(P14-014-23) Dietary Patterns Associated With CVD and All-Cause Mortality in Costa Rican Older Adults: The Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study (CRELES)

Objectives: To examine the association between the main dietary patterns with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality in Costa Rican older adults.

Methods: This is a secondary cohort analysis of the Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study (CRELES), which followed 2 827 participants aged ≥ 60 years since 2004. Dietary intake was accessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Reduced Rank Regression was used to identify energy-adjusted dietary patterns that predicted a set of eight CVD-related biomarkers. Cox proportional hazards regression was conducted to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for CVD and all-cause mortality with 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results: During the 13 years of follow-up (16 819 person-years), there were 974 deaths and 315 fatal CVD events. Four main dietary patterns were identified. After full adjustment, being in the highest tertile of a dietary pattern defined by high intakes of dairy products, chicken, and spread conferred a significant risk effect for fatal CVD events compared with the lowest tertile (HR: 1.35; 95% CI 1.02-1.80; p = 0.04). Adherence to a dietary pattern defined by high intakes of grains and legumes was associated with a protective effect against CVD and all-cause mortality in the fully adjusted models (HR: 0.85; 95% CI 0.52-0.93; p = 0.02 and HR: 0.84; 95% CI 0.71-0.98; p = 0.03, respectively). Stratification analyses showed that the grains and legumes dietary pattern seems to protect rural residents and men against CVD and all-cause mortality, respectively.

Conclusions: In Costa Rican older adults, a higher adherence to a dietary pattern high in dairy products, chicken, and spread increased CVD and all-cause mortality. A dietary pattern high in grains and legumes protect against CVD and all-cause mortality. This last pattern is feasible and should be emphasized in public health recommendations since its components represent the traditional Costa Rican diet.

Funding Sources: CRELES was funded by a grant from the Wellcome Trust.