Associations of Empirically Derived Dietary Patterns with the Index of Cardiac Electrophysiological Balance in a Community-Dwelling Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background The index of cardiac electrophysiological balance (ICEB) and its heart rate-corrected form (ICEBc) reflect ventricular depolarization–repolarization balance. Their associations with habitual dietary patterns (DPs) remain unclear. Methods This community-based cross-sectional study included 1,840 adults from five study areas in Xinjiang, China. DPs were derived from a 16-item food-frequency questionnaire using principal component analysis with varimax rotation. ICEB and ICEBc were calculated as QT/QRS and Bazett-corrected QT/QRS, respectively. General linear models and restricted cubic splines evaluated quartile and nonlinear associations, with adjustment for demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, anthropometric, and clinical covariates. Sensitivity analyses used the Fridericia-corrected index (ICEBcF).. Results Two DPs explained 43.95% of the variance in food-consumption frequency: “preserved vegetables and beverages” (DP1) and “fresh produce, red meat, and rice” (DP2). In the fully adjusted quartile analysis, DP1 was associated with ICEBc overall (P for overall = 0.020). Compared with the lowest quartile, ICEBc was higher in the second (β = 0.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.02–0.13), third (β = 0.09; 95% CI, 0.03–0.15), and fourth quartiles (β = 0.06; 95% CI, 0.01–0.12), without evidence of a linear trend (P for trend = 0.116). Splines suggested an inverted U-shaped association (P for overall = 0.017; P for nonlinearity = 0.008). Findings were similar for ICEBcF in quartile (P for overall = 0.009) and spline analyses (P for overall = 0.017; P for nonlinearity = 0.007). DP1 was not associated with ICEB, and DP2 was not associated with either primary outcome. Exploratory component analyses did not identify a clear driver of the DP1–ICEBc association. Conclusions Adherence to the “preserved vegetables and beverages” pattern was nonlinearly associated with ICEBc, with similar findings using Fridericia correction. These findings suggest a relationship between habitual diet and electrophysiological balance but do not establish causality or arrhythmic risk. Prospective studies are needed for confirmation.