Study shows protective effect of polyphenols on cardiovascular health in adolescents

Study shows protective effect of polyphenols on cardiovascular health in adolescents

Consumption of polyphenols in adolescents is associated with better cardiovascular health, according to a collaborative research study involving the University of Barcelona, ​​Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS, Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition Networking Biomedical Research Center (CIBEROBN). the Spanish Cardiovascular Research Network (CIBERCV) and the SHE Foundation.

The study, carried out with funding from La Caixa Foundation and La Marató de TV3, was published in the journal Scientific Reports. As part of the study, researchers analyzed the amount of polyphenols in the urine of 1,326 adolescents attending the SI! Program (Integrated Health) of 24 secondary schools in Madrid and Barcelona.

The protective effect of polyphenols in the young population

Polyphenols are bioactive compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties found in several plant foods, primarily fruits, vegetables, nuts, and olive oil. To date, there have been a few studies on the intake of polyphenols in children and adolescents. Since this period of life is critical and affects cardiovascular health in adulthood, the results shown in the study are important to stimulate similar studies in other European countries and worldwide and to conduct clinical trials to confirm the effect and dose-response relationship of polyphenols on cardiovascular health from childhood.

With the results of this study, we observed that higher urinary polyphenol excretion is linearly associated with higher cardiovascular health index in adolescents aged 11 to 14 years, especially children. This cardiovascular health index is defined by the criteria established by the American Heart Association (AHA), which take into account seven variables: body mass index, physical activity, smoking, diet, blood pressure, total cholesterol and blood sugar.”

Professor Rosa M Lamuela, Director of the Institute of Nutritional Research and Food Safety (INSA-UB), Head of the Natural Antioxidants Research Group at the University of Barcelona and Senior Researcher at CIBEROBN

“Although this is a cross-sectional study and we cannot determine the causality of this association, the scientific literature and the previous studies conducted by our research group show that polyphenols have a protective effect on the occurrence of cardiovascular health in adults,” concludes the professor.

The SI! The program is designed by the SHE Foundation, an entity supported by the La Caixa Foundation and led by cardiologist Valentín Fuster. Aimed at children ages 3 to 16, this initiative aims to demonstrate that adopting healthy habits from childhood reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and improves quality of life in adulthood.

Within this program, the study was carried out under the direction of the research groups led by Rosa M. Lamuela, professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences of the UB and INSA-UB, and Ramon Estruch, lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the UB and Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS, both members of CIBEROBN, in collaboration with the Teams of experts Rodrigo Fernández and Juan Fernández, from CIBERCV, the Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC), and Gloria Santos and Valentin Fuster, from the SHE Foundation.

Source:

University of Barcelona

Reference:

Laveriano-Santos, EP, et al. (2022) Urinary total polyphenols and ideal cardiovascular health metrics in Spanish adolescents participating in the SI program: a cross-sectional study. Scientific reports. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-19684-6.

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