RAMNATH N PAI RAIKAR | NT
Panaji
Former associate professor of the department of cardiology at the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC), Dr Manjunath Desai, in a research paper presented jointly with other doctors of the GMC had maintained that the reason behind increase in the number of patients in the state, who suffered from Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), was consumption of outdoor meals, including fast food.
This paper titled ‘A cross-sectional study of severity of CAD and dietary patterns in a tertiary medical college hospital in Goa’ was published in the December 2020 issue of the International Journal of Scientific Research.
Dr Umesh Kamat, Dr Jagadish Cacodcar, Dr Warren Fernandes and Dr Stanislaus Pinto, all attached to the GMC, had prepared the particular research paper along with Dr Desai, as regards the dietary pattern linked to CAD.
Dr Desai, a highly dedicated cardiologist, who passed away on Sunday, had been instrumental in treating heart diseases with his exceptional skill.
The research paper stated, “Given the long natural history of chronic disorders’ correlation between chronic diseases and dietary pattern, it is always hazed with a recall bias and confusions pertaining to temporality of association.”
“With the help of trained medical interns, we tried to conduct a detailed interview of these patients with no past history of CAD, in
an attempt to reveal this association,” it added, pointing out, “The study shows a significant association between frequency of outdoor snacking and severity of coronary artery disease.”
The research paper further concluded, “The quality of outdoor meals may be the cause behind this.” “The outdoor snacks tend to be fatty and thus could be high in saturated fat,” it observed, adding that, “With individuals having varied lifestyles, occupations and standard of living, it might be impractical to suggest complete elimination of outdoor snacks from one’s diet.”
The research paper also suggested, “Rather it is prudent that we encourage individuals to improve the quality of snacks consumed.” “This may prevent overeating at major meals and prevent individuals from exceeding their daily calorie requirement thereby keeping many non-communicable diseases at bay,” it noted.
Furthermore, the research paper stated that the study conducted by the GMC doctors shows increasing severity of CAD with outdoor snacking related to two factors; one, poor quality of snacks and two, foods consumed having high saturated fat as well as cholesterol, and lack of green leafy vegetables, fruits and salads in the fast foods in general.
“Our study showed correlation between beef consumption and severity of Coronary Artery Disease, but no correlation between meat consumption in general (non-vegetarianism) and CAD,” it observed, maintaining, “Red meat is known to have higher saturated and cholesterol content, which results into dyslipidemia, and the iron content of the red meat, the preservatives used and its impact on the gut flora are also linked to the cardiovascular disease risk.”
The research paper also stated that whether the red meat consumption within recommended limits causes heart disease or not is being debated.
This cross-sectional study was conducted by the department of cardiology at the GMC from July 2018 to February 2019, and the study population included all the patients with an ischemic heart disease, who reported to the department for a coronary angiography. Furthermore, the sample size for this study had 978 patients in the age group of 28 to 89 years.
It was observed through the study that irrespective of a vegetarian or non-vegetarian diet, 526 (55.25 per cent) non-vegetarians and 16 (61.53 per cent) vegetarians had mild CAD, while 424 (44.93 per cent) non-vegetarians and 10 (38.46 per cent) vegetarians had moderate to severe CAD.
It was also seen that among the patients who reported never eating out on any given day of the week, a majority of them had mild CAD on angiography. Most of the patients who reported eating out 1 to 4 times a week, had a predominance of mild CAD, while on the contrary those eating out 4 to 6 times per week suffered a moderate to severe CAD. Furthermore, those who ate out daily had double vessel disease on coronary angiography.
The segment of the population eating out more frequently than others that is 4 to 7 days a week showed a significantly higher incidence of moderate to severe CAD (54.80 per cent). A majority of those who indulged in snacking outdoors 1 to 3 days a week or occasionally, only suffered mild CAD registering 64.81 per cent and 53.30 per cent, respectively.
Expectedly, amongst individuals who never snacked outdoors, 14 (63.63 per cent) had mild CAD and 8 (36.36 per cent) had moderate to severe CAD.
Dr Manjunath Desai, who with other doctors presented this research paper, had stressed on the importance of consuming healthy food, especially homemade food and avoiding the outdoor meals, including fast food in order to reduce the risk of various cardiovascular diseases. Improving one’s food habits and related lifestyle could very well be a profound tribute to the cardiologist, who wholeheartedly devoted his life to his profession.
