The effect of dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet on fatty liver and cardiovascular risk factors in subjects with metabolic syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) as a multifactorial disorder is associated with non-communicable diseases. The dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet is a healthy dietary pattern. We investigated the effect of the DASH diet on fatty liver and cardiovascular risk factors in subjects with MetS. METHODS: 60 Subjects with MetS were assigned into the intervention group (DASH diet) or the control group (a healthy diet). Fatty liver index (FLI), hepatic steatosis index (HSI), waist circumference (WC), weight, body mass index (BMI), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) were evaluated at the beginning and after intervention. Equations of fatty liver indices such as FLI and HSI are based on liver enzymes, anthropometric variables, sex and having diabetes. RESULTS: 30 subjects in the intervention group and 29 subjects in the control group completed the study. We found a significant reduction in the intervention group compared to the control group in FLI (-13.06 ± 10.03 vs. -2.90 ± 6.82;P < 0.001), HSI (-2.72 ± 2.59 vs. -0.81 ± 3.80;P = 0.02), WC (-6.02 ± 4.24 vs. -2.24 ± 4.28;P = 0.001), weight (-3.39 ± 2.53 vs. -1.51 ± 2.72;P = 0.008), BMI (-1.25 ± 0.93 vs. -0.56 ± 1.01;P = 0.008), DBP (-5.16 ± 3.92 vs. -1.50 ± 7.04;P = 0.01), SBP (-6.97 ± 8.21 vs. -1.36 ± 6.83;P = 0.006), TG (-18.50 ± 14.32 vs. 0.60 ± 23.81;P < 0.001), TC (-16.10 ± 17.94 vs. -5.07 ± 23.62;P = 0.04) and LDL-c (-13.50 ± 9.58 vs. -4.90 ± 18.28;P = 0.02). These results remained significant after adjusting for confounding factors, except for TC (P = 0.25). CONCLUSIONS: The DASH diet was more effective than the control diet in managing fatty liver and cardiovascular risk factors. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered on 21 October 2022 at Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT20180201038585N12, URL: https://irct.behdasht.gov.ir/trial/66161 ).

The association between lifelines diet score (LLDS) with depression and quality of life in Iranian adolescent girls.

BACKGROUND: It has been proposed that a greater degree of adherence to a healthy dietary pattern is associated with a lower risk of depression and a poor quality of life (QoL). The Lifelines diet score (LLDS) is a new, evidence-base scoring system to define the quality of diet. We designed a cross-sectional study to investigate the association between LLDS with depression and QoL in Iranian adolescent girls. METHODS: A total of 733 female adolescents were recruited from Mashhad and Sabzevar cities, Iran. Depression and QoL were assessed utilizing the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and SF-12v2 questionnaires, respectively. The LLDS was defined by dividing intakes of 12 food groups with negative or positive health effects into quintiles ranging 12 to 60 points. To explore the association between LLDS with QoL and depression, logistic regression was used in crude and adjusted models. RESULTS: The prevalence of depression and poor QoL was 24% and 49%, respectively. After adjusting for confounding factors, adolescent girls in the highest quartile of LLDS compared with the participants in the lowest quartile had a 42% lower probability of reporting depressive symptoms (OR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.35-0.97, P = 0.03). In addition, the participants in the highest quartile of LLDS had lower odds of poor QoL compared with the subjects in the lowest quartile (OR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.42-0.92, P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: There is an inverse relationship between LLDS with risk of depression and poor QoL. Prospective and interventional investigations are needed to reach a clear vision.

The association between low-carbohydrate diet score and sleep duration among Iranian adults.

Sleep disorders are linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The evidence suggests that dietary carbohydrate content may be related to sleep duration. We designed a study to investigate the association between a low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) with long sleep duration (> 8 h) and short sleep duration (< 5 h). This cross-sectional analysis was conducted on data obtained from the recruitment phase of Yazd Health Study (YaHS) and the Taghzieh Mardom-e-YaZd (TAMYZ). The dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. The LCD score was calculated for each subject based on summing up assigned scores to deciles of percentages of energy from macronutrients. Sleep duration was assessed using a nocturnal sleep questionnaire. The association between LCD and sleep duration was evaluated using logistic regressions in crude and adjusted models. A total of 5929 subjects were entered into the analysis. Most of the participants were aged 20-29 years (24.8%), male (52.2%) and never smokers (87.7%). After adjusting for level of physical activity, age, sex, total energy, smoking status and body mass index in model III, a significant direct association was observed between LCD score with long sleep duration (OR 1.15; 95% CI1-1.32, P = 0.049) and short sleep duration (OR 1.29; 95% CI 1.02-1.62, P = 0.028). Higher LCD score is associated with higher chance of long sleep duration and short sleep duration. Regarding the nature of our study, cohort and clinical trial studies in future are required to reach a causal association and a definitive conclusion.