title: Increasing fruit and vegetable intake has no effect on retinal vessel caliber in adults at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Retinal vessel abnormalities are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. To date, there are no trials investigating the effect of dietary factors on the retinal microvasculature. This study examined the dose response effect of fruit and vegetable (FV) intake on retinal vessel caliber in overweight adults at high CVD risk.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Following a 4 week washout period, participants were randomized to consume either 2 or 4 or 7 portions of FV daily for 12 weeks. Retinal vessel caliber was measured at baseline and post-intervention. A total of 62 participants completed the study. Self-reported FV intake indicated good compliance with the intervention, with serum concentrations of zeaxanthin and lutein increasing significantly across the groups in a dose-dependent manner (P for trend < 0.05). There were no significant changes in body composition, 24-h ambulatory blood pressure or fasting blood lipid profiles in response to the FV intervention. Increasing age was a significant determinant of wider retinal venules (P = 0.004) whereas baseline systolic blood pressure was a significant determinant of narrower retinal arterioles (P = 0.03). Overall, there was no evidence of any short-term dose-response effect of FV intake on retinal vessel caliber (CRAE (P = 0.92) or CRVE (P = 0.42)).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated no effect of increasing FV intake on retinal vessel caliber in overweight adults at high risk of developing primary CVD.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  NCT00874341.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: McEvoy
authors.affiliation: Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
authors.forename: I R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.affiliation: Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Hamill
authors.affiliation: Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Neville
authors.affiliation: Regional Centre for Endocrinology & Diabetes, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland, UK.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.affiliation: Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.affiliation: Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Woodside
authors.affiliation: Centre for Experimental Medicine, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Chakravarthy
authors.affiliation: Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
authors.forename: I S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. Electronic address: m.mckinley@qub.ac.uk.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: McKinley
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D000072001:Diet, Healthy; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D014975:Lutein / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D018977:Micronutrients / Q000097:blood; D055806:Microvessels / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D050177:Overweight / Q000097:blood; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000502:physiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014675:Vegetables; D055105:Waist Circumference; D065146:Zeaxanthins / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D018977:Micronutrients; D014280:Triglycerides; D065146:Zeaxanthins; D014975:Lutein
keywords: Fruit; Retinal vessel caliber; Vegetables