Abstract
Previous studies on the association between dietary habits and cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) in adolescents have generated conflicting results. The aim of this study was to describe dietary patterns (DP) in a large sample of Spanish adolescents and to assess their cross-sectional relationship with CVRF. In total, 1324 adolescents aged 12.5 ± 0.4 years (51.6% boys) from 24 secondary schools completed a self-reported food frequency questionnaire. DPs were derived by cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, lipid profile, and glucose levels were assessed. Linear mixed models were applied to estimate the association between DPs and CVRF. Three DP-related clusters were obtained: Processed (29.2%); Traditional (39.1%); and Healthy (31.7%). Analogous patterns were obtained in the PCA. No overall differences in CVRF were observed between clusters except for z-BMI values, total cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol, with the Processed cluster showing the lowest mean values. However, differences were small. In conclusion, the overall association between DPs, as assessed by two different methods, and most analyzed CVRF was weak and not clinically relevant in a large sample of adolescents. Prospective analysis may help to disentangle the direction of these associations.
Highlights
Cardiovascular (CV) diseases have a multifactorial origin, and modifiable behavioral risk factors such as insufficient physical activity, unhealthy diet, or smoking play an essential role in disease development and progression
A K-means cluster analysis algorithm was applied with a predefined maximum 100 iterations to generate a fine-tuned clustering solution
Mean age of adolescents was 12.5 ± 0.4 years (51.6% boys), and participants were enrolled at 24 Secondary Schools in Barcelona and Madrid (Spain)
Summary
Cardiovascular (CV) diseases have a multifactorial origin, and modifiable behavioral risk factors such as insufficient physical activity, unhealthy diet, or smoking play an essential role in disease development and progression. Adolescence is a critical period of personal development when individuals acquire greater autonomy [4]. This period is characterized by biological, psychological, and social changes that expose the adolescent to unhealthy behaviors [5], and the prevalence of unhealthy behaviors and risk factors in adolescents is alarmingly high [6]. According to the results of the HELENA study, the proportion of European adolescents achieving the American Heart Association (AHA) ideal diet score is as low as
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