The Healthy Eating Index and the Alternate Healthy Eating Index as predictors of 10-year CHD risk in Cuban Americans with and without type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Objective: To examine the relationship between dietary patterns, as measured by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), and 10-year predicted CHD risk in Cuban Americans with and without type 2 diabetes (T2D). Design: In a cross-sectional study participants were selected from two randomly generated mailing lists of individuals with and without T2D. HEI and AHEI scores were calculated from a self-reported FFQ. CHD risk was determined using the 10-year CHD risk calculator of the Adult Treatment Panel III. Setting: Miami Dade and Broward Counties, FL, USA. Subjects: Cuban Americans (n 358) aged $30 years. Results: Participants with T2D had a higher waist circumference (P 5 0?001) and 10-year CHD risk score (P 5 0?008) compared with those without T2D. Participants without T2D had a higher energy intake (P 5 0?034), total blood cholesterol (P 5 0?007), HDL cholesterol (P 5 0?001) and HEI score (P 5 0?006) compared with participants with T2D. AHEI score was a significant predictor of 10-year CHD risk (F (1,351) 5 4?44, P 5 0?036). An association between AHEI and 10-year CHD risk was found only for participants with T2D (b 5 20?244, SE 5 0?049, P 5 0?001). Conclusion: The present study showed that only participants with T2D with significantly higher AHEI scores had lower scores for 10-year predicted CHD risk. No association was found between HEI score and CHD risk among Cuban Americans. Individuals with T2D are advised to follow the AHEI dietary pattern.

Diet Quality and Its Association with Cardiometabolic Risk Factors Vary by Hispanic and Latino Ethnic Background in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

“…Recruitment locations and sociodemographic characteristics varied between the aforementioned cohorts. Among other studies conducted for individual Hispanic or Latino backgrounds, one study reported a mean AHEI of 34 in Cubans, 10 points lower than in our sample (32). Puerto Ricans have been shown to have poor diet quality with the use of another index derived from evidence-based dietary recommendations (36), similar to our findings.…”

Sociodemographic and Behavioural Determinants of a Healthy Diet in Switzerland

“…For example, the Mediterranean diet score derived for the Swiss population considers dairy products as beneficial [8], which is not the case for the other scores [3,7]. Other healthy diet scores have been proposed such as the healthy eating index or the alternate healthy eating index (AHEI) [9,10], which have been related to decreased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality [9]. …”

Effect of improving dietary quality on carotid intima media thickness in subjects with type 1 and type 2 diabetes: a 12-mo randomized controlled trial

“…Epidemiologic studies show that better dietary quality is associated with lower rates of CVD in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes (5,6). Primary and secondary prevention trials have shown that improving dietary quality is associated with a reduction in cardiovascular events (7,8).…”