INVERSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIETARY STARCH INTAKE AND PLASMA-FIBRINOGEN IN MIDDLE-AGED MEN

The association between habitual diet and plasma fibrinogen was analysed in 125 eastern Finnish men aged 50-60 years. Plasma fibrinogen concentration was analysed by the thrombin time method, habitual diet using 4-day food records, and cardiorespiratory fitness by determining maximal oxygen consumption in a bicycle ergometer exercise test. Starch intake (r = -0.26, P < 0.01), cardiorespiratory fitness (r = -0.25, P < 0.01) and HDL(2) cholesterol (r = -0.23, P < 0.01) correlated negatively with plasma fibrinogen. Plasma insulin (r = 0.38, P < 0.001), blood leucocyte count (r = 0.39, P < 0.001), waist to hip ratio (r = 0.33, P<0.001) and smoking (r = 0.22, P < 0.05) correlated positively with fibrinogen. Men in the highest tertile of starch intake [> 27.0% of the energy intake (E%)] had a mean fibrinogen level that was 0.42 g/l (95% CI: 0.16; 0.69) lower (P = 0.004) compared to men in the lowest tertile (< 23.0 E%). The difference persisted (P = 0.012) after controlling for the waist to hip ratio, VO2max, plasma insulin, and leucocyte count. In stepwise multiple regression analysis leucocytes (beta = 0,32, P < 0.001), insulin (beta = 0.24, P = 0.005) and starch intake (beta = -0.22, P = 0.008) jointly explained 26.1% of the variation in plasma fibrinogen. These data suggest that low dietary starch intake is associated with an increased level of plasma fibrinogen, an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke.