Higher vitamin K1 intakes are associated with lower subclinical atherosclerosis and lower risk for atherosclerotic vascular disease-related outcomes in older women.
Dupuy M., Zhong L., Radavelli-Bagatini S., Via JD., Zhu K., Blekkenhorst LC., Webster J., Bondonno NP., Linneberg A., Schultz C., Lim W., Prince RL., Hodgson JM., Lewis JR., Sim M.
PURPOSE: Vitamin K may inhibit vascular calcification, a common attribute of atherosclerotic vascular diseases (ASVDs). We examined associations between dietary vitamin K1 intakes and both subclinical atherosclerosis and ASVD events, including hospitalisations and mortality, in older women. METHODS: 1,436 community-dwelling women (mean ± SD age 75.1 ± 2.7 years) were included. Vitamin K1 intakes were calculated from a validated food frequency questionnaire at baseline (1998), utilising a region-matched vitamin K food database. Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT), a measure of subclinical atherosclerosis, was measured in 2001 (n = 1,090). Differences in CCA-IMT by quartiles (Q) of vitamin K1 intake were examined using multivariate analysis of variance. Associations between vitamin K1 intakes and ASVD outcomes (hospitalisations and/or deaths), obtained from linked health records over 14.5 years, were analysed using restricted cubic splines within multivariable-adjusted Cox-proportional hazard models. RESULTS: Women with higher vitamin K1 intakes had a 5.6% lower mean CCA-IMT (Q4 [median 119 µg/day] compared to Q1 [median 49 µg/day], p