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. 2015 Apr 21;10(4):e0126104.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126104. eCollection 2015.

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

Emily Sonestedt  1 , Sophie Hellstrand  1 , Christina-Alexandra Schulz  1 , Peter Wallström  2 , Isabel Drake  2 , Ulrika Ericson  1 , Bo Gullberg  2 , Bo Hedblad  3 , Marju Orho-Melander  1
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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

Emily Sonestedt et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: 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.

Objectives: 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.

Methods: 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.

Results: 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).

Conclusion: 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.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist

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This study was supported by the Swedish Medical Research Council, Swedish Society for Medical Research, the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation, the Skåne University Hospital, the Albert Påhlsson Research Foundation, and the Crafoord Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.