NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Routine periodic fasting is associated with reduced incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and diabetes, according to findings from the Intermountain Heart Collaborative Study conducted in Utah.

The Utah population has one of the lowest rates of death from cardiovascular disease in the US, likely due to the lifestyle of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), among whom fasting for 24 hours once a month is a common practice.

Dr. Benjamin D. Horne, at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and fellow researchers first compared the prevalence of CAD as determined by coronary angiography among 4629 patients who underwent coronary angiography from 1993 to 2002. Close to 70% belonged to LDS.

The prevalence of CAD (at least 1 lesion with 70% or greater stenosis) was lower among members of the LDS, 61% vs 77%, the investigators report in the October 1st issue of the American Journal of Cardiology. The odds ratio after adjusting for smoking and other CAD risk factors was 0.81 (p = 0.009).

The research team then evaluated a second set of patients (n = 448) between 2004 and 2006, specifically analyzing the effects of routine abstinence from food and drink as the primary variable. Fasting was associated with lower risk of CAD (64% vs 76%, adjusted odds ratio 0.46, p = 0.007), irrespective of religious preference.

Routine periodic fasting was also associated with reduced prevalence of diabetes, the authors note.

By contrast, fasting did not significantly alter body mass index or hypertension. In analyses correcting for other behavioral measures associated with the LDS