Association between Dietary Choline Intake and Cardiovascular Diseases: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011–2016

Choline is an essential nutrient for human body, but dietary choline is metabolized into the hazard metabolite for the cardiovascular system. Because of the conflicting results between dietary choline intake and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in previous studies, we aimed to investigate this in US adults. Non-pregnant participants and those aged >20 years from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011–2016, with CVD assessment and reliable dietary recall status, were included. The dietary choline intake was assessed as a mean value of two total dietary choline intakes, including dietary choline intake and supplemental choline intake, in 24-h dietary recall interviews. The association between dietary choline intake and the presence of CVD was examined using logistic regression. We enrolled 14,323 participants. The participants without CVD had substantially higher dietary choline intakes (318.4 mg/d vs. 297.2 mg/d) compared to those with CVD (p < 0.05). After multivariable adjustments, the highest quartile of dietary choline intake was associated with a lower CVD risk, OR 0.693, 95%CI [0.520, 0.923], when compared to the lowest quartile. Consistent results were also found for stroke. Subgroup analyses also supported these, especially in participants aged ≥60 years and in those with BMI < 30 kg/m(2). We found that a higher dietary choline intake was associated with a lower CVD risk, especially the risk of stroke. Further clinical trials are needed in order to confirm this finding and to provide dietary suggestions for the appropriate amount of choline intake.