title: Eating patterns are associated with biomarkers in a selected population of university students and employees.
abstract: The association between diet and CVD cannot be assigned to a single nutrient, but rather to a set of nutrients and non-nutrients, and eating pattern analyses have become an important tool in investigation of this relationship. Our objective was to investigate eating patterns in relation to nutrient intake and serum concentration of folate, vitamin B12 and TAG in ninety-five healthy adult participants. Dietary information was collected by an FFQ, and eating patterns were obtained by principal components analyses of thirty-three food groups. Three eating patterns were extracted, a sweet eating pattern identified by intakes of cakes, snacks, sugar-sweetened drinks and chocolates; a prudent eating pattern identified by vegetables, fruits and olive oil; and a traditional food pattern identified by red meat, lean fish and cheese. Blood samples were collected in the morning after an overnight fast. Linear regression analyses adjusted for age, BMI and smoking showed a negative association between the sweet eating pattern scores and the serum concentration of folate (β = -2·31 (95 % CI -4·14, -0·45)) and a positive association with serum concentration of TAG (β = 0·35 (95 % CI 0·12, 0·57)). The prudent eating pattern scores were positively associated with the serum concentration of folate (β = 1·69 (95 % CI 0·44, 2·92)). In conclusion, a sweet eating pattern was associated with risk factors for CVD, whereas a prudent eating pattern was associated with protective factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Sport and Nutrition, Faculty of Health and Sports, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway.
authors.forename: Sigrunn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hernes
authors.affiliation: Department of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Science, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway.
authors.forename: Rona N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Cabo
authors.affiliation: Department of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Science, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway.
authors.forename: Mohammad Azam
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mansoor
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Sport and Nutrition, Faculty of Health and Sports, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway ; Department of Food Safety and Nutrition, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Margaretha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haugen
keywords: Biomarkers; CVD; Eating patterns; Serum folate; TAG