Effect of dietary modification on incident carotid artery disease in postmenopausal women: Results from the women's health initiative dietary modification trial

Background and Purpose: Because the diagnosis and treatment of carotid artery disease may reduce the rate of stroke, the aim of this study was to determine whether a diet intervention was associated with incident carotid artery disease. METHODS-: Participants were 48 835 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years who were randomly assigned to either the intervention or comparison group in the Women's Health Initiative Diet Modification Trial. Incident carotid artery disease was defined as an overnight hospitalization with either symptoms or a surgical intervention to improve flow. RESULTS-: After a mean follow-up of 8.3 years from 1994 to 2005, there were 297 (0.61%) incident carotid artery events. In contrast to the comparison group, the risk of incident carotid disease did not differ from those assigned to the intervention group (hazard ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 0.9-1.4). In secondary analysis, there was no significant effect of the intervention on the risk for incident carotid disease during the 5 years of postintervention follow-up from 2005 to 2010 (hazard ratio, 1.24; 95% confidence interval, 0.9-1.7) and no significant effect during cumulative follow-up from 1994 to 2010 (hazard ratio, 1.13; 95% confidence interval, 0.9-1.4). CONCLUSIONS-: Among postmenopausal women, a dietary intervention aimed at reducing total fat intake and encouraging increased intake of fruit, vegetables, and grains did not significantly change the risk for incident carotid artery disease.