Body composition, nutrient intake and MTHFR genotype in patients with peripheral arterial disease

Abstract

Background: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a progressive disease characterized by its impact on physical mobility, and a high rate of vascular comorbidities and events. Despite its inclusion in the same grouping of conditions as cardiovascular (CVD) and cerebrovascular diseases, PAD garners much less attention, both in a clinical setting and in research. There is a significant body of research on the roles of nutrition and lifestyle in CVD and stroke etiology, yet the equivalent data for PAD is sparse. The impact of nutrition and related factors on PAD is poorly understood, and in need of expansive clarification.Methods: We conducted a literature review of all available research on nutrition and body composition in PAD, and used our assessments to design a cross-sectional study of these variables in a sample of PAD patients. We created a conceptual model of how nutrition-related variables may be associated with various aspects of PAD severity, and examined these associations within recruited participants.Results: Participants diets' were characterized by relatively high intakes of fat, sugar and sodium, as well as by low or inadequate intakes of crucial micronutrients. Several dietary factors were found to be significantly associated with more severe physical or psychosocial PAD symptoms. The majority of participants were also overweight or obese, and total body weight and abdominal obesity were associated with worse scores on tests of PAD severity. Additionally, we encountered several key obstacles to identifying and recruiting patients for this study. Conclusions: Although our sample size was relatively small, there is evidence to suggest that there are nutrition-related factors that are associated with the severity of PAD patients' symptoms and overall quality of life. Recruitment methods are in need of revision to obtain larger, more statistically powered samples, and we have outlined potential approaches for doing so. Lastly, this study establishes a precedent for future studies to implement interventions in PAD patients using already-established vascular guidelines for nutrition.