Dietary patterns, smoking, and subclinical heart disease in women: opportunities for primary prevention from the Framingham Nutrition Studies.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between a heart-healthy dietary pattern and subclinical heart disease in women, and to identify potential opportunities for primary prevention.

Design: Prospective analysis in which dietary patterns and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors were assessed at baseline. Presence of subclinical heart disease was assessed using carotid atherosclerosis (stenosis >or=25%) measured by ultrasound at 12-year follow-up.

Dietary patterns and the odds of carotid atherosclerosis in women: the Framingham Nutrition Studies.

Background: We prospectively examined the relationship between dietary patterns, assessed using cluster analysis and a food frequency questionnaire, and the presence of carotid artery stenosis, a subclinical marker of atherosclerotic disease.

Methods: Analyses were conducted among 1,423 Framingham Study women without cardiovascular disease (CVD) at baseline (1984-1988). Carotid atherosclerosis (stenosis > or =25%) was measured by ultrasound 12 years later.