(OR12-05-24) Dietary Patterns in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) Study: Comparisons Across Methodologies

Sunday, June 30, 2024

10:48 AM – 11:00 AM CT

Location: W184

Presenting Author(s)

Jeannette M. Beasley, PhD

Associate Professor
New York University
New York, New York, United States

Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Co-Author(s)

BM

Bridget Murphy Hussain

Fairfield University, United States
MG

Meghana D. Gadgil, MD, MPH

Associate Professor, Medicine
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California, United States
ST

Sameera Talegawkar

George Washington University, United States
Shilpa N. Bhupathiraju, PhD

Assistant Professor
Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
NI

Nadia Islam

NYU Grossman School of Medicine, United States
NP

Niyati Parekh, PhD, MS, RD

New York, New York, United States
AK

Alka M. Kanaya, MD

Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California, United States

Objectives: South Asian populations are at a disproportionately higher risk for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) when compared to non-Hispanic White and East Asian adults, but little research has examined the behaviors that are associated with the prevention, treatment, and management of CVD in these growing population groups. The purpose of this review paper is to summarize the overarching relationship between dietary intake and health outcomes among a cohort of middle- to older-aged South Asian adults in the United States within the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study.

Methods: Dietary patterns (including the Mediterranean-Style diet, DASH diet, AHEI, healthy plant-based index) that have been associated with cardiometabolic risk factors are summarized with a special emphasis on acceptability within South Asian communities. Findings from 14 manuscripts investigating these dietary patterns and their association with clinical risk factors for CVD within participants in the MASALA cohort were reviewed.

Results: Findings to date have demonstrated inverse associations between greater adherence to cardio-protective dietary patterns, including a Mediterranean-style diet, DASH, AHEI, and healthy plant-based index with body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, and other cardiometabolic risk factors.

Conclusions: Given the consistency of findings with diet patterns examined in other racial/ethnic groups, there is a clear association between diet and CVD risk. Our findings highlight the need to determine culturally appropriate and traditional foods consumed by South Asian populations that influence the diet-disease relationship. Future research should focus on streamlining culturally-appropriate dietary recommendations to improve the prevention, treatment, and management of CVD among South Asian populations in the United States.

Funding Sources: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Disorders