Abstract
Background and aim: Little is known about the cardioprotective potential of a healthy lifestyle in familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors in adults with FH. Methods and results: This cross-sectional study leveraged data from the CARTaGENE Quebec population-based cohort (Canada). Participants with FH were identified using the validated Simplified Canadian Definition for FH. A healthy lifestyle score (HLS), ranging from 0 to 5, was calculated per adherence to 5 lifestyle habits: 1) not smoking; 2) being physically active (≥150 min/week of moderate or vigorous physical activity); 3) eating a healthy diet (Alternate Healthy Eating Index ≥50%); 4) having a light to moderate alcohol consumption (men: 1–30 g/day; women: 1–15 g/day); and 5) sleeping 7–8 h/day. Among the 122 included individuals (women, n = 78; men, n = 44; mean age ± SD: 57.3 ± 6.7 years), 92 (75.4%) had a HLS ≤3/5, while only 5 (4.1%) had a HLS of 5/5. After adjustments for sex, age, body mass index, and lipid-lowering medication use, we found no evidence of an association between the HLS and concentrations of LDL-cholesterol (β = 0.04, 95% CI = −0.08, 0.15 mmol/L; P = 0.54). However, the HLS was favorably associated with HbA1c levels (β = −0.07, 95% CI = −0.13, −0.01%; P = 0.02), and statistical trends suggested favorable associations with HDL-cholesterol (β = 0.06, 95% CI = −0.02, 0.14 mmol/L; P = 0.06) and waist circumference (β = −2.22, 95% CI = −4.62, 0.17 cm; P = 0.07). Conclusion: This study suggests that a healthy lifestyle is favorably associated with CVD risk factors in adults with FH.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 10 |
Pages (from-to) | 2044-2052 |
Number of pages | 9 |
ISSN | 0939-4753 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2023 The Italian Diabetes Society, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University
Keywords
- Cardiovascular disease
- Familial hypercholesterolemia
- Lifestyle