Coronary heart disease mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality and all-cause mortality attributable to dietary intake over 20 years in Brazil

Background/objectivesIn the last two decades, in Brazil, there has been a decreasing trend of consumption of in natura or minimally processed food, while intake of ultra-processed food has markedly increased. We estimated the contribution of dietary intake in trends from coronary heart disease mortality (CHDM), cardiovascular disease mortality (CVDM), and all-cause mortality (ACM) over 20 years in Brazil.MethodsWe used a representative sample of Brazilian households located in metropolitan areas to estimate dietary intake in 1987/88 and 2008/09. For both periods, we estimated fractions of CHDM, CVDM, and ACM attributable to healthy (fruits and vegetables) and unhealthy food items (sugar-sweetened beverages, processed and red meat). We also estimated the number of prevented or postponed deaths attributable to these food items.ResultsThe fraction of CHDM attributable to all food items increased from 28.6% in 1987/88 to 38.7% in 2008/09. CVDM attributable to food items increased from 13.7% in 1974 to 19.3% in 2008/09. ACM attributable to all food items increased from 20.1% in 1987/88 to 27.3% in 2008/09. Without the decrease in healthy food item consumption, and the increase in unhealthy food items, 3195 deaths from coronary heart disease, 5340 from cardiovascular disease, and 16,970 from all causes could have been prevented or postponed.ConclusionsThe burden of cardiovascular diseases and mortality attributable to dietary intake has increased over the last 20 years in Brazil. These findings suggest a need for a population prevention approach, focused on dietary intake to reduce the burden of disease.