Beneficial Effect of Higher Dietary Fiber Intake on Plasma HDL-C and TC/HDL-C Ratio among Chinese Rural-to-Urban Migrant Workers

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2015-04, Vol.12 (5), p.4726-4738
• Main Authors: Zhou, Quan, Wu, Jiang, Tang, Jie, Wang, Jia-Ji, Lu, Chu-Hong, Wang, Pei-Xi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Cardiovascular disease; China; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, HDL - blood; Cholesterol, LDL - blood; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dietary fiber; Dietary Fiber - analysis; Female; Humans; Lipoproteins; Male; Middle Aged; Risk factors; Rural Population; Transients and Migrants; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph120504726

Research has shown that high-dose supplemental dietary fiber intake has beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors. To clarify such a relationship, we examined the association between daily dietary fiber intake and plasma lipids using a cross-sectional design including 1034 (M 502, F 532) rural-to-urban workers in China. We found a dose-response relationship between increased dietary fiber intakes and increase of HDL cholesterol in male workers. There was also a dose-response relationship between increased dietary fiber intake and decreased total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol (TC/HDL-C) ratio in both male and female workers, after adjusting for potential confounders (p for trend, all p < 0.05). When the average dietary fiber intake increased from less than 18 g/day to over 30 g/day, the average HDL cholesterol level increased by 10.1%, and the TC/HDL-C ratio decreased by 14.4% for males (p = 0.020) and by 11.1% for females (p = 0.048). In conclusion, higher daily dietary fiber consumption is associated with beneficial effect on cholesterol for rural-to-urban workers in China, suggesting its potential beneficial effect on decreasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.