Lj. Appel et al., Effect of dietary patterns on serum homocysteine - Results of a randomized, controlled feeding study, CIRCULATION, 102(8), 2000, pp. 852-857
Citations number
29
Categorie Soggetti
Cardiovascular & Respiratory Systems","Cardiovascular & Hematology Research
Background-Elevated blood levels of homocysteine are associated with an inc
reased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Although numerous st
udies have assessed the impact of vitamin supplements on homocysteine, the
effect of dietary patterns on homocysteine has not been well studied.
Methods and Results-During a 3-week run-in, 118 participants were fed a con
trol diet, low in fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, with a fat conten
t typical of US consumption. During an 8-week intervention phase, participa
nts were then fed 1 of 3 randomly assigned diets: the control diet, a diet
rich in fruits and vegetables but otherwise similar to control, or a combin
ation diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products and reduc
ed in saturated and total fat. Between the end of run-in and intervention p
eriods, mean change in homocysteine was +0.46 mu mol/L in the control diet,
+0.21 mu mol/L in the fruits and vegetables diet (P=0.47 compared with con
trol), and -0.34 mu mol/L in the combination diet (P=0.03 compared with con
trol, P=0.12 compared with the fruits and vegetables diet), In multivariabl
e regression models, change in homocysteine was significantly and inversely
associated with change in serum folate (P=0.03) but not with change in ser
um vitamin B-12 (P=0.64) or pyridoxal 5' phosphate, the coenzyme form of vi
tamin B-6 (P=0.83).
Conclusions-Modification of dietary patterns can have substantial effects o
n fasting levels of total serum homocysteine. These results provide additio
nal insights into the mechanisms by which diet might influence the occurren
ce of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.