The association between carbohydrate-rich foods and risk of cardiovascular disease is not modified by genetic susceptibility to dyslipidemia as determined by 80 validated variants

• Published in: PloS one 2015-04, Vol.10 (4), p.e0126104-e0126104
• Main Authors: Sonestedt, Emily, Hellstrand, Sophie, Schulz, Christina-Alexandra, Wallström, Peter, Drake, Isabel, Ericson, Ulrika, Gullberg, Bo, Hedblad, Bo, Orho-Melander, Marju
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Berries; Beverages; Beverages - utilization; Cakes; Cancer; Carbohydrates; Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems; Cardiovascular diseases; Cholesterol, HDL - blood; Cholesterol, LDL - blood; Clinical Medicine; Cookies; Coronary Artery Disease - blood; Coronary Artery Disease - etiology; Coronary Artery Disease - genetics; Coronary Artery Disease - physiopathology; Diet; Diet - adverse effects; Dietary Carbohydrates - adverse effects; Dietary Fiber - administration & dosage; Dietary intake; Disease susceptibility; Dyslipidemia; Dyslipidemias - blood; Dyslipidemias - etiology; Dyslipidemias - genetics; Dyslipidemias - physiopathology; Edible Grain - chemistry; Endocrinology and Diabetes; Endokrinologi och diabetes; Female; Females; Food; Food consumption; Food sources; Fruit - chemistry; Fruits; Gene loci; Genetic aspects; Genetic diversity; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Genetic variance; Grain; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Health Sciences; High density lipoprotein; Humans; Hälsovetenskap; Insulin resistance; Ischemia; Kardiologi; Klinisk medicin; Lipids; Low density lipoprotein; Low density lipoproteins; Male; Medical and Health Sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Metabolic disorders; Middle Aged; Nutrition and Dietetics; Näringslära; Potatoes; Prospective Studies; Risk; Risk analysis; Risk factors; Stroke; Stroke - blood; Stroke - etiology; Stroke - genetics; Stroke - physiopathology; Sucrose - administration & dosage; Sugar; Triglycerides; Triglycerides - blood; Vegetables; Vegetables - chemistry
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126104

It is still unclear whether carbohydrate consumption is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Genetic susceptibility might modify the associations between dietary intakes and disease risk. The aim was to examine the association between the consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods (vegetables, fruits and berries, juice, potatoes, whole grains, refined grains, cookies and cakes, sugar and sweets, and sugar-sweetened beverages) and the risk of incident ischemic CVD (iCVD; coronary events and ischemic stroke), and whether these associations differ depending on genetic susceptibility to dyslipidemia. Among 26,445 individuals (44-74 years; 62% females) from the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study cohort, 2,921 experienced an iCVD event during a mean follow-up time of 14 years. At baseline, dietary data were collected using a modified diet history method, and clinical risk factors were measured in 4,535 subjects. We combined 80 validated genetic variants associated with triglycerides and HDL-C or LDL-C, into genetic risk scores and examined the interactions between dietary intakes and genetic risk scores on the incidence of iCVD. Subjects in the highest intake quintile for whole grains had a 13% (95% CI: 3-23%; p-trend: 0.002) lower risk for iCVD compared to the lowest quintile. A higher consumption of foods rich in added sugar (sugar and sweets, and sugar-sweetened beverages) had a significant cross-sectional association with higher triglyceride concentrations and lower HDL-C concentrations. A stronger positive association between a high consumption of sugar and sweets on iCVD risk was observed among those with low genetic risk score for triglycerides (p-interaction=0.05). In this prospective cohort study that examined food sources of carbohydrates, individuals with a high consumption of whole grains had a decreased risk of iCVD. No convincing evidence of an interaction between genetic susceptibility for dyslipidemia, measured as genetic risk scores of dyslipidemia-associated variants, and the consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods on iCVD risk was observed.