Associations of plant-based dietary patterns with cardiovascular risk factors in women

Abstract

Introduction: Given that some plant-based foods, such as potatoes, adversely affect cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, this study was performed to assess the association between plant dietary patterns and these risk factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 371 healthy 18 to 50 year-old Iranian women. Participant dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Nineteen food groups were ranked in deciles and received scores from 1 to 10. An overall plant-based dietary index (PDI), a healthy plant-based dietary index (hPDI), and an unhealthy plant-based dietary index (uPDI) were calculated. Results: Participants who scored in the top tertile of the PDI or uPDI consumed less fat and protein and more carbohydrates, compared to women in the lowest tertile (P < 0.05). There was no significant variation in macronutrient consumption between the highest and lowest tertiles of hPDI. Participants who scored in the highest tertile of PDI had lower low density cholesterol level (LDL) (79.61 ± 14.36 mg dL−1 vs. 83.01 ± 14.96 mg/dL−1, P = 0.021). In addition, higher adherence to uPDI was associated with higher triglyceride (TG) levels compared to participants with lower adherence (101.5 ± 56.55 mg/dL−1 vs. 97.70 ± 56.46 mg dL−1, P < 0.0001). Here was no significant association between PDI, hPDI and uPDI and CVD risk factors in regression model. Conclusion: We found no significant association between plant-based dietary indices and CVD risk factors in women, except for LDL-C and TG. Future cohort studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Plant-Based Dietary Indices in Relation to Nutrient and Food Group Intakes in Preschool-Aged Children

“…Their food group results show that participants with higher overall plant intake have higher intakes of healthy plant foods and also some less healthy plant foods, although statistical comparisons are not completed and nutrient intakes are not reported [31]. Other PDI studies that have examined nutrient intakes report higher PDI scores in relation to higher intakes of carbohydrates [32,33], polyunsaturated fat [33], dietary fiber and vitamin B 6 [32,33], folate [32], vitamin C [33,34], and magnesium [32,33], and lower intakes of protein [15,21,33,34], total fat [15,33,34], saturated fat [15,33,34], cholesterol, vitamin B 6 , vitamin B 12 , calcium, and magnesium [15,33], although all of these studies were conducted in Iranian adults, except for one that was in South Korean adults [21]. Collectively, these studies support a role for plant foods in promoting the intake of nutrients beneficial for health, but also demonstrate that other nutrients beneficial for health can be lower with varying intakes of certain plant foods.…”