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Fruit, Cereal Fiber May Reduce Cardiovascular Risk
posted 03/04/04
Fiber from fruits and cereal, but not from vegetables, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).
"Dietary fiber may reduce the risk of CHD through a variety of mechanisms, such as improving blood lipid profiles, lowering blood pressure and improving insulin sensitivity and fibrinolytic activity," write Mark A. Pereira, PhD, and colleagues from Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts. "Few epidemiologic studies of dietary fiber intake and risk of CHD have compared fiber types (cereal, fruit, and vegetable) or included sex-specific results."
The investigators analyzed the pooled data of 10 prospective cohort studies from the U.S. and Europe, including 91,058 men and 245,186 women, to determine whether the source of dietary fiber affected reduction in CHD risk. Although the studies differed in the level of dietary detail, all had some measurement of dietary fiber.
During 6 to 10 years of follow-up, there were 5,249 incident cases of CHD and 2,011 coronary deaths. After adjustment for demographics, body mass index, and lifestyle factors, there was a 14% decrease in risk for CHD events, including nonfatal and fatal myocardial infarction, and a 27% decreased risk of coronary death, for each 10 g/day increment of fiber consumed.
Associations were stronger for coronary deaths than for all events, with reductions in risk of 25% for cereal fiber and 30% for fruit fiber for each 10 g/day increment. However, vegetable fiber intake was not associated with reduced risk of CHD incidence or mortality. Results were similar in both sexes.
Study limitations include incomplete data on risk reduction with soluble versus insoluble fiber, failure to distinguish starchy from nonstarchy vegetables in some studies, possible confounding factors affecting measurement error, and heterogeneity of dietary assessment and food table methods.
"Our results suggest that dietary fiber intake during adulthood is inversely associated with CHD risk. Coronary risk was 10% to 30% lower for each 10 gram per day increment of total, cereal, or fruit fiber," the authors write. "Therefore, the recommendations to consume a diet that includes an abundance of fiber-rich foods to prevent CHD are based on a wealth of consistent scientific evidence."
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the Danish Medical Council helped support this study.
Source: Diabetes In Control.com: Arch Intern Med. 2004;164:370-376.
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