Daniel Himsworth2024-08-132024-08-132023-05https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/34695Arterial stiffness, endothelial dysfunction, and high blood pressure (BP) are risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), all of which can be influenced by diet. Different types of carbohydrates, such as added sugar, have been shown to cause endothelial dysfunction acutely, while high dietary fiber intake has been associated with reduced arterial stiffness and BP in various populations. One of the proposed mechanisms for these findings is postprandial increases in blood glucose concentration. The extent of this increase in blood glucose level is measured by a food’s glycemic index (GI). While previous research focused on the acute effects of various types of carbohydrates on vascular health, less is known about habitual consumption and whether these associations begin in early adulthood. This study aimed to examine the relations between added sugar, fiber, and diet GI with measures of vascular health. Fifty-five participants (21M/34W; 26.76.1 years; BP 11312/699 mmHg) completed this cross-sectional study. Dietary intake was assessed using 3-day diet records. Measures of vascular health included pulse wave velocity (PWV), a measure of arterial stiffness, augmentation index (AIx), a measure of wave reflection, brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD), a measure of endothelial function, and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). Associations between the types of carbohydrate and vascular measures were assessed using Pearson bivariate and partial correlations. Participants consumed an average of 2039553 kcal with 9.6% (193.6 kcal) of this energy coming from added sugar, which meets the USDA guideline. The average fiber intake was 22.78.7 grams/day, which is below the recommendation. Added sugar intake was negatively associated with PWV (r=-0.291, p=0.033) but was no longer significant after controlling for age and sex (r=-0.228, p=0.119). There were no associations between added sugar intake and AIx, FMD, or BP (all p>0.05). Both fiber and the GI were not associated with PWV, AIx, or FMD (all p>0.05). However, fiber intake was positively associated with systolic BP (SBP; r=0.315, p=0.026) and pulse pressure (PP; r=0.293, p=0.039); however, these no longer remained significant when controlling for age and sex (both p>0.05). GI was not associated with any measure of BP (all p>0.05). In conclusion, while added sugar was negatively associated with arterial stiffness and fiber was positively associated with SBP and PP, both counter to our hypotheses, neither relation remained significant when controlling for sex and age. In our cross-sectional study of young, healthy adults, various types of carbohydrate were not associated with declines in vascular function. Future work should include a wider range of intakes for both added sugars, fiber, and diet GI as well as account for the nutrient density of the sources of added sugar and fiber.en-USThesis