Feb 25, 2021
Associations finally demonstrated in a large, diverse population
Diets with a high glycemic index are associated with an increased risk of both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death, according to results from the large, international Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study, published in
Previous studies on the associations between glycemic index and cardiovascular disease and risk have shown mixed results and have been primarily conducted in participants from high-income Western populations. To rectify this, David J.A. Jenkins, MD, PhD, of the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and fellow PURE study investigators, conducted this study.
“We have assessed the association between the glycemic index and cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in the large, international [PURE] study involving participants with a broad range of carbohydrate intakes and diverse dietary patterns. We hypothesized that such a study would be most likely to indicate the extent to which the glycemic index has any value as a marker of carbohydrate quality related to chronic disease in general and to cardiovascular disease in particular,” they wrote.