Dietary and lifestyle predictors of heart failure (HF) and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)
Description: The proposed research program is a continuation of our previous project on heart failure financed by VR research grant and we extend it to include also abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Heart Failure (HF) and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) are both life-threatening diseases with increasing incidence and prevalence in aging populations. Recent reports suggest that oxidative stress and inflammation may be involved in the etiology of these diseases. Specific foods and beverages, food groups, whole dietary patterns and other modifiable lifestyle factors have been shown to be associated with oxidative stress and inflammatory processes. The proposed research program will continue the examination of specific commonly consumed foods, food groups, multiple dietary patterns, dietary supplements use and other modifiable factors of hypothetical relevance for the development of HF and AAA to inform future preventive measures for these two diseases. We will also examine the joint effect of several combined modifiable factors (diet, physical activity, body weight, alcohol drinking and smoking status) to estimate preventable fractions of HF and AAA in the Swedish population of men and women. It should be pointed out that studies on the etiology of AAA in relation to modifiable diet and lifestyle factors (with the exception of smoking in men) are very scarce or lacking. Our results are expected to fill in important knowledge gaps in AAA research.
The hypotheses and research questions will be addressed in two population-based prospective longitudinal (with repeated over time assessments of diet and other modifiable factors) cohorts – the Swedish Mammography Cohort and the Cohort of Swedish Men – that at baseline in1998 included over 80,000 middle-aged and older men and women. We estimate that 5,500 men and 4,100 women in the cohorts will be diagnosed with HF through December 2015; corresponding numbers for clinically manifest AAA are 1300 men and 260 women. These large numbers of cases will allow us to calculate precise risk estimates. Of particular interest is the fact that our cohorts include a large number of women, who have not previously been examined regarding AAA risk factors. The AAA project is now entering a new phase and will globally be one of a kind, since approximately 25,000 of the men and women in the cohorts have been screened for AAA. These data will allow us to examine the association between diet and other modifiable risk factors with the exact aortic diameter of all those examined subjects.
The significance of the proposed research plan is directly related to a better understanding of the etiology of these two life-threatening diseases to better inform evidence-based preventive strategies. There are still gaps in our understanding of the role of food choices and dietary patterns in the development of HF. Dietary modifications may augment preventive strategies and help to avert a disease that has been increasing in prevalence. The World Heart Failure Alliance strongly advocates that prevention of HF needs to be made a global health priority, because HF treatment is not always effective in prolonging life. Although the progress in our understanding of the clinical, genetic, and molecular factors contributing to the development, growth, and rupture of AAA has been remarkable in the past ten years there is still very little known about modifiable factors including diet and lifestyle (with the exception of smoking). There are a large number of unanswered questions about AAA pathogenesis and how to translate the knowledge gained into better prevention.
Funder: Vetenskapsrådet
Amount: SEK 2,100,000
Funding type: research
Funder scheme: Project grant
Start date: 2016-01-01
End date: 2018-12-31
Investigator: Alicja Wolk
Institution: Karolinska Institutet
Funded outputs count: 9
Funder award ID: 2015-02302
OpenAlex ID: G3536658096