Higher Dietary Carbohydrate Intake and Not Saturated Fat is Inversely Associated With Cardiovascular Disease in Australian Women.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the association between carbohydrate and saturated fat intake with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality in Australian women. Design(s): The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) is a prospective cohort study. Women randomly recruited from the Medicare database completed surveys 3-4 yearly from 1996-2016, assessing sociodemographic factors, health behaviours including diet and outcomes. Participant(s): Women aged 50-55-years who completed the third survey in 2001 and were free of CVD. Women were analysed in quintiles according to carbohydrate or saturated fat intake as a percentage of total energy intake (TEI) (%CHO and (%SF). Main Outcome Measure(s): The primary endpoint was new-onset CVD (heart disease/stroke). Secondary endpoints included mortality, hypertension, obesity and/or diabetes mellitus. Mixed effects logistic regression models assessed for endpoints association. Result(s): Total 9,899 women (mean age 52.6+/-1.5 years) were followed for 15-years with 1,199 new incident CVD and 470 deaths. In multivariable analysis, women in Quintile 3 only (41.0-44.3%CHO) had a significant CVD-odds reduction compared to Quintile 1 (<37.1%CHO) (odds ratio (OR) 0.56 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.35-0.91, p=0.02). There was no significant association between carbohydrate intake and all-cause mortality (p =0.69) or between saturated fat intake and CVD (p=0.29) or mortality (p=0.25). Higher saturated fat intake and higher carbohydrate intake had a significant inverse relationship with hypertension, diabetes mellitus and obesity (ptrend<0.01 for all). Conclusion(s): In middle-aged women, carbohydrate intake between 41.0-44.3% energy was associated with lower CVD risk, but carbohydrate intake showed no association with total mortality. Saturated fat intake was not associated with CVD or mortality.Copyright © 2021