PAD is a debilitating chronic cardiovascular disease brought on by atherosclerotic plaques developing in the arteries of the body’s lower extremities. Apart from ageing, smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes and chronic kidney failure are known risk factors for PAD.
However, compared to other heart diseases, little is known about the impact of one’s diet on PAD risk, with few prior studies having been published on the topic.
As such, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing conducted a study to explore the relationship between dietary patterns, plasma vitamins and TFAs and PAD risk.
Using 1999 — 2002 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), they found that of the 4,864 participants (2,482 men and 2,382 women), 269 had prevalent PAD.
Diet and disease
They wrote: "PAD patients had significantly higher serum concentrations of trans 9-octadecenoic acid and trans 9, trans 12-octadienoic acid, as well as lower plasma levels of vitamin D, retinol, retinyl stearate and retinyl palmitate."
They also discovered three dietary patterns responsible for 56.8% of the variance in dietary nutrient intake: one was characterised by fatty acids and cholesterol, another by fibre, minerals and vitamins, and the last by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).
After adjusting for age, race, cholesterol level, energy intake, and diabetes, hypertension and smoking status, the researchers observed that those whose diets were high in fatty acids and cholesterol faced a higher PAD risk, while those whose diets were high in either fibre, minerals and vitamins or PUFAs faced a lower PAD risk.
Prevention and delay
The researchers stated that diet quality, plasma vitamin levels, and TFAs were indeed related to the risk of PAD, adding that such factors could be manipulated to delay or even prevent the disease.
They concluded: "Our results provide information on the association between plasma vitamins and TFAs and the likelihood of PAD.
"We have found that dietary factors (either via consumption or plasma concentration) are independently associated with the likelihood of PAD.
"The impact of the dietary items on preventing or delaying the clinical progression of PAD should be investigated in intervention trials."
Source: Lipids in Health and Disease
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12944-017-0635-y
"Dietary patterns, plasma vitamins and Transfatty acids are associated with peripheral artery disease"
Authors: Mohsen Mazidi, et al.