Background: The potential influence of disorders of acid/base homeostasis on cardiovascular risk factors has been suggested.
Objectives: The aim of the study was to estimate the relationship between dietary acid load and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and the prevalence and intensity of cardiovascular risk factors (i.e., hypertension, diabetes, overweight and obesity, dyslipidemia) in the Polish adult population.
Material and methods: Data was derived from a cross-sectional survey of a random sample of 6,170 Polish residents aged 20+ (Multi-Center National Population Health Examination Survey, WOBASZ II study), including anthropometric and laboratory measurements, and estimates of nutrient intakes by 24-h recall. Dietary acid/ base load was assessed as potential renal acid load (PRAL) and net endogenous acid production (NEAP).
Results: The median PRAL and NEAP values for the whole study population were: PRAL -3.85 mEq/day and NEAP 39.79 mEq/day. The prevalence of overweight and obesity, both in males and females, tended to decrease across tertiles of PRAL and to increase across tertiles of NEAP. In females, the values of several metabolic characteristics differed across tertiles of NEAP. After adjustment for age and waist circumference, these relationships did not persist, but the prevalence of diabetes was found to increase across tertiles of PRAL (p for trend <0.05) in females.
Conclusions: The dietary acid load in the Polish adult population was relatively low. There was no independent relationship between dietary acid load and cardiovascular disease and its risk factors in the population under study, except for the positive association between the PRAL value and diabetes prevalence in females.
Keywords: cardiovascular risk factors; dietary acid load; polish population.