Dietary Carbohydrate Intake is Associated with Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Korean: Analysis of the Third Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES III)

Background: It is widely recognized that dietary factors play important roles in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We evaluated the association between carbohydrate intake and CVD risk factors, using data from the third Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES III).

Methods: A nationally representative sample of Korean adults (1536 men, 2235 women), aged 20 to 69 years, was divided into three groups according to carbohydrate intake (% of energy), based on the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI, 55-70% of energy) for Koreans. Then, we examined whether excessive carbohydrate intake was related to CVD risk factors.

Results: Mean carbohydrate intake (% of energy) was 72.8% (321 g/day), above the DRI for Korean adults (55-70%). A high carbohydrate intake (>70% of energy) was associated with higher BMI, blood pressure, fasting glucose, triglycerides, and LDL-cholesterol levels in women. After adjusting for covariates, such as age, energy intake, alcohol consumption, smoking status, and physical activity, high carbohydrate intakes (>70% of energy) were significantly associated with diabetes mellitus and low HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) in women. In men, however, only total cholesterol was inversely associated with high carbohydrate intake.

Conclusion: Higher carbohydrate intakes than the DRI for Koreans were significantly associated with diabetes mellitus and low HDL-C levels in women. These results suggest that improvement of dietary patterns may be an important approach to the prevention of CVD in Korean women.