The study was renewed in 2005 to apply novel statistical methods (such as confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling) to validate various dietary patterns and examine their associations with risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and total mortality in two large ongoing cohort studies, the Nurses' Health Study (n=121,700) and Health Professionals' Follow-up Study (n=51,529). In addition to evaluating prevailing dietary recommendations, the study will also examine the role of the Mediterranean-type dietary pattern, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) dietary pattern, and the Atkins-type diet in predicting health outcomes. Using repeated measurements of diet, the study will examine the impact of changes in eating patterns and diet quality over time on subsequent risk of diabetes, CVD, and total mortality. In addition, it will examine relationships between major dietary patterns and novel plasma biomarkers of inflammation and endothelial function and whether such relationships are mediated through obesity. Finally, the study will test interactions between dietary patterns and individual single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes of several promising candidate genes in the inflammation and endothelial dysfunction pathway on risk of coronary heart disease, including PPARa, PPARy, Adiponectin (AdipoQ), PON1, IL-6, TNF-a, ICAM-1, VCAM-1, E-Selectin, NOS3, ACE gene, and angiotensinogen (ANG) genes.