Consumption of Nuts and Seeds Could Reduce the Risk of Abdominal Aortic Calcification in Adults

by | Jan 27, 2025 | 2024, Cardiovascular Health, Nuts and Seeds, Recent Articles

Written by Chrystal Moulton, Science Writer. A lower intake of nuts and seeds were associated with an increased risk of abdominal aortic calcification even after controlling for all confounding factors (P<0.05).

nutsNuts and seeds are high in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as well as other polyphenolic compounds that serve a cardioprotective role1,2. Although several studies have documented the positive effect of a diet high in nuts and seeds on mortality and long-term health3,4, few have examined dietary consumption of nuts and seeds in relation to abdominal aortic calcification (AAC)5. Abdominal aortic calcification is common with age and is signified by calcium deposits along the abdominal section of the aorta6. This condition is significantly associated with a high risk of mortality, dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and smoking6-9. Given the beneficial effects of consumption of nuts and seeds, researchers in this study investigated the association between the risk of abdominal aortic calcification in relation to dietary intake of nuts and seeds5.

Researchers used data collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2013 and 2014. During those years, data on abdominal aortic calcification was collected in adults 40 years or older. Of these individuals, any participant with missing data was excluded. As part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), dietary recall was done at 2 time points once in person and another over the phone. Interviews, questionnaires, and assessments were conducted to collect data on physical activity, smoking, diabetes, and hypertension status, waist circumference, and degree of abdominal aortic calcification. To diagnosis the severity of abdominal aortic calcification, imaging was done by licensed radiology technologists and graded based on the AAC-8 scale. A score of “0” indicated no detectable deposits, “1” indicated mild or deposits equivalent to the height of 1 vertebra or less, and “2” indicated moderate/severe or deposits equivalent to the height of 2 vertebrae or more. The goal of this analysis was to determine whether there was any link between the level of calcification and total consumption of nuts and seeds.

The analysis comprised of data from 2611 participants with an average age of 56 years old. The average consumption of nuts and seeds 37.0 ±3.8g/1000 kcal or approximately 5.5 ±0.6% of total energy consumed. The majority of participants were non-Hispanic White (70%) followed by non-Hispanic Black (10%). A total of 723 participants had calcium deposits in their abdominal aorta and 480 of these individuals were characterized as moderate/severe cases (18% of the total sample). Overall, researchers observed that lower intake of nuts and seeds were associated with an increased risk of abdominal aortic calcification even after controlling for all confounding factors (P<0.05). Furthermore, the intake of nuts and seeds was 34% higher among individuals who had no detectable aortic calcification compared to those identified as moderate/severe. Intake of nuts and seeds were not significantly different between the mild abdominal aortic calcification group and the none detectable group.

Findings from this analysis suggest that intake of nuts and seeds could significantly reduce the risk of abdominal aortic calcification. Additional studies will be needed to assess the therapeutic intake of nuts and seeds required to exhibit a reduced risk of abdominal aortic calcification.

Source: Tucker, Larry A. “Study of the Association Between Diets Containing Nuts and Seeds and the Degree of Abdominal Aortic Calcification.” Nutrients 16, no. 24 (2024): 4325.

© 2024 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).

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Posted January 27, 2025.

Chrystal Moulton BA, PMP, is a 2008 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. She graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology with a focus on premedical studies and is a licensed project manager. She currently resides in Indianapolis, IN.

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