ABSTRACT
Abstract Background There are few publications about the association between the phytochemical index (PI) and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Objective To evaluate the association between the PI and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in adults. Methods This was a cross-sectional study with 141 adults, between 20 and 59 years of age. We analyzed lifestyle (physical activity), sociodemographic data (sex, age), anthropometric data (body mass index [BMI], waist circumference [WC]), biochemical data (lipid profile, blood glucose), food consumption, and phytochemical intake (expressed as PI = daily energy derived from phytochemical-rich foods ÷ total daily energy intake × 100). We performed bivariate analyses (Spearman's correlation) and multiple linear regression adjusted for potential confounders, considering p < 0.05 as significant. Results The median PI was 9.80 (interquartile range: 11.45). PI was inversely correlated with BMI (rs: −0.43) and WC (rs: −0.36) and positively correlated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol) (rs: 0.25), all with p < 0.05. In multiple regression analysis, PI was inversely associated with BMI (B: −0.08; 95%CI: −0.15, −0.01) after adjusting for total energy, sex, age, and physical activity; and positively associated with HDL-cholesterol (Model 1 adjusted for total energy, sex, age, and physical activity [B: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.41]; Model 2 adjusted for BMI, sex, age, and physical activity [B: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.008, 0.40]; Model 3 adjusted for WC, sex, age, and physical activity [B: 0.20; 95%CI: 0.01, 0.40]), all with p < 0.05. Conclusion The results have demonstrated that higher phytochemical intake, expressed by PI, was inversely associated with BMI and positively associated with HDL-cholesterol.