Dietary predictors of arterial stiffness in a cohort with type 1 and type 2 diabetes

- Reduced fat dairy intake was inversely associated with PWV in a cohort with diabetes.
- A negative association existed between vegetable consumption and PWV.
- Serum lipid species of ruminant origin were positively associated with full fat dairy.
- There was no association between serum lipid species and PWV.
- The fatty acid composition of dairy may not explain the effect on arterial stiffness.

Objective: To determine the dietary predictors of central blood pressure, augmentation index and pulse wave velocity (PWV) in subjects with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Methods: Participants were diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and had PWV and/or pulse wave analysis performed. Dietary intake was measured using the Dietary Questionnaire for Epidemiological Studies Version 2 Food Frequency Questionnaire. Serum lipid species and carotenoids were measured, using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography, as biomarkers of dairy and vegetable intake, respectively. Associations were determined using linear regression adjusted for potential confounders. Results: PWV (n = 95) was inversely associated with reduced fat dairy intake (β = −0.01; 95% CI −0.02, −0.01; p = 0 < 0.05) in particular yoghurt consumption (β = −0.04; 95% CI −0.09, −0.01; p = 0 < 0.05) after multivariate adjustment. Total vegetable consumption was negatively associated with PWV in the whole cohort after full adjustment (β = −0.04; 95% CI −0.07, −0.01; p < 0.05). Individual lipid species, particularly those containing 14:0, 15:0, 16:0, 17:0 and 17:1 fatty acids, known to be of ruminant origin, in lysophosphatidylcholine, cholesterol ester, diacylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin and triacylglycerol classes were positively associated with intake of full fat dairy, after adjustment for multiple comparisons. However, there was no association between serum lipid species and PWV. There were no dietary predictors of central blood pressure or augmentation index after multivariate adjustment. Conclusion: In this cohort of subjects with diabetes reduced fat dairy intake and vegetable consumption were inversely associated with PWV. The lack of a relationship between serum lipid species and PWV suggests that the fatty acid composition of dairy may not explain the beneficial effect.