Fruit and Vegetable Intake and the Risk for Developing Coronary Heart Disease

Abstract

The aim of the paper was to study the relationship between dietary intake of fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of coronary heart disease. We used data from a case-control study, conducted from 2001 to 2003, among 290 randomly selected cases (mean age 59.98 ± 10.03 years) with first event of an acute coronary syndrome and 290 selected paired controls by sex, age and region (mean age 59.43 ± 10.10 years), admitted to the same hospitals as cases without any suspicion of coronary disease. Using questionnaires, we assessed fruit and vegetable intake and estimated odds ratio of developing coronary heart disease by the intake. The benefit of fruit or vegetable consumption increased proportionally by the number of servings consumed (p for trend < 0.0001). Those in the upper tertile of fruit consumption (≥ 5 items/day) had 60% lower risk for coronary heart disease (odds ratio = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.35-0.89, p < 0.05), when compared to those in the lowest tertile (<1 item/day). Consumption of vegetable ≥3 items/day was associated with 70% lower risk of coronary heart disease (OR = 0.25, 95% CI = 0.09 -0.66, p < 0.05), compared to subjects who did not consume vegetables. In agreement with previous studies, we found an inverse relation between vegetable and fruit intake and coronary heart risk. Consumption of fruits and vegetables seemed to provide significant protection against coronary heart disease.

Adherence to recommendations for fruit and vegetable intake, ethnicity and ischemic heart disease mortality

“…We also examined trends based on the level of adherence with recommendations for vegetable intake (data not shown) and found that the protective effect increased significantly with vegetable consumption. Similar findings on the protective effect of vegetable intake have been reported by others (13;14). This suggests there may be need to re-evaluate the dietary guidelines to reflect an even higher recommendation of vegetables in an effort to reduce risk of chronic disease and improve overall health, particularly in groups known to be at higher risk (e.g., people with family history) (15,16).…”

Coronary heart disease prevention: Nutrients, foods, and dietary patterns

“…A case–control study found that the benefit of fruit and vegetable intake consumption increased proportionally by the number of servings consumed (P for trend<0.0001) [178]. In the CARDIO2000 study, consumption of ≥ 5 (vs. <1) servings of fruit/day was associated with 72% lower risk of CHD (95% CI: 0.11–0.54, P<0.001), and of vegetables more than 3 days/week (vs. non-consumption) was associated with 70% lower risk for CHD (95% CI: 0.22–0.40, P<0.001) [179].…”

Vegetable and fruit intake and non-Hodgkin lymphoma survival in Connecticut women

“…Although the mechanisms underlying the relationship between vegetable and fruit intake and NHL survival are currently unclear, it is possible that vegetables’ and fruits’ biological effects of antioxidant activity, modulation of detoxification enzymes, and stimulation of the immune system may play a role not only in tumor initiation and promotion but also in hindering tumor progression. It is also possible that high vegetable and fruit intake could reduce the risk of co-morbidities such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) [32–34], to which cancer survivors are especially prone [31]. There was no information on co-morbidity available for our study population.…”