a multi-ethnic population. Design: We used cross-sectional data from the HELIUS (Healthy Life in an Urban Setting) study, which includes nearly 25,000 participants (aged 18-70 years) of Dutch, South-Asian Surinamese, African Surinamese, Turkish, Moroccan, and Ghanaian ethnic origin. For the current study, we included 5161 individuals ag…
Effects of a lifestyle intervention programme after 1 year of follow-up among South Asians at high risk of type 2 diabetes
INTRODUCTION: South Asians are at high risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). We assessed whether intensive family-based lifestyle intervention leads to significant weight loss, improved glycaemia and blood pressure in adults at elevated risk for T2D. METHODS: This cluster randomised controlled trial (iHealth-T2D) was conducted at 120 locations across India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UK. We included 3684 South Asian men and women, aged 40-70 years, wit…
Socioeconomic Differences in Sympathovagal Balance
OBJECTIVE: Alterations in sympathovagal balance are associated with cardiovascular disease. If sympathovagal balance differs across socioeconomic groups, it may reflect a mechanism through which disparities in cardiovascular disease occur. We therefore assessed the association between education and occupation with measures of sympathovagal balance in a large multiethnic sample. METHODS: We included cross-sectional data of 10,202 South Asian Surin…
Serum carotenoid concentrations and their association with ethnic differences in type 2 diabetes within the Healthy Life in an Urban Setting (Helius) study
Objective: Studies have reported an inverse association between a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and type 2 diabetes (T2D), but data on high-risk ethnic minority groups is limited. We investigated whether serum carotenoids, as biomarkers for fruit and vegetable intake, mediate ethnic differences in the prevalence of T2D. Design: Age-adjusted serum carotenoid concentrations were compared using ANCOVA. A cross-sectional analysis was performed u…
Gender-related factors and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest incidence in women and men
BACKGROUND: The incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) differs consistently between women and men. Besides sex-related (biological) factors, OHCA risk may relate to gender-related (sociocultural) factors. We explored the association of selected gender-related factors with OHCA incidence in women and men. METHODS: We combined data on emergency medical services-attended OHCA with individual-level data from all women and men aged ≥25 yea…
The Covid-19 pandemic and temporal change in metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including the restrictive measures taken to reduce the spread of the virus, negatively affected people's health behavior. We explored whether the pandemic also had an effect on metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women and men. We conducted a natural experiment, using data from 6962 participants without CVD at baseline (2011-2015) of six ethnic groups of the HELIUS study in …
Education and age trajectories of chronic conditions
Underreporting affected conclusions about the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes, but it did not affect conclusions about the CAD hypothesis for either condition
Care and decision-making at the end of life for migrants living in the Netherlands
Gender roles and gender norms associated with psychological distress in women and men among the Dutch general population
Women report more psychological distress than men, which may be related to both biological sex and socio-cultural gender. We tested whether associations between gender and distress differ for women and men. The cross-sectional sample consisted of 678 Dutch people (54% women). Gender roles were assessed as masculinity and femininity. A composite gender norm score was calculated by summing gendered sociodemographics. Multivariate regressions examin…
Gender differences in smoking cessation support
Effectiveness of smoking cessation support differs between men and women. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the gender differences, this study aimed to investigate the experiences of professionals providing support, focusing on perceived variations by clients’ and professionals’ gender. In 2024, qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 professionals providing smoking cessation support in the Netherlands. Inter…
The association and contribution of gender-related characteristics to prevalent chronic kidney disease in women and men in a multi-ethnic population - The Helius study
In chronic kidney disease (CKD), prevalence differences between sexes have been reported. While biological factors have been investigated, research on sociocultural factors is scarce. We explore the extent gender-related characteristics associate with, and contribute to, CKD prevalence in women and men in a multi-ethnic population. Cross-sectional analyses were performed on data of 12,221 women and 8,930 men aged 18-70 years across six ethnic gro…
Dutch translation and validation of the Stanford Gender-Related Variables for Health Research questionnaire
This study aimed to validate the Dutch version of the Stanford Gender-Related Variables for Health Research (GVHR) questionnaire and explore sex differences in lifestyle factors, mental health, and health status. In 2021, 569 Dutch participants (54% women, 45% men, aged 20–80) completed the survey. Sex-stratified analyses examined associations with lifestyle (obesity, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity), mental health (depression, anxiety, s…
Medicine (19 works) · Environmental health (15 works) · Gerontology (13 works) · Demography (12 works) · Demography (10 works) · Internal Medicine (10 works) · Population (10 works) · Ethnic group (9 works) · Cross-sectional study (8 works) · Diabetes mellitus (7 works)