Previous studies showed a probable association of dietary variables with carotid intima media thickness (CIMT), as a surrogate marker of subclinical atherosclerosis. This study aimed to evaluate the association of the global diet quality score (GDQS) and macronutrient intakes with CIMT values in adults. This cross-sectional study was performed on 941 young adults that were selected from the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study. Dietary intake was evaluated using a valid and reliable food frequency questionnaire. CIMT was measured using an ultrasound examination. Multivariate-adjusted linear and logistic regression was used to determine the association of the GDQS and macronutrient intakes with CIMT. High CIMT was defined as CIMT ≥ 90th percentile values for age and sex derived from this study. The mean age of participants was 28.2 ± 4.25 years (51% men). The GDQS and its categories did not have a significant inverse association with CIMT (β = 0.001, P = 0.23), while we observed a significant inverse association between fiber intake and CIMT (β=-0.003, P = 0.02). Adults with higher quartiles of fiber intake had a lower odds ratio of high CIMT in comparison to the first quartile (OR: Q1: Ref., Q2: 0.61, Q3: 0.74, Q4: 0.53; P trend = 0.04), independent of confounding factors. There were no significant associations between other macronutrient intakes and CIMT value. Among macronutrients, dietary fiber intake, which often contains phytochemicals, was found to be inversely associated with CIMT value in a young adult Tehranian population. There were no associations between diet quality, as measured by the GDQS, healthy and unhealthy subgroups, and CIMT values.
Hosseini-Esfahani et al. (Thu,) studied this question.