Associations between chrononutrition variables and carotid atherosclerosis in adults

The associations between chrononutrition variables (time of first meal, time of last meal or eating window) and carotid atherosclerosis (CAS) remain unclear. This study aimed to estimate the associations between chrononutrition variables and CAS.

A total of 671 participants (231 participants with CAS and 440 participants without CAS) were included in the study. Chrononutrition variables were collected through face-to-face interview. CAS was assessed via ultrasound by an experienced sonographer. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the associations between chrononutrition variables and CAS. Restricted cubic spline analyses were used to examine the dose-response relationship between eating window and CAS. Stratified analyses were conducted to analyze the association between eating window and CAS. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that a longer eating window was significantly associated with a higher risk of CAS, but no significant associations were observed between time of first meal or last meal and CAS. After multivariable adjustment, compared with participants in the lowest quartile, the ORs (95 % CIs) for participants in the highest quartile were 2.15 (1.10, 4.20) for eating window, 0.99 (0.27, 1.58) for time of first meal, and 1.15 (0.60, 2.21) for time of last meal. Restricted cubic spline analysis revealed a linear association between eating window and CAS (P for overall = 0.038, P for nonlinearity = 0.459). Consistent associations between eating window and CAS were observed in subgroup analyses.

Our findings suggest that a longer eating window may be detrimental to CAS.