Association between health risk factors and dietary flavonoid intake in cohort studies

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify the health risk factors associated with flavonoid intake in cohort studies investigating the association between dietary polyphenols and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). A systematic search of the PubMed and EMBASE databases was performed. Prospective studies with the background characteristics given for categories of flavonoid intake were eligible to inclusion. A bivariate meta-analysis summarising the intercepts and slopes of the linear regression and a dose-response meta-analysis of differences in means were used to analyse the relationships. The intake of total flavonoids was inversely associated with BMI, alcohol consumption, saturated fat intake, and current smoking, and positively associated with vitamin E, folate, fibre, beta-carotene intake, multivitamin supplement use, and high physical activity. The results of this study underline the importance of considering the association between dietary flavonoid consumption and CVD risk in the context of a healthy lifestyle.

Keywords:

• Flavonoids
• polyphenol
• CVD
• cardiovascular disease
• meta-analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

A.M. conceived and planned the study and methodology, conducted data curation, carried out the statistical analysis and prepared an original draft; all authors contributed to writing, reviewing, and editing of the manuscript, provided insights on the topic, discussed the results and critically revised the manuscript, as well as verified the search strategy and analytical methods.