Prospective Study of Dietary Zinc Intake and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Women.

Abul Milton,Khanrin Vashum,Mark Mcevoy,Sumaira Hussain,John Attia,Julie Byles,Patrick Mcelduff

doi:10.3390/nu10010038

Abul Milton, Khanrin Vashum + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10010038

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Journal: Nutrients	Publication Date: Jan 4, 2018
Citations: 28	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Newcastle Australia

Abstract

Several animal and human studies have shown that zinc is associated with cellular damage and cardiac dysfunction. This study aims to investigate dietary zinc and the zinc-iron ratio, as predictors of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a large longitudinal study of mid-age Australian women (aged 50–61 years). Data was self-reported and validated food frequency questionnaires were used to assess dietary intake. Energy-adjusted zinc was ranked using quintiles and predictors of incident CVD were examined using stepwise logistic regression. After six years of follow-up, 320 incident CVD cases were established. A positive association between dietary zinc intake, zinc-iron ratio and risk of CVD was observed even after adjusting for potential dietary and non-dietary confounders. Compared to those with the lowest quintile of zinc, those in the highest quintile (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.67, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.08–2.62) and zinc-iron ratio (OR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.05–2.81) had almost twice the odds of developing CVD (p trend = 0.007). This study shows that high dietary zinc intake and zinc-iron ratio is associated with a greater incidence of CVD in women. Further studies are required detailing the source of zinc and iron in diet and their precise roles when compared to other essential nutrients.

Highlights

The prevalence of chronic diseases has been increasing in the past few decades
Dietary factors were energy-adjusted fiber and fat. Findings from this longitudinal study showed that dietary zinc intake was associated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women aged 50 years and older, even after adjusting for potential dietary and non-dietary confounders
This is the only longitudinal study that has looked at the relationship between dietary zinc and zinc-iron ratio with incident CVD in an adult women population

Summary

Introduction

The prevalence of chronic diseases has been increasing in the past few decades. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the number one cause of death globally: more people die annually from CVDs than from any other cause [1]. A review in 1996 by Houtman about trace elements and CVD obtained from epidemiological, biochemical and cell biological studies concluded that zinc has the potential to counteract the development of cardiovascular disease [2]; the strength of this effect on public health is difficult to measure. Zinc is one of those micronutrients present in our diet whose deficiency may play an important role in the appearance of diseases and has three major biological roles, as catalyst, structural, and regulatory ion [4]. Zinc deficiency leads to cellular damage and atherosclerosis [5] and is known to cause sensitivity to oxidative damage, leading to an increased release of interleukin 1 and tumour necrosis factor-α, which causes increased endothelial cell apoptosis [7]

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