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Lazarova, Svilena

University of British Columbia

The study of dietary patterns has become crucial for the formulation of nutritional guidelines and policy applications for reducing the burden of chronic disease. Using the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)-Nutrition (2004 and 2015) linked to health administrative databases, the main objectives of this thesis were to investigate the characteristics of Canadian adults’ dietary patterns and to explore their associations with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk at the national population level. In Study 1, adherence to three emerging plant-based dietary patterns was examined (using a priori dietary quality indices) and was shown to be low. Closer compliance to these dietary patterns was associated with healthier lifestyle behaviours, higher intake of healthy foods and nutrients, and lower risk of obesity, even though it was not related to CVD risk (incidence and mortality). In Study 2, data reduction techniques (hybrid methods) were compared in derivation of dietary patterns associated with high CVD risk (energy-dense, high-saturated-fat and low-fibre-density). Results revealed highly similar trends and highlighted key food components that could be targeted for CVD prevention among Canadian adults. Overall, findings in this thesis present comprehensive evidence on adherence to different dietary patterns in Canada with the potential for chronic disease risk reduction, and set the scene for formulation of future comprehensive studies on alternative dietary patterns among different population subgroups to further inform nutrition policies and clinical practical guidelines for CVD prevention.

Text

2024-10-31

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/80088

Human Nutrition

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/