Background
Intakes of ready-to-eat cereal (RTEC) have been inversely associated with risk factors of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers; however, their relations with total and cause-specific mortality remain unclear.
Objective
To prospectively assess the associations of RTEC intakes with all causes and disease-specific mortality risk.
Design
The study included 367,442 participants from the prospective National Institutes of Health (NIH)–AARP Diet and Health Study. Intakes of RTEC were assessed at baseline.
Results
Over an average of 14 years of follow-up, 46,067 deaths were documented. Consumption of RTEC was significantly associated with reduced risk of mortality from all-cause mortality and death from CVD, diabetes, all cancer, and digestive cancer (all p for trend < 0.05). In multivariate models, compared to nonconsumers of RTEC, those in the highest intake of RTEC had a 15% lower risk of all-cause mortality and 10%–30% lower risk of disease-specific mortality. Within RTEC consumers, total fiber intakes were associated with reduced risk of mortality from all-cause mortality and deaths from CVD, all cancer, digestive cancer, and respiratory disease (all p for trend < 0.005).
Conclusions
Consumption of RTEC was associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality and mortality from specific diseases such as CVD, diabetes, and cancer. This association may be mediated via greater fiber intake.