Time-Restricted Eating Reduces CVD Risk for Older Breast Cancer Survivors

THURSDAY, May 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Time-restricted eating (TRE), limiting energy intake to eight hours followed by fasting for 16 hours (16:8 TRE), is associated with a reduction in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among older breast cancer survivors (BCS), according to a research letter published online May 17 in JACC: CardioOncology.

Amy A. Kirkham, Ph.D., from the University of Toronto, and colleagues conducted a single-arm feasibility study to examine adherence, safety, and preliminary efficacy of eight weeks of 16:8 TRE on CVD risk among 22 BCS (aged 60 years and older).

Participants adhered to ≥16-hours of fasting for a median of 98 percent of prescribed days. The researchers found that calorie intake changed by a median of −450 kcal, representing a 22 percent relative reduction. There was no change noted in fat-free mass. At eight weeks, the median Framingham CVD risk decreased from 10.9 to 8.6 percent (−15 percent relative change). No significant change was seen in the modifiable Framingham components overall. Decreases were seen in mean magnetic resonance imaging-derived visceral adipose tissue, bioelectrical impedance analysis-derived whole-body fat mass, and body mass. At baseline, 15 of the participants were classified as cardiometabolically unhealthy; eight of the 15 (53 percent) no longer met the criteria for pharmacologic treatment of CVD risk or metabolic syndrome following the eight-week intervention.

"Our preliminary efficacy findings include a 2 percent absolute or 15 percent relative CVD risk reduction within just eight weeks among BCS at risk for CVD mortality due to overweight/obese status, older age, and receipt of anthracyclines," the authors write.

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