Low saturated fatty acid intake predicts arterial stiffness in diabetics

Lower consumption levels of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are tied to elevated brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in patients with type 2 diabetes, a new study reports.

The study included 733 patients (mean age, 57.8±8.6 years; 63.1 percent male) with type 2 diabetes who had no apparent history of cardiovascular diseases. A self-administered diet history questionnaire was used to determine dietary schedule, and baPWV was measured at baseline and at years 2 and 5 using an automatic waveform analyzer.  

Participants logged a mean total daily energy intake of 1,719 kcal per day, most of which were derived from carbohydrates (53 percent). SFAs comprised 7 percent of the overall average daily energy intake.

Over 5 years of follow-up, researchers recorded slight but significant increase in glycated haemoglobin levels. Similarly, modest but statistically relevant changes in body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein levels were observed. Of note, baPWV also increased significantly over the follow-up period.

Linear mixed-effects modelling discovered a significant and inverse correlation between total calorie intake from SFAs and baPWV (regression coefficient per unit decrease in SFA intake, –1,614.4±520.8; p=0.002).

Low SFA calorie intake remained a significant correlate of persistently higher baPWV even after controlling for dietary nutrient intake and conventional atherosclerotic factors.

Dividing the participants into tertiles of SFA calories further reinforced the primary findings. Those who drew ≥7.4 percent of their total calories from SFAs consistently showed lower baPWV than their comparators who obtained <5.8 percent of the total calories from SFAs.