Major dietary patterns and carotid intima-media thickness in Bangladesh

Objective Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is a validated surrogate marker of preclinical atherosclerosis and is predictive of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Research on the association between IMT and diet, however, is lacking, especially in low-income countries or low-BMI populations. Design Cross-sectional analysis. Dietary intakes were measured using a validated, thirty-nine-item FFQ at baseline cohort recruitment. IMT measurements were obtained from 2010-2011. Setting Rural Bangladesh. Subjects Participants (n 1149) randomly selected from the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study, an ongoing, population-based, prospective cohort study established in 2000. Average age at IMT measurement was 455 years. Results Principal component analysis of reported food items yielded a balanced' diet, an animal protein' diet and a gourd and root vegetable' diet. We observed a positive association between the gourd/root vegetable diet and IMT, as each 1 sd increase in pattern adherence was related to a difference of 774 (95 % CI 286, 1262) m in IMT (P<001), controlling for age, sex, total energy intake, smoking status, BMI, systolic blood pressure and diabetes mellitus diagnoses. The balanced pattern was associated with lower IMT (-495 (95 % CI -978, -011) m for each 1sd increase of adherence; P=0045). Conclusions A gourd/root vegetable diet in this Bangladeshi population positively correlated with carotid IMT, while a balanced diet was associated with decreased IMT.