Nithya Neelakantan, PhD, MSc

Research Program: Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences Faculty Rank: Associate Professor Campus: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College: College of Public Health Department: Epidemiology

Cancer Research Interest

• Disease Site Focus: GI, Breast, Prostate, Thoracic/ Lung
• Research Focus Area: Prevention, Diagnosis/ Prognosis, Health Disparities, Informatics
• Type of Research: Population Sciences
• Research Keywords: diet, lifestyle, cancer etiology, evidence synthesis
• Research Interest Statement: I have a broad background in Epidemiology and Biostatistics with special training in Nutritional Epidemiology. My research is primarily focused on investigating the role of diet and lifestyle factors in chronic disease development and prevention. I have extensive experience working with large prospective cohort studies including Singapore Chinese Health Study, which was funded by National Cancer Institute. In specific, I investigated the role of overall diet quality, intermediate biomarkers and risk of chronic disease incidence and mortality including cancer, CVD and diabetes among Asian populations. My long-term goal is to study complex interactions between lifestyle factors, gene-and environmental factors in relation to cancer and cardiometabolic outcomes, and to address the need for promoting healthier lifestyles to mitigate chronic disease burden. Currently, I am interested in examining obesity related cancer and role of physical activity and food environment in Arkansas.

Contact Information

• Email Address: NNeelakantan@uams.edu
• Profiles Research Networking Software: View Profile

Active Grants

• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention – 1 U48DP006814-01-00
  “Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Centers”
  Co-Investigator
  9/30/2024 – 9/29/2029

Recent Publications

• Li C, Bishop TRP, Imamura F, [et al., including Neelakantan N]. Meat consumption and incident type 2 diabetes: an individual-participant federated meta-analysis of 1·97 million adults with 100 000 incident cases from 31 cohorts in 20 countries. The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology. 2024 12(9):619-630. PMID: 39174161.
• Lim GH, Neelakantan N, Lee YQ, [et al.]. Dietary Patterns and Cardiovascular Diseases in Asia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.). 2024 15(7):100249. PMID: 39009489. PMCID: PMC11294752.
• Liew SJ, Petrunoff NA, Neelakantan N, [et al.]. Device-Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Relation to Cardiovascular Diseases and All-Cause Mortality: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies. AJPM focus. 2023 2(1):100054. PMID: 37789935. PMCID: PMC10546582.
• Zhou YF, Lai JS, Chong MF, [et al., including Neelakantan N]. Association between changes in diet quality from mid-life to late-life and healthy ageing: the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Age and ageing. 2022 51(10). PMID: 36315430.
• Lee YQ, Whitton C, Neelakantan N, [et al.]. Dietary patterns and predicted 10-year cardiovascular disease risk in a multiethnic Asian population. Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases : NMCD. 2022 32(9):2093-2104. PMID: 35843801.
• Geng T, Chang X, Wang L, [et al., including Neelakantan N]. The association of genetic susceptibility to smoking with cardiovascular disease mortality and the benefits of adhering to a DASH diet: The Singapore Chinese Health Study. The American journal of clinical nutrition. 2022 116(2):386-393. PMID: 35551603. PMCID: PMC9348979.
• Neelakantan N, Park SH, Chen GC, van Dam RM. Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, weight gain, and risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in Asia: a systematic review. Nutrition reviews. 2021 80(1):50-67. PMID: 33855443.
• Luu HN, Paragomi P, Jin A, [et al., including Neelakantan N]. Quality Diet Index and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer: Findings from the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology. 2021 30(11):2068-2078. PMID: 34446471. PMCID: PMC8568638.
• Tong EH, Lai JS, Whitton C, [et al., including Neelakantan N]. Changes in Diet Quality from Mid- to Late Life Are Associated with Cognitive Impairment in the Singapore Chinese Health Study. The Journal of nutrition. 2021 151(9):2800-2807. PMID: 34049404.
• Zhou YF, Song XY, Wu J, [et al., including Neelakantan N]. Association Between Dietary Patterns in Midlife and Healthy Ageing in Chinese Adults: The Singapore Chinese Health Study. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. 2021 22(6):1279-1286. PMID: 33218913.
• Luu HN, Neelakantan N, Geng TT, [et al.]. Quality diet indexes and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma: Findings from the Singapore Chinese Health Study. International journal of cancer. 2021 148(9):2102-2114. PMID: 33129230. PMCID: PMC11572543.
• Geng TT, Jafar TH, Neelakantan N, [et al.]. Healthful dietary patterns and risk of end-stage kidney disease: the Singapore Chinese Health Study. The American journal of clinical nutrition. 2021 113(3):675-683. PMID: 33381807. PMCID: PMC7948892.
• Quek J, Lim G, Lim WH, [et al., including Neelakantan N]. The Association of Plant-Based Diet With Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review of Prospect Cohort Studies. Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine. 2021 8:756810. PMID: 34805312. PMCID: PMC8604150.
• Neelakantan N, Seah JYH, van Dam RM. The Effect of Coconut Oil Consumption on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials. Circulation. 2020 141(10):803-814. PMID: 31928080.
• Hewage SS, Wu S, Neelakantan N, Yoong J. Systematic review of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of lifestyle interventions to improve clinical diabetes outcome measures in women with a history of GDM. Clinical nutrition ESPEN. 2020 35:20-29. PMID: 31987117.