Polyphenol intake and cardiovascular risk in students of a public university, Lima – Perú

Sulca Medina J.M.; Huaman Gutierrez O.G.; Palomino Quispe L.P. · Nutricion Clinica y Dietetica Hospitalaria (2025) · DOI: 10.12873/453sulca

Resumen

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases constitute a public health problem, and adequate polyphenol intake could be considered a protective factor. However, there is little evidence to establish this as a nutritional recommendation. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between polyphenol intake and cardiovascular risk in students at the Enrique Guzmán y Valle la Cantuta National University in Lima. Materials and Methods: This research used a quantitative approach, a non-experimental, cross-sectional, and cor-relational-causal approach. The sample consisted of 109 male and female students from a university in Lima, Peru. Polyphenol intake was determined using a validated instrument implemented at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE), which was complemented by a 24-hour dietary record. Cardiovascular risk was also identified using the Framingham Score (low, moderate, and high risk) and waist circumference (low, high, and very high risk). To analyze the relationship between the variables, the Spearman test was used. Results: Polyphenol intake was 615 mg/day. Ten percent of those evaluated presented a moderate risk with the Framingham Score, and 90% presented a low risk; while waist circumference was 58% low risk, and 21% very high risk. When evaluating the relationship between polyphenol intake and the Framingham Score, a weak (Rho = -0.352) but significant (p < 0.05) inverse improvement was found. Likewise, when polyphenol intake was related to waist circumference, a weak (Rho = -0.369) but significant (p < 0.05) inverse compensation was found. Conclusion: Polyphenol intake has an inverse and significant relationship with cardiovascular risk; that is, the higher the polyphenol intake, the lower the cardiovascular risk.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos