Relation of Dietary Fiber Consumption to Fibrinogen, Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor Type-1, and Lipids in the NHLBI Family Heart Study

Recent studies report beneficial effects of dietary fiber on coronary heart disease, although the mechanisms by which high fiber intake reduces the risk of heart disease are not well understood. This study examines the relation of dietary fiber intake to plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1(PAI-1), total-, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and fibrinogen in 883 males and 1,116 females, aged 50.4 ± 13.8 and 52.1 ± 13.7 years, respectively, in the NHLBI Family Heart Study. Diet was assessed by semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Mean daily fiber intake was 17.9 ± 8.7 g for men and 17.6 ± 7.9 g for women. Subjects in the highest category of fiber consumption had lower waist-hip ratio, higher educational achievement, and lower percentages of smokers and alcohol consumers. Comparing the lowest to the highest age- and energy-specific quintile of fiber intake, the geometric means of PAI-1 were 23.10 ± 3.42 and 15.18 ± 4.76 µg/L, respectively, for men (p for trend=0.01) and 12.68 ± 3.89 and 9.29 ± 3.59 µg/L, respectively for women (p for trend=0.04). In similar comparisons, corresponding values for total cholesterol were 200.7 ± 2.8 and 192.0 ± 2.7 mg/dl for men (p for trend 0.004) and 208 ± 2.5 and 202 ± 2.4 mg/dl for women (p for trend 0.02). Means of LDL-cholesterol were 128.4 ± 2.6 and 118.6 ± 2.6 mg/dl among men (p for trend 0.0009) and 124 ± 2.2 and 118 ± 2.2 mg/dl among women (p for trend =0.006), respectively. These findings are not substantially altered after adjustment for anthropometric, lifestyle, and metabolic factors. No significant association was found between fiber intake and triglycerides or fibrinogen. Thus, these data suggest that higher fiber intake is inversely associated with PAI-1, LDL-, and total cholesterol, but not with fibrinogen and triglycerides.

 
 
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