Dietary Habits of Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A Case-Control Study from Pakistan

Background: Adults in South Asian countries have high chances of developing coronary artery disease (CAD) as compared to the developed nations. CAD is among the primary non-communicable causes of death in this region. Dyslipidemia, obesity, smoking hypertension, diabetes are considered as important risk factors for CVD. Methods: A case-control study was conducted, with data was collected from the Punjab Institute of Cardiology in Lahore and the University of Lahore Teaching Hospital. A total of 500 subjects were selected, of which 250 were coronary artery disease patients and 250 were healthy controls. The CAD patients were selected from the outpatient department (OPD) and emergency unit of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology and the University of Lahore Teaching Hospital. Results: The mean age of CAD patients was 57.83 ± 7.51 years and that of the controls was 55.32 ± 6.40 years. There was a significant difference in the mean values of biochemical parameters among cases and controls except for fasting blood sugar levels while there was a significant difference (p-value: 0.000) in the mean values of systolic blood pressure among cases and controls. Similarly, the values of diastolic blood pressure were also significantly different (p-value: 0.000) among cases and controls. The values of total blood cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides and HDL were also significantly different among cases and controls. There was a significant relationship between consumption of chicken, eggs, beef, yogurt, junk food, fresh vegetables, and fruits, and incidence of CAD. Consuming milk every day, and consuming fish weekly and consuming ghee had no significant association with the risk of coronary artery disease. On the other hand, from the findings of the unadjusted model, there was a significant association between CAD risk and intake of chicken, beef, egg, yogurt, junk food, fish, vegetables, and fruits. Conclusions: Diet is a risk factor for coronary artery disease and can be adjusted to reduce the risk of CAD. A key finding is that consumption of chicken, beef, eggs and junk food are associated with a high risk of CAD whereas consumption of ghee is not associated with the risk of CAD.