Flavonoid intake from fruit and vegetables during adolescence is prospectively associated with a favourable risk factor profile for type 2 diabetes in early adulthood.

PURPOSE: Flavonoid consumption during adolescence could contribute to preventing adult onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus. We investigated the prospective association between habitual intake of flavonoids from fruit and vegetables (FlavFV) during adolescence and risk markers of type 2 diabetes in early adulthood.

METHODS: This analysis included participants of the DONALD Study, who had provided a fasting blood sample in adulthood (18-39 years), data on FlavFV-intake during adolescence (females: 9-15 years, males: 10-16 years) and relevant covariates. Habitual FlavFV-intake was either estimated using repeated 3-day weighed dietary records (n = 268), or the validated biomarker hippuric acid (uHA)-excretion in repeated 24-h urine samples (n = 241). Multivariable linear regressions were performed to analyse the prospective associations of FlavFV or uHA with homeostasis model assessment insulin sensitivity (HOMA2-%S), hepatic steatosis index (HSI), fatty liver index (FLI) and a pro-inflammatory score.

RESULTS: Higher FlavFV-intake was independently related to higher HOMA2-%S among females (Ptrend  = 0.03), but not among males. Both FlavFV-intake and uHA-excretion were inversely associated with HSI (Ptrend  < 0.0001 and Ptrend  = 0.02, respectively) and the pro-inflammatory score (Ptrend  = 0.02 and Ptrend  = 0.008, respectively), but not with FLI.

CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that flavonoid consumption from fruit and vegetables during adolescence is associated with a favourable risk factor profile for type 2 diabetes in early adulthood.