(HealthDay News) – Diets high in vitamin K1 and K2 are inversely associated with the risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), according to a study published online Aug. 7 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Jamie W. Bellinge, M.B.B.S., from the University of Western Australia in Perth, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study involving participants with no prior ASCVD who completed a food-frequency questionnaire at baseline and were followed for hospital admissions of ASCVD, ischemic heart disease, ischemic stroke or peripheral artery disease. Intakes of vitamin K1 and K2 were estimated and their correlation with ASCVD hospitalizations was ascertained.
The researchers found that 8,726 of the 53,372 Danish citizens with a median age of 56 years were hospitalized for any ASCVD during 21 years of follow-up. After multivariable adjustments for relevant demographic covariates, participants with the highest versus the lowest vitamin K1 intake had a reduced risk for ASCVD-related hospitalization (hazard ratio, 0.79). Similarly, the risk for an ASCVD-related hospitalization was reduced for participants with the highest versus the lowest vitamin K2 intake (hazard ratio, 0.86).
“These findings shed light on the potentially important effect that vitamin K has on the killer disease and reinforces the importance of a healthy diet in preventing it,” Bellinge said in a statement.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry.
