Japanese-Style Diet and LOX-Index in Japanese Municipal Workers

Japanese-style diet has been reported to be associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, no study has examined the association between a Japanese-style diet and LOX-index, which reflects the progression of atherosclerosis and is a predictive biomarker of cardiovascular disease. We examined the cross-sectional association between a Japanese-style diet assessed using the 12-component Japanese diet index (JDI12) score, which is a modified version of the original Japanese Diet Index, and LOX-index in Japanese municipal workers. Participants were 338 workers (166 men and 172 women aged 19-71 y) without a history of serious disease. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated brief self-administered diet history questionnaire. The JDI12 was characterized by a high intake of rice, miso soup, fish and shellfish, green and yellow vegetables, seaweeds, pickled vegetables, green tea, soybeans and soybean foods, fruits, and mushrooms and low intakes of beef and pork and coffee. LOX-index was calculated by multiplying serum concentrations of the soluble form of lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor-1 (LOX-1) by those of LOX-1 ligands containing apolipoprotein B. Multiple regression analysis was used to estimate the geometric mean of LOX-index according to tertile of JDI12 score. The JDI12 score was not associated with LOX-index after adjustment for covariates. Geometric means (95% confidence interval) of LOX-index for the lowest through highest tertile of JDI12 score were 590 (532-654), 592 (506-693), and 618 (557-687) (p for trend=0.55). Our results suggest that a Japanese-style diet as assessed by JDI12 score was not associated with LOX-index among Japanese municipal workers.