Research Associate
Department of Epidemiology
Diabetes and Lipid Research Clinic
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Telephone: 412-383-2062
E-mail: CostacouT@edc.pitt.edu


Research Interests

• Epidemiology of diabetes and its complications
  
  
• Genetic susceptibility (especially Haptoglobin genotype), oxidative stress, inflammation and insulin resistance in relation to diabetes complications
  
  
• Nutrition epidemiology
  
  
• Women's health

Education and Training

• University of Massachusetts at Amherst - BA, 1993
  
  
• University of Massachusetts at Amherst - MSc, 1996
  
  
• University of South Carolina Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health - Ph.D., 2001
  
  
• University of Pittsburgh - Post Doctoral Fellowship in Diabetes Epidemiology, 2004
  
  

Selected Publications

Costacou T, Ferrell R, Orchard TJ. Haptoglobin genotype: a determinant of cardiovascular complication risk in type 1 diabetes. Diabetes 2008;57(6):1702-1706.

Costacou T, Bosnyak Z, Harger GF, Markovic N, Silvers N, Orchard TJ. Postpartum adiponectin concentration, insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome among women with pregnancy-induced disturbances. Preventive Cardiology 2008;11(2):106-115.

Costacou T, Ma B, King IB, Mayer-Davis EJ. Plasma and dietary vitamin E in relation to insulin secretion and sensitivity. Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism 2008;10(3):223-228.

Costacou T, Edmundowicz D, Prince CT, Conway B, Orchard TJ. Progression of coronary artery calcification in type 1 diabetes. American Journal of Cardiology 2007;100(10):1543-1547. PMCID: PMC2206537.

Costacou T, Ellis D, Fried L, Orchard TJ. Sequence of progression of albuminuria and decreased GFR in persons with type 1 diabetes: a cohort study. American Journal of Kidney Disease 2007;50(5):721-732.

Keenan HA, Costacou T, Sun JK, Doria A, Cavellerano J, Coney J, Orchard TJ, Aiello LP, King GL. Clinical factors associated with resistance to microvascular complications in diabetic patients of extreme disease duration: The Fifty-Year Medalist Study. Diabetes Care 2007;30(8):1995-1997.

Pambianco G, Costacou T, Orchard TJ. The prediction of major outcomes of type 1 diabetes: A 12 year prospective evaluation of three separate definitions of the metabolic syndrome and their components and estimated glucose disposal rate: The Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications Study Experience. Diabetes Care 2007;30(5):1248-1254.

Costacou T, Huskey N, Edmundowicz D, Stolk RP, Orchard TJ. Lower extremity arterial calcification as a predictor of coronary artery calcification. Metabolism 2006;55(12):1689-1696.

Orchard TJ, Costacou T, Kretowski A, Nesto RW. Type 1 diabetes and coronary artery disease. Diabetes Care 2006;29(11):2528-2538.

Costacou T, Zgibor JC, Evans RW, Tyurina YY, Kagan VE, Orchard TJ. Antioxidants and coronary artery disease among individuals with type 1 diabetes: findings from the Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications (EDC) Study. Journal of Diabetes and its Complications 2006;20(6):387-394.

Costacou T, Chang YF, Ferrell RE, Orchard TJ. Identifying genetic susceptibilities to diabetes-related complications among individuals at low risk of complications: An application of tree-structured survival analysis. American Journal of Epidemiology 2006;164(9):862-872.

Pambianco G, Costacou T, Ellis D, Becker DJ, Klein R, Orchard TJ. The 30 year natural history of type 1 diabetes complications. The Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications (EDC) Study Experience. Diabetes 2006;55(5):1463-1469.

Costacou T. Evaluation of epidemiologic evidence on the role of nutrition in the development of diabetes and its complications. Current Diabetes Reports 2005;5(5):366-373.

Costacou T, Lopes-Virella MF, Zgibor JC, Virella G, Otvos J, Walsh M, Orchard TJ. Markers of endothelial dysfunction in the prediction of coronary artery disease in type 1 diabetes. The Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications Study. Journal of Diabetes and its Complications 2005;19(4):183-193.

Costacou T, Zgibor JC, Evans RW, Otvos J, Lopes-Virella MF, Orchard TJ. The prospective association between adiponectin and coronary artery disease among individuals with type 1 diabetes. The Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications Study. Diabetologia 2005;48(1):41-48.

Mayer-Davis EJ, Sparks KC, Hirst K, Costacou T, Lovejoy JC, Regensteiner JG, Hoskin MA, Kriska AM, Bray GA, and the Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Dietary intake in the diabetes prevention program cohort: Baseline and 1-year post-randomization. Annals of Epidemiology 2004;14(10):763-72.

Costacou T, Mayer-Davis EJ. Nutrition and prevention of type 2 diabetes. Ann Rev Nutr. 2003;23:147-170.

Costacou T, Bamia C, Ferrari P, Trichopoulou A, Trichopoulos D. Tracing the Mediterranean diet through principal components and cluster analyses in the Greek population. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2003;57(11):1378-1385.

Trichopoulou A, Costacou T, Bamia C, Trichopoulos D. Adhesion to the Mediterranean diet and survival in a Greek population. New England Journal of Medicine 2003;348(26):2599-2608.

Trichopoulou A, Naska A, Costacou T, on behalf of the DAFNE III group. Disparities in food habits across Europe. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 2002;61(4):553-558.

Mayer-Davis EJ, Costacou T, King I, Zaccaro D, Bell RA. Plasma and dietary vitamin E in relation to diabetes incidence. The Insulin Resistance and Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS). Diabetes Care 2002;25(12):2172-2177.

Mayer-Davis EJ, Costacou T. Obesity and sedentary lifestyle: modifiable risk factors for prevention of type 2 diabetes. Current Diabetes Reports 2001;1(2):170-176.

Costacou T, Mayer-Davis EJ. Methodological issues in evaluating research studies on micronutrients in diabetes. On the Cutting Edge, American Dietetic Association, Council on Diabetes 2001;22(4):14-18.

Costacou T, Levin S, Mayer-Davis EJ. Dietary patterns among members of the Catawba Indian Nation. Journal of the American Dietetic Association July 2000;100(7):833-835.

Costacou T, Mayer-Davis EJ, Davis RM. Prevalence of ocular diseases in South Carolina. The Journal of the South Carolina Medical Association June 2000;96(6):251-256.