Abstract 047: Effects Of The Dash Diet On Change In High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin I Over Time: Results From The Dash-Sodium Trial

Abstract

Background: The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet has been shown to reduce high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI), a biomarker of subclinical cardiac injury. However, the time course of the DASH diet’s effects on this biomarker has not been determined. Hypothesis: The DASH diet lowers hs-cTnI within 4 weeks and the effects gradually increase over time. Methods: We analyzed data from the DASH-Sodium trial, a randomized controlled feeding study of healthy adults with systolic blood pressure 120 to 159 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure 80 to 95 mm Hg. Participants were randomly assigned to the DASH diet or a typical American diet (control). Within each arm of the study, participants were assigned three sodium levels, in random order, changed every 4 weeks. Hs-cTnI was measured from serum collected at baseline and at 4, 8, and 12 weeks of feeding. Energy intake was adjusted to maintain body weight throughout the trial. Results: Of the 411 participants included in the final analysis, their mean age was 48 years, 56% were women, and 56% were Black. The mean baseline systolic/diastolic blood pressure was 135/86 mm Hg. Compared with baseline, the control diet did not have a significant effect on hs-cTnI at any of the measured time points. In contrast, the DASH diet reduced hs-cTnI by 0.18 ng/l (95% CI: -0.32, -0.04) at 4 weeks, 0.14 ng/l (95% CI: -0.29, 0.00) at 8 weeks, and 0.33 ng/l (95% CI: -0.48, -0.18) at 12 weeks ( Figure ; P -trend = 0.025). The %-difference in mean change from baseline of hs-cTnI for DASH vs. control was -13.30% (95% CI: -25.34, 0.69), -10.47% (95% CI: -23.08, 4.21), and -17.78% (95% CI: -29.51, -4.09) at 4, 8, and 12 weeks, respectively. Conclusions: The DASH diet reduced hs-cTnI within 4 weeks of feeding with greater diet effects occurring at 12 weeks of feeding. These results suggest that the DASH diet has both early and cumulative effects on subclinical cardiac injury.