(P19-049-23) Associations Between Avocado Intake and Type 2 Diabetes Risk in Adults: Results From the Hispanic Community Health Study / Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL)

Objectives: To investigate associations between avocado intake and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Hispanic/Latino Americans – a population at increased risk for T2D.

Methods: Data were included for up to 14,591 adults with Hispanic/Latino ancestry participating in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). Baseline data were used to examine cross-sectional associations between self-reported avocado intake, glycemia, and insulin homeostasis (N=14,591). Cox-proportional hazards models were used to examine longitudinal associations between avocado intake and incident T2D (N=6,159; as defined by ADA criteria) at visit 2. All models were stratified by dysglycemia status (normoglycemia vs. prediabetes vs. T2D), and controlled for sociodemographic factors and health behaviors.

Results: In the baseline analyses, among those with untreated T2D, avocado intake was associated with lower HbA1c (β= -0.36±0.21, P = 0.02) and fasting glucose (β= -0.27±0.12, P = 0.02), and higher HOMA-%b (β=0.41±0.02, P = 0.04) as well as greater insulin levels in response to an oral glucose load (β= 0.66±0.23, P = 0.004), but not HOMA-IR, fasting glucose, or glucose levels in response to glucose. No associations were observed between avocado intake and glucose homeostasis in normoglycemic or prediabetic participants. In the longitudinal analyses, baseline avocado intake was inversely associated with incident T2D , although this was only significant in those with prediabetes at baseline (HR: 0.69 (0.48-0.98), P=.04), not those with normoglycemia (HR: 0.80 (0.41-1.55), P=.50).

Conclusions: These results suggest that avocado intake is associated with changes to insulin homeostasis and a lower risk of T2D, but that the protective effect of avocado consumption appears to differ by diabetes status.

Funding Sources: The National Institutes of Health, the USDA/ARS, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences and Hass Avocado Board.