The association between dietary patterns and cardiovascular disease risk factors in Iranian adults: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Dietary patterns are important factors associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). We examined the association between dietary patterns derived from factor analysis and CVD risk factors.

Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, a total of 3,687 adults (aged 40 to 70 years) with one or more types of CVDs were enrolled as participants. A validated semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire was utilized to assess food intakes, and then dietary patterns were extracted by factor analysis. Fasting blood sugar (FBS), lipid profile, anthropometric indices, and blood pressure (BP) were measured. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analysis was employed to ascertain the odds ratio (OR) of CVD risk factors associated with posteriori dietary patterns. In this study, healthy and unhealthy dietary patterns were identified.

Results: Adherence to a healthy dietary pattern was associated with a decrease in systolic BP (SBP) (OR = 0.78; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.62-0.99) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels (OR = 1.32; 95% CI: 1.06-1.64). Additionally, greater adherence to the unhealthy dietary pattern was positively associated with SBP (OR = 1.43; 95% CI: 1.13-1.80) and diastolic BP (DBP) (OR = 1.33; 95% CI: 1.01-1.76).

Conclusions: We concluded that greater adherence to an unhealthy dietary pattern was associated with an increase in SBP and DBP. On the other hand, greater adherence to a healthy dietary pattern could be effective in reducing SBP. Further investigation is recommended to validate these findings.