Dietary patterns and glycated hemoglobin in Japanese men and women

Abstract

Objective Dietary patterns in Western populations have been linked to type 2 diabetes, but the role of diet in Japanese remains unclear. We investigated the association between major dietary patterns and glucose tolerance status as measured by glycated hemoglobin (HbA_1c) in Japanese adults.

Research Design And Methods Subjects were 3,243 men and 4,667 women who participated in the baseline survey of an on-going cohort study on lifestyle-related diseases in Fukuoka, Japan. Dietary patterns were derived by using principal component analysis of the consumption of 49 food items ascertained by a food frequency questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate sex-specific odds ratios of elevated HbA_1c (≥ 5.5%) with adjustment for potential confounding variables.

Results The westernized breakfast pattern characterized by frequent intake of bread but infrequent intake of rice was inversely related to HbA_1c concentrations (P for trend = 0.02 in each men and women); the multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (95% CI) for the highest versus lowest quintiles were 0.60 (0.43-0.84) and 0.64 (0.46-0.90) for men and women, respectively. The seafood dietary pattern was positively associated with HbA_1c concentrations in men only (P for trend = 0.01). Neither the healthy nor high-fat dietary pattern was related to HbA_1c.

Conclusions A dietary pattern featured by frequent intake of white rice may deteriorate glucose metabolism in Japanese men and women, and the salty seafood dietary pattern may have similar effect in men.