Volume 110, Nº 5, May 2018
DOI: http://www.dx.doi.org/10.5935/abc.20180073
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Framingham Risk Score in Apparently Healthy Vegetarian and Omnivorous Men
Julio Cesar Acosta Navarro
Luiza Antoniazzi
Adriana Midori Oki
Maria Carlos Bonfim
Valeria Hong
Luiz Aparecido Bortolotto
Pedro Acosta-Cardenas
Valeria Sandrim
Marcio Hiroshi Miname
Raul Dias dos Santos Filho
Abstract
Background: Recent studies have shown a lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MSyn) in vegetarians (VEG) despite the inconclusive evidence from others.
Objective: To verify the association between diet and other lifestyle characteristics and the prevalence of MSyn, cardiovascular risk factors (CRF), and Framingham Risk Score (FRS) in apparently healthy VEG and omnivorous (OMN) men.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 88 apparently healthy men ≥ 35 years, 44 VEG and 44 OMN, were assessed for anthropometric data, blood pressure, blood lipids, glucose, C-reactive protein (CRP) and FRS. To test the association between lifestyle and MSyn, Student t test, chi square test, and multiple logistic regression model were used. A significance level of 5% was considered in all statistical analyses.
Results: Several CRF were significantly lower in VEG than in OMN: body mass index, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, apolipoprotein b, glucose, and glycated hemoglobin (all p < 0.05). The FRS mean was lower in VEG than in OMN (2.98 ± 3.7 vs 4.82 ± 4.8, p = 0.029). The percentage of individuals with MSyn was higher among OMN than among VEG (52.3 vs.15.9%) (p < 0.001). The OMN diet was associated with MSyn (OR: 6.28 95%CI 2.11-18.71) and alterations in most MSyn components in the multiple regression model independently of caloric intake, age and physical activity. Conclusion: The VEG diet was associated with lower CRF, FRS and percentage of individuals with MSyn. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2018; 110(5):430-437)
Keywords: Metabolic Syndrome; Coronary Artery Disease; Vegetarians; Men; Risk Factors; Diet, Vegetarian
