Associations Between Dietary Patterns and Subclinical Cardiac Injury: An Observational Analysis From the DASH Trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The DASH diet has been found to lower blood pressure (BP) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.

Objective

To compare diets rich in fruits and vegetables with a typical American diet in their effects on cardiovascular injury in middle-aged adults without known preexisting cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Design

Observational study based on a 3-group, parallel-design, randomized trial conducted in the United States from 1994 to 1996. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00000544).

Setting

3 of the 4 original clinical trial centers.

Participants

326 of the original 459 trial participants with available stored specimens.

Intervention

Participants were randomly assigned to 8 weeks of monitored feeding with a control diet typical of what many Americans eat; a diet rich in fruits and vegetables but otherwise similar to the control diet; or the DASH diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and fiber and has low levels of saturated fat and cholesterol. Weight was kept constant throughout feeding.

Measurements

Biomarkers collected at baseline and 8 weeks: high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI), N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP).

Results

The mean age of participants was 45.2 years, 48% were women, 49% were black, and mean baseline BP was 131/85 mm Hg. Compared with the control diet, the fruit-and-vegetable diet reduced hs-cTnI levels by 0.5 ng/L (95% CI, -0.9 to -0.2 ng/L) and NT-proBNP levels by 0.3 pg/mL (CI, -0.5 to -0.1 pg/mL). Compared with the control diet, the DASH diet reduced hs-cTnI levels by 0.5 ng/L (CI, -0.9 to -0.1 ng/L) and NT-proBNP levels by 0.3 pg/mL (CI, -0.5 to -0.04 pg/mL). Levels of hs-CRP did not differ among diets. None of the markers differed between the fruit-and-vegetable and DASH diets.

Limitation

Short duration, missing specimens, and an inability to isolate the effects of specific foods or micronutrients.

Conclusion

Diets rich in fruits and vegetables given over 8 weeks were associated with lower levels of markers for subclinical cardiac damage and strain in adults without preexisting CVD.

Primary funding source

National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

SUBMITTER: Juraschek SP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7388686 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature