Hypertension in Africa Research Team (HART), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Hypertension in Africa Research Team (HART), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa; SAMRC Extramural Unit for Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2024 Jan;34(1):188-197. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2023.08.013. Epub 2023 Aug 29.
Retinal arteriolar narrowing and venular widening are associated with increased cardiovascular risk, even at young ages. Whether diet contributes to early microvascular changes in children is not widely explored. We explored the associations of frequency of healthy and unhealthy food group intake with retinal vessel calibers in black and white children.
This study included school-aged (5-9 years) black (N = 433, 7.46 ± 0.98 years), and white (N = 403, 7.43 ± 0.82 years) children. Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements were taken, along with retinal vessel calibers (central retinal arteriolar (CRAE) and venular (CRVE) equivalents). Frequencies of food group intake were assessed using a food-frequency questionnaire. A factor analysis was performed to describe food group patters. Independent associations between retinal vessel calibers and frequencies of food group intake and food group patters were explored. In black children, cookies, cakes, and biscuits were associated with narrower arterioles (p < 0.05). In white children, cold sweetened beverages were associated with narrower arterioles (p = 0.02), whereas salty snacks were associated with narrower arterioles (p = 0.01) and wider venules (p < 0.05). Fruits were positively associated with CRAE (p = 0.03) in white children only.
A higher frequency of unhealthy food group consumption was associated with retinal arteriolar narrowing and venular widening in both black and white children. However, fruit intake was shown beneficial for retinal microvascular health in white children only. Our findings may highlight the importance of promoting healthy eating patterns from early childhood which may reduce the risk of premature cardiovascular disease development.
视网膜小动脉变窄和小静脉变宽与心血管风险增加相关，即使在年轻时也是如此。饮食是否会导致儿童早期出现微血管变化尚未得到广泛探讨。我们探讨了健康和不健康食物组摄入频率与黑人和白人儿童视网膜血管口径的关系。
这项研究纳入了学龄期（5-9 岁）的黑人（N=433，7.46±0.98 岁）和白人（N=403，7.43±0.82 岁）儿童。进行了体格测量和血压测量，并测量了视网膜血管口径（视网膜中央小动脉（CRAE）和小静脉（CRVE）当量）。使用食物频率问卷评估食物组摄入频率。采用因子分析描述食物组模式。探讨了视网膜血管口径与食物组摄入频率和食物组模式之间的独立关系。在黑人儿童中，饼干、蛋糕和饼干与小动脉变窄相关（p<0.05）。在白人儿童中，冷甜饮料与小动脉变窄相关（p=0.02），而咸点心与小动脉变窄（p=0.01）和小静脉变宽（p<0.05）相关。仅在白人儿童中，水果与 CRAE 呈正相关（p=0.03）。
不健康食物组摄入频率较高与黑人和白人儿童的视网膜小动脉变窄和小静脉变宽相关。然而，仅在白人儿童中，水果摄入对视网膜微血管健康有益。我们的研究结果可能强调了从儿童早期开始促进健康饮食模式的重要性，这可能降低过早发生心血管疾病的风险。
