Chungnam National University Daejeon, Republic of Korea
Disclosure(s):
Sun Yung Ly, PhD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Objectives: The atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) has been used to predict cardiovascular risk in many clinical studies. This study aimed to investigate factors associated with AIP in postmenopausal Korean women aged 45–69 years with normal weight.
Methods: The year-round dietary intake of 96 study participants was surveyed, and blood was collected and analyzed in the spring and fall. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated using height and weight, and plasma levels of fasting blood glucose, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), total cholesterol (TC), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglyceride (TG) were measured. LDL-cholesterol was calculated using the Friedewald equation. Food group and nutrient intake were calculated from the food intake survey results. The AIP was calculated as the log(TG/HDL-C). All participants were divided into quintile groups based on their AIP. Differences according to the AIP quintile for each variable were verified by analysis of variance. The correlation between each variable was analyzed using Pearson's correlation.
Results: The age of the study participants was 56.9 ± 5.9 years. Of the 96 participants enrolled, 72, 2, and 22 were categorized into the low ( < 0.11), intermediate (0.11–0.21), and increased risk ( >0.21) AIP categories, respectively. The occupation, education level, amount of physical activity, smoking, and drinking status of the study participants were unrelated to the AIP level. However, BMI (p < 0.05), HbA1c (p < 0.01), TC (p < 0.05), and TG (p < 0.001) all increased with AIP. Among the food groups, people with low AIP consumed more vegetables (p < 0.01), and the intake of pulses also showed a similar trend. People with low AIP consumed more calcium (p < 0.05), phosphorus (p < 0.05), iron (p < 0.05), and polyunsaturated fatty acid (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: Control of body weight and blood glucose appears to be necessary to prevent cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal Korean women. Additionally, increasing the intake of vegetables and beans and ensuring adequate intake of calcium, iron, and polyunsaturated fatty acids may have beneficial effects.
Funding Sources: This research was funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean government (Ministry of Science and ICT), grant number 2020R1A2C1009608.
