Association between plant-based diets and the risk of coronary heart disease predicted using the Framingham Risk...

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Health
• Nutritional Epidemiology
• Preventive Cardiology

Background:

• Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains a leading cause of mortality globally.
• Dietary patterns, particularly plant-based diets, are increasingly recognized for their role in cardiovascular disease prevention.
• Understanding the impact of specific plant-based diet indices on CHD risk in diverse populations is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between four distinct plant-based diet indices and the predicted risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).
• To assess these associations in a cohort of Korean men using the Framingham Risk Score.
• To evaluate the influence of healthy, unhealthy, and overall plant-based dietary patterns on cardiovascular risk.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study involving 12,356 Korean men aged 40 years and older.
• Dietary intake assessed via a validated food frequency questionnaire.
• Four plant-based diet indices calculated: overall, healthy (hPDI), unhealthy (uPDI), and pro-vegetarian.
• Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models used to estimate 10-year CHD risk.

Main Results:

• Higher adherence to the healthy plant-based diet index (hPDI) was associated with a 19% lower predicted CHD risk (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.69 to 0.93).
• A pro-vegetarian diet index showed a reduced CHD risk in physically active individuals (HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.59 to 0.93).
• Higher intake of an unhealthy plant-based diet index (uPDI) correlated with increased CHD risk in individuals with obesity (BMI ≥25 kg/m²).

Conclusions:

• Adherence to a high hPDI diet plays a significant role in the prevention of coronary heart disease among Korean men.
• Plant-based dietary patterns, particularly healthy ones, demonstrate a protective effect against cardiovascular risk.
• Further research is warranted to explore these associations in diverse Asian populations with varying dietary habits.