An exploratory study of dietary intake patterns among adults diagnosed with cardiovascular risk factors

Framework of Methodology to Assess the Link between A Posteriori Dietary Patterns and Nutritional Adequacy: Application to Pregnancy

This study aimed to explore the nutritional profile of 608 women during the second trimester of pregnancy, in terms of nutrient patterns, dietary quality and nutritional adequacy. Dietary data were collected using a validated Mediterranean-oriented, culture-specific FFQ. Principal component analysis was performed on 18 energy-adjusted nutrients. Two main nutrient patterns, “plant-origin” (PLO) and “animal-origin” (ANO), were extracted. Six homogenous clusters (C) relative to nutrient patterns were obtained and analyzed through a multidimensional methodological approach. C1, C5 and C6 scored positively on PLO, while C1, C2 and C3 scored positively on ANO. When dietary quality was mapped on food choices and dietary indexes, C6 unveiled a group with a distinct image resembling the Mediterranean-type diet (MedDiet Score = 33.8). Although C1–C5 shared common dietary characteristics, their diet quality differed as reflected in the HEI-2010 (C1:79.7; C2:73.3; C3:70.9; C4:63.2; C5:76.6). The appraisal of nutritional adequacy mirrored a “nutritional-quality gradient”. A total of 50% of participants in C6 had almost 100% adequate magnesium intake, while 50% of participants in C4 had a probability of adequacy of ≤10%. Our methodological framework is efficient for assessing the link between a posteriori dietary patterns and nutritional adequacy during pregnancy. Given that macro- and micronutrient distributions may induce metabolic modifications of potential relevance to offspring’s health, public health strategies should be implemented.

Dietary Patterns and Their Association with CVD Risk Factors among Bangladeshi Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

PURPOSE

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between dietary patterns and CVD risk factors among adults.

METHODS

Demographic data, knowledge, attitude, practices toward CVD related data, dietary data, and some biochemical data were collected from 250 participants at Coronary Care Unit of Jashore 250 bedded Sadar Hospital in Jashore district. A multinomial logit regression method was used to examine the association between LDL and TG levels with the dietary diversity of CVD risk patients.

RESULTS

According to the BMI, most of the respondents were overweight. The respondent's practice level was poor than their knowledge and attitude level toward CVD. A positive correlation was found among the respondents' knowledge, attitude, and practice. Most of the CVD patient's troponin value and BP level were found higher than the acceptable limit. Along with their lipid profile level was not good. Most of them were in borderline risk condition of CVD and some had high risk. The patients who consumed a higher amount of red meat, egg, cheese, fast food, soft drinks, and salty snacks had more probability of increasing LDL and TG level in blood which was the major risk factors of CVD than the patients who consumed fish, chicken, pulse, nuts, fruits, and vegetables in their diet regularly.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that the consumption of fatty foods, fast foods, and soft drinks leads to the probability of increasing LDL and TG levels in CVD risk patients.

Dietary Adherence of Saudi Males to the Saudi Dietary Guidelines and Its Relation to Cardiovascular Diseases: A Preliminary Cross-Sectional Study

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major public health problem in Saudi Arabia. Dietary intake plays a major role in CVD incidence; however, the dietary intake status in Saudi nationals with CVD is unknown. We aimed to investigate whether the dietary patterns of Saudi males, using the Saudi dietary guidelines adherence score, in parallel with the measurement of a selective number of cardiovascular disease-related biomarkers, are contributing factors to CVD risk. Demographics, dietary adherence score, and blood biomarker levels were collected for 40 CVD patients and forty non-CVD patients. Fasting blood glucose (p = 0.006) and high-density lipoprotein levels (p = 0.03) were significantly higher in CVD patients. The adherence score to the Saudi dietary guidelines was not significantly different between the CVD and non-CVD patients; however, the specific adherence scores of fruit (p = 0.02), olive oil (p = 0.01), and non-alcoholic beer (p = 0.02) were significantly higher in the non-CVD patients. The differences in CVD family history (p = 0.02) and adherence scores to specific groups/foods between the CVD and non-CVD patients may contribute to CVD risk in Saudi males. However, as the sample size of this study was small, further research is required to validate these findings.

Dietary Patterns Associated with Lower 10-Year Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk among Urban African-American and White Adults Consuming Western Diets

The study's objective was to determine whether variations in the 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association 10-year risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) were associated with differences in food consumption and diet quality. Findings from the baseline wave of Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study 2004-2009, revealed participants consumed a Western diet. Diet quality measures, specifically the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2010, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and the Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR), based on two 24-h recalls collected during follow-up HANDLS studies from 2009-2013, were used. Reported foods were assigned to 27 groups. In this cross-sectional analysis, the participants (n = 2140) were categorized into tertiles based on their 10-year ASCVD risk. Lower and upper tertiles were used to determine significantly different consumption rates among the food groups. Ten groups were used in hierarchical case clustering to generate four dietary patterns (DPs) based on group energy contribution. The DP with the highest HEI-2010 score included sandwiches along with vegetables and cheese/yogurt. This DP, along with the pizza/sandwiches DP, had significantly higher DASH and MAR scores and a lower 10-year ASCVD risk, compared to the remaining two DPs-meats/sandwiches and sandwiches/bakery products; thus, Western dietary patterns were associated with different levels of ASCVD 10-year risk.

Development and Validation of a Mediterranean Oriented Culture-Specific Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire

The objectives were to develop a Mediterranean oriented semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and evaluate its validity in measuring energy and nutrient intakes. For FFQ development, the main challenge was to merge food items and practices reflecting cultural Mediterranean preferences with other food choices ensuing from diet transition to more westernized dietary patterns. FFQ validity was evaluated by comparing nutrient intakes against the average of two 24-h dietary recalls for 179 pregnant women. Although the mean intake values for most nutrients and energy tended to be higher when determined by the FFQ, the Cohen's d was below 0.3. Bland-Altman plots confirmed the agreement between the two methods. Positive significant correlations ranged from 0.35 to 0.77. The proportion of women classified correctly was between 73.2% and 92.2%, whereas gross misclassification was low. Weighted kappa values were between 0.31 and 0.78, while intraclass correlation coefficients were between 0.49 and 0.89. Our methodological approach for the development and validation of this FFQ provides reliable measurements of energy, macro- and micronutrient intakes. Overall, our culture-specific FFQ could serve as a useful assessment tool in studies aiming at monitoring dietary intakes, especially in the Mediterranean region, where countries share common cultural dietary habits.