Adherence to a healthy diet in relation to cardiovascular incidence and risk markers: evidence from the Caerphilly Prospective Study

Elly Mertens*, Oonagh Markey, Marianne Geleijnse, Julie A. Lovegrove, D.I. Givens

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

60 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose: Epidemiological findings indicate that higher adherence to a healthy diet may lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The present study aimed to investigate whether adherence to a healthy diet, assessed by the Healthy Diet Indicator (HDI), Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) score, and Alternative Healthy Eating Index 2010 (AHEI-2010), was associated with CVD incidence and risk markers. Methods: Included in the present analyses were data from 1867 middle-aged men, aged 56.7 ± 4.5 years at baseline, recruited into the Caerphilly Prospective Study. Adherence to a healthy diet was examined in relation to CVD, coronary heart disease (CHD), and stroke incidence (Cox regression), and risk markers (linear regression) with adjustment for relevant confounders. Results: The DASH score was inversely associated with CVD [hazard ratio (HR) 0.81; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.66, 0.99], and stroke (HR 0.61; 95% CI 0.42, 0.88) incidence, but not with CHD after an average of 16.6 year follow-up, and with diastolic blood pressure, after 12 year follow-up. The AHEI-2010 was inversely associated with stroke (HR 0.66; 95% CI 0.42, 0.88) incidence, aortic pulse wave velocity, and C-reactive protein. The HDI was not associated with any single outcome. Conclusions: Higher DASH and AHEI-2010 scores were associated with lower CVD and stroke risk, and favourable cardiovascular health outcomes, suggesting that encouraging middle-aged men to comply with the dietary recommendations for a healthy diet may have important implications for future vascular disease and population health.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1245-1258
Number of pages14
JournalEuropean Journal of Nutrition
Volume57
Issue number3
Early online date14 Mar 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2018

Keywords

  • Alternative healthy eating index-2010
  • Aortic pulse wave velocity
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Dietary adherence
  • Dietary approaches to stop hypertension score

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