White Rice Intake Varies in Its Association with Metabolic Markers of Diabetes and Dyslipidemia Across Region among Chinese Adults.

BACKGROUND/AIMS There are inconsistent associations between white rice consumption and diabetes and dyslipidemia, perhaps due to the nature of samples studied and quality of diet data. METHODS Using regionally diverse data from adults enrolled in the China Health and Nutrition Survey (n = 7,878) with diet data from three repeated 24-hour recalls and fasting blood to derive diabetes and dyslipidemia, we examined the odds of diabetes and dyslipidemia in participants across region-specific tertiles of percent energy from white rice consumption. RESULTS The prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes, high triglycerides, high low-density lipoprotein (LDL), low high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and atherogenic dyslipidemia (AD) was 4.7%, 31.8%, 31.3%, 25.9%, and 14.6%, respectively. We found an inverse association between the highest (versus lowest) tertile of rice intake and diabetes in Central China (odds ratio (OR): 0.59, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.36-0.99). The highest rice consumption was also associated with high triglycerides (OR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.09-1.95), low HDL (OR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.03-1.85), and AD (OR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.15-2.31) in North China, and low LDL (OR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.42-0.69) in Central China. CONCLUSIONS The association between white rice consumption and diabetes and dyslipidemia markers varied across regions of China, suggesting a role of other dietary and health-related exposures, beyond rice.