Association between Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Arterial Stiffness: The China-PAR Project.

This study aimed to investigate the association between fruit and vegetable intake and arterial stiffness. We conducted a cohort-based study comprising 6,628 participants with arterial stiffness information in the Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China (China-PAR) project. A semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire was used to assess baseline (2007–2008) and recent (2018–2021) fruit and vegetable intake. We assessed changes in fruit and vegetable intake from 2007–2008 to 2018–2021 in 6,481 participants. Arterial stiffness was measured using the arterial velocity–pulse index (AVI) and arterial pressure-volume index (API). Elevated AVI and API values were defined according to diverse age reference ranges. Multivariable-adjusted linear regression models revealed that every 100 g/d increment in fruit and vegetable intake was associated with a 0.11 decrease in AVI (B = –0.11; 95% confidence interval [ CI ]: –0.20, –0.02) on average, rather than API (B = 0.02; 95% CI : –0.09, 0.13). The risk of elevated AVI (odds ratio [ OR ] = 0.82; 95% CI : 0.70, 0.97) is 18% lower in individuals with high intake (≥ 500 g/d) than in those with low intake (< 500 g/d). Furthermore, maintaining a high intake in the past median of 11.5 years of follow-up was associated with an even lower risk of elevated AVI compared with a low intake at both baseline and follow-up (OR = 0.64; 95% CI : 0.49, 0.83). Fruit and vegetable intake was negatively associated with arterial stiffness, emphasizing recommendations for adherence to fruit and vegetable intake for the prevention of arterial stiffness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]