Long-term nuts intake and metabolic syndrome: A 13-year longitudinal population-based study

Summary Background & aims The ability of nuts to improve the conditions of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) is now well established. However, few longitudinal studies examined the impact of nuts on MetS and those that have been ongoing considered baseline measurement of nuts intake. The associations between nuts intake and the risk of MetS was longitudinally assessed in our study using repeated measurements of nuts intake. Methods The population-based longitudinal study was conducted on a sub-sample of the Isfahan Cohort Study (ICS), including 1387 adults, aged ≥ 35 years. A validated food frequency questionnaire was applied to obtain data on the nuts intake. International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria were used to define MetS. The longitudinal relation between the trend of nuts intake and the risk and severity of MetS was examined using the Logistic and Cumulative Logit regressions with considering mixed random effects. Results After adjustment for potential confounders, a statistically significant inverse association was found in severity of MetS (the number of positive criteria) in the second quartile of nuts compared with the lowest quartile (OR: 0.77, 95% PI: 0.63–0.96; P trend: 0.03). Nuts intake was inversely associated with MetS risk among participants in the second quartile compared with the lowest quartile (OR: 0.76, 95% PI: 0.59–0.96; P trend: 0.14). Conclusions Nuts intake demonstrated a significant, inverse association with the risk and severity of MetS after a 13-year follow-up period in a cohort of the Iranian population.