ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIETARY PATTERNS AND CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS IN THE GREATER REGION POPULATION

Abstract
Background:
The prevalence of chronic pathologies such as cardio-vascular diseases is increasing, in part due to dietary habits. Some dietary patterns may influence health more than individual foods, nutrients or food groups. The objective of this research was to identify dietary patterns associated with common cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) in a sample of adult individuals living in the Greater Region.
Methods:
Data were taken from the cross-sectional NESCAV (Nutrition, Environment and Cardiovascular Health) study, aiming to describe the cardiovascular health of the Greater Region’s population (1).
Dietary intake was assessed using a 132-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), from which 44 food groups were formed. Food group consumptions were adjusted for energy intake using the residuals method of Willet and Stampfer (2).
Participants under a special diet to manage their CVRF were excluded. Likewise, those who had a history of cardiovascular disease or with confirmed diabetes, hypertension, and/or dyslipidemia were also discarded as they may have changed their diet. Thus, a total of 1691 individuals were included in the study (865 from Luxembourg, 527 from Wallonia and 299 from Lorraine).
We applied the reduced rank regression method to identify specific dietary patterns strongly associated with common CVRF (3). The CVRF-specific dietary patterns were constructed by choosing intake data as predictors and CVRF as outcomes. Nine CVRF (BMI, waist to hip ratio, total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, blood glucose, diastolic and systolic blood pressure) were used in the statistical analysis.
Associations between dietary patterns and CVRF were adjusted according to gender, age, smoking status and level of physical activity.
Results:
Two main dietary patterns were identified. A pattern characterized by high intakes of alcohol, potatoes and high-fat food such as pastries, fried foods, offal, processed and smoked meat, margarine, but low intakes of cereals, soups, soft drink and olive oil, was significantly associated with an increase of all CVRF. On the other hand, a healthy pattern characterized by high consumption of brown bread, nuts, soups, vegetables, smoked and canned fish, olive oil and oil rich in omega 6 and 3, high-fat dairy products, butter and margarine, but a low consumption of fried foods, rice/pasta, meat, ready meal, soft drink and beer, was associated with a decrease of all CVRF except LDL.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that dietary patterns of the Greater Region population are related to CVRF. Diet rich in alcohol and high-fat food is associated with a higher cardiovascular risk whereas a healthy diet is associated with a lower cardiovascular risk. These results emphasize the need for cross-border preventive nutritional strategies.