The relationship between nut consumption and lipid profile among the Iranian adult population; Isfahan Healthy Heart Program

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 67; no. 4; pp. 385 - 389
• Main Authors: Askari, G, Yazdekhasti, N, Mohammadifard, N, Sarrafzadegan, N, Bahonar, A, Badiei, M, Sajjadi, F, Taheri, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.04.2013; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/45/287; 692/699/75/2099; 692/700/459/1994; 692/700/478/174; Adult; Adults; Age; Aged; Apolipoproteins A - blood; Apolipoproteins B - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiovascular disease; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, HDL - blood; Clinical Nutrition; Confidence intervals; Consumption data; Consumption patterns; Corylus; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet; Dyslipidemia; Epidemiology; European Continental Ancestry Group; Feeding Behavior; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Food and nutrition; Food quality; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hazelnuts; Humans; Hyperlipidemia; Hyperlipidemias - blood; Internal Medicine; Iran; Juglans; Lipids; Lipoproteins, LDL - blood; Logistic Models; Low density lipoprotein; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Metabolic disorders; Middle Aged; Nutrition Assessment; Nutritional aspects; Nuts; Odds Ratio; original-article; Physiological aspects; Pistachio nuts; Prunus dulcis; Public Health; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; Sex; Socioeconomic Factors; Statistical analysis; Surveys and Questionnaires; Triglycerides; Triglycerides - blood; Vasomotor conditioning; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Walnuts; Young Adult; Iran; Asia; cardiovascular disease; nut; serum lipids; adult; Human; Heart; Consumption; Nuts; Adult; Lipids; Metabolic diseases; Cardiovascular disease; Serum; Circulatory system
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/ejcn.2013.21

Background/objective: The study was carried out to assess the relationship between nut consumption and lipid profile among Iranian adults. Subject/methods: The study was based on data from the Isfahan Healthy Heart Program across three counties in central Iran in 2007. A cross-sectional survey of 9660 randomly selected adults aged ⩾19 years were chosen based on sex, age and settlement distributions in each community. Nutritional behaviors were assessed by validated qualitative 48-item food frequency questionnaires, which covered regular intakes of four types of nuts: walnuts, almonds, pistachios and hazelnuts. Analysis of covariance and logistic regression tests were utilized to determine odds ratio (OR) 95% confidence interval of hyperlipidemia according to nut consumption patterns in unadjusted and three-adjusted models. Results: The results showed a significant link between high nut consumption and lower total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and apo B/apo A ratio ( P <0.05) in female subjects and lower TG, LDL-C and apoB/apoA ratio in male subjects ( P <0.05). The frequency of nut consumption was inversely associated with dyslipidemia, especially for those who had consumed nuts ⩾4 times weekly (0.67 (0.57-0.79)). After adjusting for sex, age and other potential confounders, ORs increased enormously. Except for low apo A and high LDL-C, more frequent nut consumption (4⩽ times per week) had a significant inverse effect on other dyslipidemia risk factors in all four models. Conclusions: We concluded that frequent consumption of nuts, particularly ⩾4 times a week, may result in lower dyslipidemia occurrences and may exert cardioprotective effects.