Cardiovascular Risk Distribution in a Contemporary Polish Collective

Dietary Plant Sterols and Phytosterol-Enriched Margarines and Their Relationship with Cardiovascular Disease among Polish Men and Women: The WOBASZ II Cross-Sectional Study

Dietary cholesterol has been suggested to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Phytosterols, present in food or phytosterol-enriched products, can reduce cholesterol available for absorption. The present study aimed to investigate the association between habitual intake of total and individual plant sterols (β-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol) or a diet combined with phytosterol-enriched products and CVD in a cross-section of Polish adults, participants of the Multicenter National Health Survey II (WOBASZ II). Among men (n = 2554), median intakes of plant sterols in terciles ranged between 183−456 mg/d and among women (n = 3136), 146−350 mg/d in terciles. The intake of phytosterols, when consumed with food containing phytosterols, including margarine, ranged between 184−459 mg/d for men and 147−352 mg/d for women. Among both men and women, beta-sitosterol intake predominated. Plant sterol intake was lower among both men and women with CVD (p = 0.016) compared to those without CVD. Diet quality, as measured by the Healthy Diet Index (HDI), was significantly higher in the third tercile of plant sterol intake for both men and women and the entire study group (p < 0.0001). This study suggests that habitual dietary intake of plant sterols may be associated with a lower chance of developing CVD, particularly in men.

The Severity of Changes in Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Adults Over a Five-Year Interval

Purpose

The aim of this study was to analyze the severity of changes in cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, overweight and obesity, carbohydrate metabolism disorders, burdened family history) and to assess the risk of a cardiovascular incident according to the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) algorithm in the same group of patients over a five-year interval.

Patients and Methods

The research method was analysis of medical records of patients from the area of West Pomeranian Province, Poland, included in the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program of the National Health Fund five years after the first examination (2012/2013 vs 2017/2018). We collected data on changes in the levels of selected cardiovascular risk factors over five years and calculated the SCORE values.

Results

In the second measurement (after five years), the odds of obesity were about 2.5 times higher. The repeated BMI measurement showed that after five years more respondents were classified as overweight and obese compared with the first measurement (p = 0.000; η² = 0.056). The repeated SCORE measurement indicated that after five years the SCORE values significantly increased compared with the first measurement (p = 0.000; η² = 0.588). Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were also found between the first and the second measurements of arm circumference, waist circumference, BMI, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and triglycerides. The risk of visceral obesity was statistically significantly higher for men than for women (R_HM = 1.47).

Conclusion

In the group of patients examined twice over five years, the incidence of obesity, including abdominal obesity, significantly increased. Furthermore, five years after the last examination, the risk of a cardiovascular incident significantly increased. The participants had higher values of such parameters as: arm circumference, waist circumference, BMI, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and triglycerides.