Dietary acid load and risk of cardiovascular disease: a prospective population-based study

Considering the inconsistencies in the cardiovascular effects of dietary acid load and the impact of dietary acidity on the acid-base homeostasis within the body, we aimed to assess the association of dietary acid load and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a prospective community-based study.

Participants (n = 2369) free of CVD at baseline (2006-2008) were included from the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS) and followed up for a mean of 6.7 ± 1.4 years. Dietary intakes of the participants were assessed using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The dietary acid load was evaluated by Potential Renal Acid Load (PRAL) and Net Endogenous Acid Production (NEAP) scores. Both scores have used the macronutrient and micronutrient data of the Food Frequency Questionnaires. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate the 6-years incident risk of CVDs across tertiles of PRAL and NEAP scores.

Mean age and body mass index of participants were 38.5 ± 13.3 years and 26.6 ± 4.8 kg/m² at baseline. Within 6.7 ± 1.4 years of follow-up, 79 cases of cardiovascular events were reported. NEAP was significantly associated with the incidence of CVDs (HRs = 0.50, CI 0.32-0.96; P for trend = 0.032); however, after adjusting for potential confounders, no significant associations were observed between PRAL and NEAP scores and the risk of CVDs.

This study failed to obtain independent associations between dietary acid load and the incidence of CVDs among an Asian population.