High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is a strong independent predictor of future cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. We evaluated the relationship between hsCRP and dietary intake in apparently healthy young women living in southern Vietnam.

Serum hsCRP was measured and dietary intake data were obtained using the 1-day 24-hour recall method in women (n = 956; mean age, 25.0 ± 5.7 years) who participated in the International Collaboration Study for the Construction of Asian Cohort of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES) in 2011.

Women in the high risk group (> 3 mg/L) consumed fewer fruits and vegetables, total plant food, potassium, and folate than those in the low risk group (< 1 mg/L). A multiple regression analysis after adjusting for covariates revealed a significant negative association between hsCRP and fruit and vegetable consumption. A logistic regression analysis showed that the odds ratio (OR) of having a high hsCRP level in women with the highest quartiles of consumption of fruits and vegetables [OR, 0.391; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.190-0.807], potassium [OR, 0.425; 95% CI, 0.192-0.939] and folate [OR, 0.490; 95% CI, 0.249-0.964] were significantly lower than those in the lowest quartiles.

These results suggest that, in young Vietnamese women, an increased consumption of fruit and vegetables might be beneficial for serum hsCRP, a risk factor for future CVD events.