In one of the first studies to examine the relationship between different types of grain consumption and premature coronary heart disease in the Middle East, researchers found that higher consumption of refined grains was associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. premature birth in an Iranian population, while the consumption of whole grains was associated with a reduced risk. The study will be presented at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Middle East 2022 with the 13e Emirates Cardiac Society Congress, to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 7-9, 2022.
According to the researchers, previous epidemiological studies have reported an association between different types of grain consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease. The present study assessed the association between the consumption of refined grains and whole grains and the risk of PCAD in an Iranian population.
Premature coronary artery disease (PCAD) refers to atherosclerotic narrowing of the coronary arteries in men younger than 55 or women younger than 65. It is often asymptomatic early in the disease course but can lead to chest pain (angina pectoris) and/or heart attack with progressive development of narrowing (stenosis) or plaque rupture of the wall arterial. Risk factors for PCAD include smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
“There are many factors as to why people may consume more refined grains than whole grains and these cases differ from person to person, but some of the most important factors to consider include economics and income, employment, education, culture, age and other similar factors,” said Mohammad Amin Khajavi Gaskarei, MD, of the Cardiovascular Research Center of Isfahan and the Cardiovascular Research Institute of the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, and lead author of the study. “A diet that includes consuming a lot of unhealthy, refined grains can be considered similar to consuming a diet that contains a lot of unhealthy sugars and oils.”
Whole grains are defined as containing the whole grain, while refined grains have been milled — ground into flour or flour — to improve shelf life, but they lose important nutrients in the process. The 2019 ACC/American Heart Association guideline on primary prevention of cardiovascular disease recommends a diet that emphasizes the consumption of vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, and fish to reduce risk factors. risk of heart disease.
The study recruited 2099 people with PCAD from hospitals with catheterization laboratories in different cities and ethnicities across Iran who underwent coronary angiography (women aged ≤70 and men ≤60). A total of 1168 patients with normal coronary arteries were included in the control group, while 1369 patients with coronary artery disease with obstruction equal to or greater than 75% in at least one coronary artery or ≥50% in the artery left main coronary constituted the cluster of cases. .
Participants received a food frequency questionnaire for dietary assessments to assess eating behaviors and to assess the association between consumption of whole and refined grains and risk of PCAD in people without a prior diagnosis of heart disease. After adjusting for confounders, higher consumption of refined grains was associated with increased risk of PCAD, while consumption of whole grains was inversely related to reduced risk of PCAD.
“As more and more studies show an increase in the consumption of refined grains around the world, as well as the impact on overall health, it is important that we find ways to encourage and educate people. regarding the benefits of eating whole grains,” said Khajavi Gaskarei. “Tactics to consider include teaching better food choices in schools and other public places in simple language that the general population can understand, as well as on television programs and continuing to do high-level research that is presented at medical conferences and published in medical journals. Clinicians also need to have these conversations with each other and with their patients.”
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