Endocrine Abstracts

Demonstrating a relationship between diet and atherosclerosis should provide an opportunity for potential risk reduction at an early stage of the known long disease process instead of the need to intervene at the symptomatic disease stage. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between levels of nutrients intake as determined by food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) with the degree of atherosclerotic lesions as measured by carotid intima-medial ratio (CIMT).

One hundred eighty nine patients, aged between 40–78 years, were randomly recruited from the internal medicine clinics at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Dietary intake data were collected by a 92 item, semi-quantitative FFQ designed to assess average food intake over the previous 12 months. Macronutrient intakes were adjusted for total energy intake using the nutrient residual method and were also presented as the percentage of total energy intake (nutrient density). Common, internal and external carotid arteries on both sides were scanned and the presence of plaques was noted using high resolution B-mode ultrasonography. The mean values of maximum left and right CIMT were determined. The presence of atherosclerotic plaque was defined as any stenosis in either the right or left carotid artery.

Data are presented as mean ± S.E.M. The associations between CIMT and dietary intake levels were examined by univariate analysis while adjusting for potential confounders. All statistical analysis was conducted using the SPSS 21.0 statistical packages, and statistical significance was set at P<0.05. All P values were two-tailed.

Our results suggest that dietary intake levels might affect the risk of subclinical atherosclerosis. Significant findings were consistent with dietary recommendations and lifestyle intervention. An aggressive cardiovascular risk factor modification exerted early on in life might have a potential to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and the incidence of heart attack at later stages.