Greater Intake of Pulses Is Associated with Lower Prevalence of Cardiometabolic Diseases among Adults in the United States: NHANES, 1999 to 2018

Background: Pulses, which include beans, peas, lentils, and chickpeas, are a cornerstone of dietary recommendations. However, studies evaluating the association between pulse intake and cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) have yielded mixed findings, and no study has evaluated this association in a nationally representative sample of United States adults. To address this gap, we evaluated the association between usual pulse intake and prevalent CMD among United States adults from 1999 to 2018, and analyses were stratified by CMD subtype and sociodemographic groups. Objectives: The objective was to evaluate the association between usual pulse intake and CMD prevalence in a nationally representative sample of United States adults. Methods: Data from 46,939 adults were acquired from the NHANES, 1999 to 2018. Usual pulse intake was estimated using the National Cancer Institute Method, and CMD outcomes were identified using standardized criteria. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between usual pulse intake and CMD outcomes, adjusting for demographic, behavioral, and dietary risk factors. All analyses were stratified by CMD subtype and sociodemographic group. Results: ≥ 0.05 for all comparisons). Conclusions: Greater pulse intake is associated with lower prevalence of CMD and subtypes. Exploratory analyses demonstrate no differences in the association of pulse intake with CMD or its subtypes across sociodemographic groups.