Association between the Phytochemical Index and Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in Adults

Abstract

Background: There are few publications about the association between the phytochemical index (PI) and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Objective: To evaluate the association between the PI and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in adults. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with 141 adults, between 20 and 59 years of age. We analyzed lifestyle (physical activity), sociodemographic data (sex, age), anthropometric data (body mass index [BMI], waist circumference [WC]), biochemical data (lipid profile, blood glucose), food consumption, and phytochemical intake (expressed as PI = daily energy derived from phytochemical-rich foods ÷ total daily energy intake × 100). We performed bivariate analyses (Spearman’s correlation) and multiple linear regression adjusted for potential confounders, considering p < 0.05 as significant. Results: The median PI was 9.80 (interquartile range: 11.45). PI was inversely correlated with BMI (rs: −0.43) and WC (rs: −0.36) and positively correlated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol) (rs: 0.25), all with p < 0.05. In multiple regression analysis, PI was inversely associated with BMI (B: −0.08; 95%CI: −0.15, −0.01) after adjusting for total energy, sex, age, and physical activity; and positively associated with HDL-cholesterol (Model 1 adjusted for total energy, sex, age, and physical activity [B: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.41]; Model 2 adjusted for BMI, sex, age, and physical activity [B: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.008, 0.40]; Model 3 adjusted for WC, sex, age, and physical activity [B: 0.20; 95%CI: 0.01, 0.40]), all with p < 0.05. Conclusion: The results have demonstrated that higher phytochemical intake, expressed by PI, was inversely associated with BMI and positively associated with HDL-cholesterol.