Associations between plant-based dietary indices and dietary acid load with cardiovascular risk factors among diabetic patients

Aim To study how a plant-based diet and dietary acid load (DAL) are related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among type 2 diabetic women. Methods In this cross-sectional study, a validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess the dietary intake of 230 diabetic women. We created a plant-based dietary index (PDI), healthy PDI (hPDI), and unhealthy PDI (uPDI). DAL was calculated based on potential renal acid load (PRAL) and net endogenous acid production (NEAP). Results Patients in the highest tertile of PDI had lower fasting blood sugar (146.74 +/- 6.16 vs. 152.87 +/- 6.09,p = 0.009) and lower 2-h postprandial glucose (181.76 +/- 7.03 vs. 203.01 +/- 6.94,p = 0.002). Patients in the highest tertile of PDI were at lower risk of high waist circumference in a crude model (odd ratios: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.19; 0.96,p = 0.039); however, this association did not reach statistical significant after adjustment for confounders. Conclusion Our study suggests that plant-based dietary indices and DAL are not associated with CVD risk factors among diabetic patients.

Automated summary

The study indicates that plant-based dietary indices and dietary acid load are not associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors among type 2 diabetic women.