Recent research suggests that certain diets could help mitigate inflammation and reduce the risk of heart disease in adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D). The findings were unveiled at NUTRITION 2024, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, which took place from June 29 to July 2 in Chicago.
Dr. Arpita Basu and her team at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, examined data from the Coronary Artery Calcification in Type 1 Diabetes study. This study included 563 participants with T1D and 692 control participants. The researchers aimed to identify how healthy dietary patterns correlate with biomarkers of inflammation and atherosclerosis over time.
The study revealed that higher scores on the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet were linked to lower levels of homocysteine, a marker associated with cardiovascular risk, in both T1D patients and the control group. Specifically, there was a 0.57 percent reduction in homocysteine levels among T1D patients and a 0.53 percent reduction in the control group. Additionally, an inverse relationship was observed between DASH scores and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 levels in the control group, indicating a 0.99 percent reduction.
Dr. Basu emphasized the importance of dietary quality for adults with type 1 diabetes. “There is an urgent need to address dietary quality in adults with type 1 diabetes,” she stated. “In a clinical setting, assessing dietary intakes using the DASH and Mediterranean dietary checklists could be an effective way to identify gaps and improve intakes.”
The findings underscore the potential of tailored dietary interventions in managing heart disease risk among those with type 1 diabetes, highlighting the significance of comprehensive dietary assessments in clinical practice.
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