Abstract P232: Better Dietary Quality is Associated with Lower Circulating Ceramide Concentrations in the Framingham Offspring Cohort

Abstract

Introduction: Diet quality may alter cardiometabolic risk by the modification of circulating lipid species. Ceramides are a class of sphingolipid implicated in cardiometabolic risk. We hypothesized that a higher diet quality may be associated with lower plasma concentrations of three ceramide species. Methods: Diet quality was reflective of adherence to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and was determined using the 2010 dietary guideline adherence index (DGAI-2010) score. The DGAI-2010 score is composed of 14 energy specific components and 11 healthy choice components. A higher score represents higher adherence with a maximum score of 100. We determined the average cumulative DGAI-2010, reflective of usual diet quality over 14 years. Plasma ceramide concentrations were assayed using a validated LC-MS/MS protocol. Participants of Framingham Offspring cohort (N = 2174; mean age, 66 years; 55% women) according to quartile of DGAI-2010 score. Multivariable linear regression was used to relate diet quality to plasma ceramide concentrations (C16:0, C22:0, and C24:0), and to ceramide ratios (C22:0/C16:0 and C24:0/C16:0). An initial model was adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, use of lipid-lowering medication, total energy intake, and physical activity, and then additionally for body mass index (BMI). Results: The median (IQR) DGAI-2010 score within each quartile was Q1: 49 (7), Q2: 58 (4), Q3: 65 (3), and Q4: 73 (6). On average participants in the highest quartile (Q4) of DGAI-2010 score were older, more likely to be a woman, less likely to smoke, were slightly more physically active, and had a lower BMI (P trend <0.05). The DGAI-2010 score was inversely associated with concentrations of the C16:0, C22:0, and C24:0 ceramides and the C22:0/C16:0 ratio (all P trend <0.05) but not the C24:0/C16:0 ratio ( Table 1 ). Conclusion: Inverse relations of dietary quality and select circulating ceramide species may help elucidate how diet may influence cardiometabolic risk.