The Association between Polyphenols Consumption and Stroke Risk Factors in Saudi Arabia

Sarah N Alsharif^*

• Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Eating foods rich in polyphenols has been shown in numerous trials to lower the incidence of stroke. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between stroke risk variables and consumption of polyphenols. An online questionnaire was used to conduct a cross-sectional study on 293 healthy persons in Saudi Arabia who were at least 18 years old. Information was gathered on the demographics, health, use of supplements or drugs, smoking, anthropometric measures, physical activity, and dietary intake of six food products high in polyphenols. The mean age of the participants was 34.82 ± 14.06 years, 72.7% were females, 51.5% were married, and 63.1% had university education. Of them, 23.5% were obese and 62.8% were performing physical activity. Almost all participants had ≥ 3 modifiable stroke risk factors. Coffee was the most consumed polyphenol product (91.3%) followed by dates (88.7%) and apple (88.4%). Foods high in polyphenols were consumed anywhere from 4-5 times per day to fewer than once per month. The most often eaten polyphenols were found in coffee, black tea and apples. With the exception of milk chocolate, older participants ingested much more polyphenol-containing food than younger ones. The more apples or dark chocolate eaten, the lower the chance of having a stroke. Additionally, the risk of stroke is decreased by consuming more dark chocolate, cocoa powder, coffee, apples, black tea, and green tea. Adult Saudis who consumed more of a specific food high in polyphenols had a lower incidence of stroke. It is recommended to do additional long-term cohort studies to obtain more precise dietary data and to take into account randomized controlled trials in order to prove causation.