title: Association between Dietary Patterns and Cardiovascular Risk Factors among Middle-Aged and Elderly Adults in Taiwan: A Population-Based Study from 2003 to 2012.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of mortality and loss of disability-adjusted life years in developed countries. This study derived a dietary pattern using an a priori method and additionally derived dietary patterns using a posteriori methods, and assessed the relationship with CVD risk factors in Taiwanese middle-aged and elderly adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional analyses of 62,965 subjects aged 40 years and above from the Mei Jau (MJ) database collected between 2003 and 2012 in Taiwan. Diet was assessed using a 22 item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Using this information, three dietary patterns were generated. The a priori diet was labeled the Taiwanese dietary pattern and was derived using hypothesized effect of 22 food groups, while two a posteriori dietary patterns, "vegi-fruits" and "meat-processed", were derived using principal component analysis. The association between dietary patterns and a range of CVD risk factors (i.e. blood lipids, blood glucose and C-reactive protein) was evaluated using linear regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that high intake (Q5, quintile 5) of Taiwanese diet was negatively associated with CVD risk factors at (p < 0.001, model 3), but not with triacylglycerol. In addition, high intake of vegi-fruit dietary pattern (Q5) was negatively associated with CVD risk factors (p < 0.001), but not with high-density lipoprotein, while high consumption of meat-processed dietary pattern (Q5) was positively associated with CVD risk factors (p < 0.001), but negatively related with triacylglycerol in Q3 level and no association with C-reactive protein.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A negative association was observed between Taiwanese or vegi-fruit dietary patterns and CVD risk factors, while a positive association was found between meat-processed dietary pattern and CVD risk factors. The findings suggested that a diet rich in vegetables and fruits has a beneficial effect in the management of CVD risk factors.
authors.affiliation: School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Miriam Adoyo
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Muga
authors.affiliation: International Health Program, Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Patrick Opiyo
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Owili
authors.affiliation: Department of Information Management, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan.|Master Program in Global Health and Development, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chien-Yeh
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medical Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsiao-Hsien
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Rau
authors.affiliation: School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.|Master Program in Global Health and Development, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.|Nutrition Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jane C-J
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Chao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D008055:Lipids; D002097:C-Reactive Protein