Low Dietary Fiber May Increase Cardiovascular Risk

A recent study shows an increased risk between low dietary fiber intake and cardiovascular risk.

According to researchers, they investigated the increased risks of the problem when looking at various factors including sex, age, racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in dietary fiber consumption, as well as examined the association between dietary fiber intake and various cardiometabolic risk factors.

While previous studies have shown that dietary fiber may lower blood pressure, inflammation and cholesterol levels, it is also thought to play an important role in reducing cardiovascular health.

The Institute of Medicine recommends intake levels according to both sex and age, nothing the following: 38g per day for men aged 19-50 years, 30g per day for men 50 and over, 25g for women aged 19-50 years, and 21g per day for women over 50. Using data from NHANES 1999-2010, the study reveals that the mean dietary fiber intake was only 16.2g per day across all demographics during that time period.

"Our findings indicate that, among a nationally representative sample of non-pregnant US adults in NHANES 1999-2010, the consumption of dietary fiber was consistently below the recommended total adequate intake levels across survey years," senior investigator Cheryl R. Clark, MD, ScD, Center for Community Health and Health Equity, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston said, via a press release. "Our study also confirms persistent differences in dietary fiber intake among socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic sub-populations over time."

The research team discovered that according to race and ethnicity, Mexican-Americans consume higher amounts of dietary fiber than non-Hispanic blacks who consume lower amounts of dietary fiber compared with non-Hispanic whites.

"Overall, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, inflammation, and obesity each decreased with increasing quintiles of dietary fiber intake," Clark said, via the release. "Compared with participants in the lowest quintile of dietary fiber intake, participants in the highest quintile of dietary fiber intake had a statistically significant lower risk of having the metabolic syndrome, inflammation, and obesity."

The study authors note that this analysis emphasizes the importance of adults spanning diverse ethnicities increasing their dietary fiber intake in order to try and lower the risk of cardiovascular damage.

"Low dietary fiber intake from 1999-2010 in the US and associations between higher dietary fiber and a lower prevalence of cardiometabolic risks suggest the need to develop new strategies and policies to increase dietary fiber intake," adds Clark. "Additional research is needed to determine effective clinical and population-based strategies for improving fiber intake trends in diverse groups."

More information regarding the study can be found via the American Journal of Medicine.