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  • Original Article
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Dietary fibre intake is inversely associated with carotid intima-media thickness: a cross-sectional assessment in the PREDIMED study

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 63, pages 1213–1219 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

To assess the association between the intake of dietary fibre and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in a Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk.

Methods:

Baseline cross-sectional assessment of 457 men and women (average age 67 years) from two different Spanish centres of the PREDIMED trial. A previously validated food frequency questionnaire (137 food items) was administered by trained dieticians in a face-to-face interview. Mean common carotid IMT was measured using B-mode ultrasound imaging of the right and left carotid arteries by four certified sonographers who used a common protocol. Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements were performed and samples of fasting blood were obtained. Participants were categorized into four groups (roughly quartiles: ⩽21; >21 to ⩽25; >25 to ⩽31 and >31 g/day) of energy-adjusted intake of dietary fibre. Multiple linear regression models were used to adjust for age, sex, centre, smoking, body mass index, diabetes, blood pressure, lipid levels and statin use.

Results:

In the crude analyses, energy-adjusted fibre intake showed a significant inverse correlation with IMT (r=−0.27, P<0.001). In multivariate analyses, a modest, though statistically significant (P=0.03) inverse association between energy-adjusted fibre intake and IMT was also found. The multivariate-adjusted difference in average IMT was −0.051 mm (95% confidence interval: −0.094 to−0.009, P=0.02) for participants whose intake was >35 g/day, (n=47) when compared with those whose intake was <25 g/day (n=224).

Conclusions:

Our results suggest that high fibre intake is inversely associated with carotid atherosclerosis.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to the participants in the PREDIMED study for their continued cooperation and participation. We also thank other members of the PREDIMED study group including R Estruch, A Sanchez-Tainta, B Sanjulián, A Garcia-Arellano, N Berrade, E Cabello and E Toledo.

This project has been funded by the Spanish Government (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias projects PI070240; PI081943, and RD 06/0045). CIBEROBN is an initiative of ISCIII, Spain.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Primary Care, Servicio Navarro de Salud, Osasunbidea, Pamplona, Spain

    P Buil-Cosiales & J Diez-Espino

  2. Department of Neurology, Cliníca Universidad de Navarra, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain

    P Irimia, M Riverol & E Martinez-Vila

  3. Lipid Clinic, Endocrinology and Nutrition Service (ER) and Centre de Diagnòstic per l'Imatge (RG, IN), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain

    E Ros, R Gilabert & I Núñez

  4. Ciber Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN) (ER, IN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Spain

    E Ros, R Gilabert & I Núñez

  5. Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Navarra-Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain

    M A Martínez-González & M Serrano-Martínez

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  1. P Buil-Cosiales
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M A Martínez-González.

Additional information

Contributors: PB, JD, MAM and MS were involved in the study design, recruitment of study subjects, data collection and data management, statistical analyses, and writing of the paper. PI, MR and EMV were involved in the study design, data collection and performance of IMT studies in Pamplona. ER, RG and IN were involved in the study design, recruitment of study subjects, data collection and performance of IMT studies in Barcelona. ER and MAM obtained funding. All authors provided suggestions during the preparation of the paper and approved the final version submitted for publication.

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Buil-Cosiales, P., Irimia, P., Ros, E. et al. Dietary fibre intake is inversely associated with carotid intima-media thickness: a cross-sectional assessment in the PREDIMED study. Eur J Clin Nutr 63, 1213–1219 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2009.45

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