NUTRITIONAL, LIFESTYLE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS AS PREDICTORS OF CORONARY HEART DISEASE

Abstract

Objective: To explore the association of nutritional, lifestyle, and psychological factors as predictors of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) and to study if nutritional, lifestyle, and psychological factors predict CHD?

Methodology: It was a case-control study and a sample of (N = 400), patients with chronic heart disease with mean age of 45.67 years, were 200 (men = 126, women = 74) and (controls = 200, men = 112, women = 88) matched with, gender, age, and monthly income, recruited from public sector hospitals by using a purposive sampling technique. A self-structured comprehensive demographic, social, nutritional, and lifestyle factors was prepared for collecting the data. Descriptive statistics, logistic regression analysis, and chi-square were run for data analyses.

Results: Results indicated a significant positive association of CHD with type of food (p<0.001), sodium (p<0.001), Deserts (halwajat, kheer, cakes, biscuits) (p<0.001), desi ghee (p<0.001), etc. was found. Physical activity (p<0.001), overweight (p<0.001), smoking (p<0.001), self-reported high blood pressure (p<0.001), sodium intake (B= 0.52, p<0.001), bakery items (B= 0.26, p<0.001), saturated fats (B= 0.57, p<0.001), processed meat (B= 0.56, p<0.001), appeared as positive predictors of CHD and whole grains (B= -0.23, p<0.001), fish (B= -0.44), vegetables (B= -0.56, p<0.001), food supplements (B= -0.37, p<0.001) emerged as negative nutritional predictors of CHD. Overweight (B= 0.63, p<0.001), long working hours (B= 0.47, p<0.001), sitting position (B= 0.38, p<0.001), stress (B= 0.67, p<.001), and anxiety (B= 0.72, p<0.001), appeared as positive lifestyle and psychological factors of CHD.

Conclusion: Nutritional, lifestyle, and psychological factors contribute significantly in the development of CHD in patients with chronic heart disease.