The partnership between NNEdPro and the Swiss Re Institute (SRI) started in October 2019. After four years of fruitful exchanges, it's a moment to reflect on the milestones and achievements as this collaboration comes to an end.
Unravelling the Complexity of Nutrition and Cardiovascular Diseases through Data Science Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), such as heart attacks and strokes, claim millions of lives every year across the globe (1). In the fight against CVD, timely screening for risk factors is paramount. In this collaborative effort, NNEdPro and SRI have interrogated available large datasets such as the National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD) and UK Biobank, through traditional regression models and innovative causal inference analysis to disentangle the relative contributions of clinical and behavioural risk factors in CVD onset, thus paving the way for more targeted and effective prevention strategies. This study has the potential to offer guidance to healthcare professionals and policymakers on the combinatorial use of CVD risk factors with the aim of reducing morbidity and mortality.
The International Summits
NNEdPro International Summits on Nutrition and Health are annual scientific events organised by NNEdPro, BMJ Nutrition Prevention and Health and the International Academy of Nutrition Educators. They bring together experts, change-makers, and thought leaders from across the globe and offer a platform for sharing expertise and experiences whilst offering practical insights and real-world applications to current and emerging nutrition and health problems. These Summits are a testament to the multidisciplinary nature of NNEdPro’s work. SRI has previously supported and actively participated in the events by featuring guest speakers from their company. In 2022 Dr Adam Strange spoke on the topic of ‘Building a holistic view of health: a deep dive into diabetes in Asia’, and in 2021, Dr Christoph Nabholz presented ‘A holistic view on health resilience, from environment to nutrition’. This involvement offers opportunities for the meaningful exchange of insights. It adds a practical dimension to the academic discussions, thus bridging the gap between research and tangible applications in the insurance and healthcare sectors.
iKANN: A Beacon of Knowledge
Another achievement of this partnership is the development and growth of iKANN, the open-access online portal of the International Academy of Nutrition Educators (IANE). Under the collaboration between Swiss Re and NNEdPro, iKANN has launched two remarkable initiatives:
1. Nutrition and COVID-19 Evidence Synthesis
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a concerted effort to collect and disseminate relevant information to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on diet, nutrition and health. The collection assesses the direct effects of COVID-19 but also explores the critical issues of food and nutrition security that have emerged during the pandemic.
Note: The work continuously undertaken over 3 1/2 years by a dedicated Nutrition and COVID-19, Taskforce was presented at the International Union of Nutritional Sciences in December 2022, and compiled into an audiobook released in 2023. Check it out.
2. Nutrition, Cardiometabolic, and Vascular Health
The iKANN Nutrition, Cardiometabolic, and Vascular Evidence Collection includes a compilation of guidance from a variety of international, national and regional representative bodies on CVD prevention and management. The collection also serves as a repository for published research in this field. This evidence tracker represents a living collection of published original research and reviews which underpin research related to cardiometabolic and vascular health organised around known pathways linking the two, to diet. This collection aims to inform the public, identify developing research, and stimulate discussion around the role of nutrition in cardiometabolic and vascular health.
Concluding remarks
Over the past four years, NNEdPro and Swiss Re Institute fostered meaningful discussions and made significant strides in nutrition, health, and data science through the International Summits, the iKANN, which is an open-access knowledge hub. As our formal collaboration concluded at the end of October 2023, we extend our gratitude to the dedicated teams and individuals who contributed to these remarkable achievements. The impact of our joint efforts, from informing public health policies to addressing the multifaceted challenges posed by global crises like COVID-19, resonates as a legacy of our shared commitment to building a healthier, more resilient future.
Note: We will continue to publish a series of outputs, including peer reviewed papers from the above work over 2024/25.
References
1. Fitzmaurice C, Allen C, Barber RM, Barregard L, Bhutta ZA, Brenner H, Dicker DJ, Chimed-Orchir O, Dandona R, Dandona L, Fleming T. Global, regional, and national cancer incidence, mortality, years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-adjusted life-years for 32 cancer groups, 1990 to 2015: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study. JAMA oncology. 2017 Apr 1;3(4):524-48.
Members Acknowledgements
Swiss Re sponsors
Jeff Bohn
Christoph Nabholz
Natalie Kelly
Jolee Crosby
Amanda Hosken
Project management
Edelweiss Choi
Louise Haines
Sobia Hamid
Kai Zhang
Project team/experts
Adam Strange
Doug Rix
Daniel Meier
John Schoonbee
Prachi Patkee
Michael Ducker
Data Science Team
Prof Sumantra Ray
Dr Rajna Golubic
Dr Christine Delon
Dr Federica Amati
Dr Claudia Tramontt
Dr Marjorie Lima do Vale
Sarah Armes
Xunhan Liu
Mayara de Paula
Ravi Mohan Lal
Ramya Rajaram
University of California Berkeley (Dr Saad Mouti, Dr Jeffrey Bohn, Nate Jansen)
2022 International Summit
Dr Breanna Lepre
Dr Celia Laur
Claudia Mitrofan
Dominic Crocombe
Jorgen Johnsen
Kai Sento Kargbo
Dr Kathy Martyn
Kannan Raman
Dr Marjorie Lima do Vale
Prof Martin Kohlmeier
Matheus Abrantes
Matija Mitak
Mei Yen Chan
Mercedes Zorilla Tejeda
Sarah Anderson
Sarah Armes
Sonigitu Ekpe
Sucheta Mitra
Prof Sumantra Ray
Xunhan Li
2021 International Summit
Ananya (Ria) Roy
Dr Celia Laur
Elaine MacAninch RD
Prof Eleanor Beck
Helena Trigueiro
James Bradfield RD
Kai Sento Kargbo
Dr Kathy Martyn
Dr Luke Buckner
Prof Martin Kohlmeier
Matheus Abrantes
Mercedes Tejeda
Nikhita Raja
Mayara de Paula
Melissa Adamski
Pauline Douglas RD
Shane McAuliffe RD
Sucheta Mitra
Prof Sumantra Ray
iKANN
Breanna Lepre
James Bryant
Jeffrey Bohn
Jorgen Johnsen
Lauren Ball
Marjorie Lima do Vale
Matheus Abrantes
Sally Ayyad
Sarah Armes
Selvarani Elahi
Shane McAuliffe
Sucheta Mitra
Prof Sumantra Ray
Xunhan Li