Concordance Between DASH Diet and Coronary Artery Calcification: Results From the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) Prospective Cohort Study
Bridget Murphy Hussain, PhD, MS,
Andrea L. Deierlein, PhD, MPH, MS,
Sameera A. Talegawkar, PhD,
Alka M. Kanaya, MD,
Joyce A. O'Connor, DrPH, MA,
Meghana D. Gadgil, MD,
Yong Lin, PhD,
Niyati Parekh, PhD, MS
Affiliations
Bridget Murphy Hussain, PhD, MS
Public Health Program, Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies, Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut; Address correspondence to: Bridget Murphy Hussain, PhD, MS, Fairfield University, 1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield CT 06824.
Andrea L. Deierlein, PhD, MPH, MS
Public Health Nutrition Concentration, School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, New York; Department of Population Health, New York University Langone Health, New York, New York
Sameera A. Talegawkar, PhD
Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia; Department of Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
Alka M. Kanaya, MD
Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
Joyce A. O'Connor, DrPH, MA
Public Health Nutrition Concentration, School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, New York
Meghana D. Gadgil, MD
Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
Yong Lin, PhD
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey
Niyati Parekh, PhD, MS
Public Health Nutrition Concentration, School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, New York; Department of Population Health, New York University Langone Health, New York, New York; Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York University, New York, New York
Introduction: South Asian adults are at high risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, for which coronary artery calcification is an early predictor. Adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet is a modifiable risk factor that may mitigate the progression of coronary artery calcification and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Methods: Using data from the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America cohort, the authors calculated a Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension dietary score (categorized as low, moderate, and high) to examine the associations of Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet adherence with coronary artery calcification after a 5-year follow up. Results: The authors found that participants in the high Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension category were 41% less likely to have coronary artery calcification score >100 (age-adjusted incidence rate ratio=0.59; 95% CI=0.36, 0.95) than those in the low category; this association was attenuated in multivariable models. Differences were observed by sex. Men in the high Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension category were 51% less likely to have coronary artery calcification score >100 (adjusted incidence rate ratio=0.49; 95% CI=0.26, 0.95) and experienced 0.46-fold coronary artery calcification change (fold change=0.46; 95% CI=0.18, 0.90) in multivariable models. Conclusions: The findings indicate a relationship between Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet and early predictors of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk among South Asians living in the U.S., particularly men.
