Association of Energy Intake and Dietary Glycemic Load in Different Time Periods With Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Among U.S. Adults With Type 2 Diabetes

To examine the associations of energy intake and glycemic load (GL) in different time periods during the day with cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk in adults with type 2 diabetes.

This cohort study included 2,911 adults with diabetes from who were part of the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003–2014 (baseline), and CVD mortality data obtained by linkage to the National Death Index through 2019. Energy intake and GL in early morning (6:00–7:59 a.m.), late morning (8:00–10:59 a.m.), afternoon (11:00 a.m.–5:59 p.m.), evening (6:00–11:59 p.m.), and night (0:00–5:59 a.m.) were derived from two 24-h dietary recalls at baseline. Cox models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for CVD mortality, adjusted for total energy intake, diet quality, sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics, and medical conditions.

At baseline, the study population (51.8% female, 62.3% non-Hispanic White) had a mean age of 57.4 (SE, 0.4) years. Over a median follow-up of 9.3 (interquartile range = 6.8, 12.1) years, 190 CVD deaths were documented. Energy intake and GL in late morning were inversely associated with CVD mortality risk (per 100-kcal energy intake increment, HR 0.90 [95% CI 0.83–0.98]; per 10-unit GL increment, HR 0.86 [95% CI 0.77–0.95]). In contrast, energy intake and GL at night were positively associated with CVD mortality risk (per 100-kcal energy intake increment, HR 1.22 [95% CI 1.07–1.40]; per 10-unit GL increment, HR 1.44 [95% CI 1.17–1.77]).

For adults with type 2 diabetes, late morning may be a protective eating time against CVD mortality, whereas night may be a detrimental eating time.