Glycemic index, glycemic load, and the risk of acute myocardial infarction in Finnish men: the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study.
OBJECTIVE
The role of dietary glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) in coronary heart disease (CHD) is unclear. Our aim was to study the association between the dietary GI and GL and the risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).


RESULTS
The study population consisted of 1981 Finnish men from the prospective population-based Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor (KIHD) Study, aged 42-60 years and free of CHD at baseline. During an average follow-up time of 16.1 years, 376 new AMI events occurred. In multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models, the relative risk (RR) for AMI in the highest quartile of GI was 1.25 (95% CI: 0.92-1.69; P for trend=0.08) and for GL 1.11 (95% CI: 0.79-1.57; P for trend=0.21) when compared with the lowest quartile. For overweight (BMI ≥ 27.5 kg/m²) men, the multivariable-adjusted RR for AMI in the highest compared to the lowest tertile of GI and GL were 1.58 (95% CI: 1.03-2.43; P for trend=0.04, P for interaction=0.01) and 2.05 (95% CI: 1.30-3.23; P for trend=0.002, P for interaction=0.002), respectively. For physically less active men; energy expenditure for leisure-time physical activity < 50 kcal/d, the RR for AMI was 1.72 (95% CI: 1.07-2.76; P for trend=0.04, P for interaction 0.80) with higher GL.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that both high dietary GI and GL are associated with increased risk of AMI among overweight and GL possibly among less physically active men.
Mursu
J
J
Research Institute of Public Health, School of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Kuopio, PO Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland. jaakko.mursu@uku.fi
Virtanen
J K
JK
Rissanen
T H
TH
Tuomainen
T-P
TP
Nykänen
I
I
Laukkanen
J A
JA
Kortelainen
R
R
Voutilainen
S
S
D000208:Acute Disease; D001786:Blood Glucose; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004032:Diet; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000032:analysis*; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D038321:Glycemic Index; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors
D001786:Blood Glucose; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates