Daily almond consumption in cardiovascular disease prevention via LDL-C change in the U.S. population: a cost-effectiveness analysis

Abstract

Background: Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the health claim that 1.5 oz (42.5 g) of nut intake may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Previous studies have focused on the cost-effectiveness of other foods or dietary factors on primary cardiovascular disease prevention, yet not in almond consumption. This study aimed to examine the costeffectiveness of almond consumption in cardiovascular disease primary prevention. Perspective & Setting: This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of consuming 42.5 g of almond from the U.S. healthcare sector perspective. Methods: A decision model was developed for 42.5 g of almond per day versus no almond consumption and cardiovascular disease in the U.S. population. Parameters in the model were derived from the literature, which included the probabilities of increasing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, developing acute myocardial infarction and stroke, treating acute myocardial infarction, dying from the disease and surgery, as well as the costs of the disease and procedures in the U.S. population, and the quality-adjusted life years. The cost of almonds was based on the current price in the U.S. market. Sensitivity analyses were conducted for different levels of willingness-to-pay, the probabilistic sensitivity analysis, ten-year risk prevention, different costs of procedures and almond prices, and patients with or without cardiovascular disease. Results: The almond strategy had $363 lower cost and 0.02 higher quality-adjusted life years gain compared to the non-almond strategy in the base-case model. The annual net monetary benefit of almond consumption was $1421 higher per person than no almond consumption, when the willingness to pay threshold was set at $50,000 for annual health care expenditure. Almond was more cost-effective than non-almond in cardiovascular disease prevention in all the sensitivity analyses. Conclusion: Consuming 42.5 g of almonds per day is a cost-effective approach to prevent cardiovascular disease in the short term and potentially in the long term.

A Comprehensive Review of Almond Clinical Trials on Weight Measures, Metabolic Health Biomarkers and Outcomes, and the Gut Microbiota

“…The US Food and Drug Administration approved a qualified health claim that eating 1.5 ounces (42.5 g)/day of tree nuts such as almonds as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of CHD [117]. A medical cost savings and quality of life analysis study in the US population using current US population CVD rates and the probabilities of elevated LDL-C increasing risk, disability, and death from CVD, found that increasing daily consumption of almonds up to 42.5 g/day could significantly reduce annual US CVD costs by about 25% and increase annual improvement in quality adjusted life years by 2% compared to <3 g almond/day average intake [118]. Other cost-benefit analyses show with high confidence that increased intake of foods such as almonds that lower glycemic index and glycemic load are causally correlated with reduced incidence of and medical costs related to T2 diabetes, which can reach 10% of the national health expenditures [119,120].…”

Nuts as Dietary Source of Fatty Acids and Micro Nutrients in Human Health

“…The high carbohydrate or saturated fatty acid diet is often associated with impaired glucose and lipid homeostasis which alters blood lipid profile in terms of elevated low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol, apolipoprotein B (Apo B), and increases body weight which leads to cardiovascular risks. A recent study conducted by Wang et al [27] reported that 42.5 g almond consumption per day changes LDL-C which is also cost effective to prevent cardiovascular disease in the short term and potentially in the long term. Furthermore, studies conducted by Gulati et al [28] and Jalali-Khanabadi [29] reported that dietary almond can improve blood lipid profile by lowering total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride, respectively in cardiovascular patients.…”

Artificial Intelligence in Functional Food Ingredient Discovery and Characterisation: A Focus on Bioactive Plant and Food Peptides

“…;Sharma et al, 2010;Turner-McGrievy et al, 2017;Schwarz et al, 2008). Large-scale clinical studies repeatedly demonstrate that foods affect the risk of incidence and mortality from common chronic diseases that are rapidly rising in society (L. Wang et al, 2018;De Koning et al, 2012;Kenfield et al, 2014;Tasevska et al, 2014;Salas-Salvadó et al, 2014;Esposito et al, 2017;Dicker et al, 2018;Muraki et al, 2013), thus bearing the potential to improve global population health in a cost-effective manner (Eussen et al, 2011;Yang et al, 2018;Wang et al, 2020). For example, FFIs can mitigate the effects of chronic, unresolved inflammation (Rein et al, 2019;K.…”