Associations of Dietary Intake with Cardiovascular Disease, Blood Pressure, and Lipid Profile in the Korean Population: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

• Main Authors: Jeongseon Kim, Tung Hoang, So Young Bu, Ji-Myung Kim, Jeong-Hwa Choi, Eunju Park, Seung-Min Lee, Eunmi Park, Ji Yeon Min, In Seok Lee, So Young Youn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Korean Society of Lipid and Atherosclerosis 2020-01-01
• Series: Journal of Lipid and Atherosclerosis
• Subjects: dietary; cardiovascular diseases; hypertension; dyslipidemias; koreans
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.12997/jla.2020.9.1.205

Objective: Previous studies have separately reported the contributions of dietary factors to the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its markers, including blood pressure (BP) and lipid profile. This study systematically reviewed the current evidence on this issue in the Korean population. Methods: Sixty-two studies from PubMed and Embase were included in this meta-analysis. We performed a random-effects model to analyze pooled odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the consumption of 14 food items, three macro- and eight micro-nutrients, two dietary patterns, and three dietary indices. Results: An analysis of pooled effect sizes from at least four individual study populations showed significant associations between coffee consumption and CVD (OR/HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.52–0.97) and elevated/high triglycerides (TG) (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.78–0.90), sugarsweetened beverage intake and elevated BP (OR/HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.09–1.33), and milk and dairy intake and elevated/high TG and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (OR/HR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.76–0.89 for both). Carbohydrate consumption and the lowcarbohydrate-diet score were consistently related to an approximately 25% risk reduction for elevated TG and low HDL-C. A lower risk of elevated total cholesterol, but not low-density lipoprotein, was additionally observed for those with a higher low-carbohydrate-diet score. A healthy dietary pattern was only associated with a reduced risk of elevated TG in the Korea National Cancer Screenee Cohort (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.67–0.98). Conclusion: This study showed that milk and dairy and coffee had protective effects for CVD and its risk factors, such as BP and lipid profile, while sugar-sweetened beverages exerted harmful effects.