The relationship between nut consumption and premature coronary artery disease in a representative sample of Iranians: Iran-premature coronary artery disease (IPAD) study

Abstract Objective: The cardioprotective effects of nuts are well established. However, the positive impacts of nuts in preventing CVD at a younger age, a condition known as premature coronary artery disease (PCAD), is still debated. Therefore, we aim to determine the association between nuts and PCAD occurrence and its severity in different Iranian ethnicities. Design: This case–control study was conducted within the framework of the Iran-premature coronary artery disease (I-PAD) study, an ongoing multi-centric study on Iranian patients of different ethnicities. Setting: This multi-centric case–control study was conducted in among 3253 persons under the age of 70 years in women and 60 years in men from different ethnicities in Iran. Participants: Information on nut consumption was collected using a validated FFQ. Subjects were selected from among the candidates for angiography. Cases were those whose coronary angiography showed stenosis of more than 75 % in at least one vessel or more than 50 % of the left main artery, while the control group participants had normal angiography results. Results: In the crude model, compared to the first quartile, the highest quartile of nut consumption was significantly associated with a lower risk of PCAD (OR = 0·26, 95 % CI (0·21, 0·32); P for trend = 0·001). In the top quartile of nut intake, a substantial decrease in PCAD was observed after controlling for putative confounders (OR = 0·32; 95 % CI (0·24, 0·43); P for trend = 0·001). Additionally, a 75 % decrease in the risk of severe PCAD was observed in the participants in the highest quartile of nut intake. Conclusion: A significant inverse association was observed between nut intake and the risk and severity of PCAD in the Iranian population. Large-scale clinical trials are required to confirm these findings.