Vegetable and Fruit Intake and LOX-Index in Japanese Municipal Workers

Vegetable and fruit intake has been reported to be associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. To date, however, no study has examined the association between vegetable and fruit intake and LOX-index, which reflects the progression of atherosclerosis and is a predictive biomarker of stroke and coronary heart disease. Here, we examined the cross-sectional association between vegetable and fruit intake and LOX-index in Japanese municipal workers. Participants were 338 workers (166 men and 172 women aged 19-71 y) with no history of serious disease who participated in a health and nutrition survey. Vegetable and fruit intake was assessed using a validated brief self-administered diet history questionnaire. LOX-index was calculated by multiplying serum concentrations of the soluble form of lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor-1 by those of LOX-1 ligands containing apolipoprotein B. Multiple regression analysis was used to estimate the geometric mean of LOX-index according to tertile of vegetable and/or fruit intake. Total vegetable and fruit intake was associated with a trend toward decreased LOX-index after adjustment for covariates (p for trend=0.067). In stratified analyses by sex, a significant inverse association between total vegetable and fruit intake and LOX-index was observed in women (p for trend=0.023), whereas such association was not observed in men (p for trend=0.70). None of the intakes of vegetables, fruit, green and yellow vegetables, or other vegetables was associated with LOX-index. Our results suggest that higher intake of total vegetables and fruit is associated with a lower LOX-index in Japanese women.