Good Diet Means Reduced Risk Of Mortality In Women
A diet of foods recommended in current dietary guidelines is associated
with decreased risk of mortality in women, according to an article in today's
issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Few studies have examined diet as it relates to mortality. Although many
studies have examined the role of single nutrients, foods, or food groups in
the etiology of disease, relatively little research has addressed the health
effects of dietary patterns comprising multiple interdependent factors.
Ashima K. Kant, Ph.D., from Queens College of the City University of New
York, and colleagues studied data from Phase II of the Breast Cancer
Detection Demonstration Project.
A total of 42,254 women (mean age 61.1 years) in the study completed a
food frequency questionnaire to measure overall diet quality. Answers were
tabulated to create a recommended food score (RFS).
The RFS was calculated by the sum of the number of foods recommended
by current national dietary guidelines (fruits, vegetables, whole grains,
low-fat dairy, and lean meats and poultry) that were reported on the
questionnaire to be consumed at least once a week.
There was a median follow-up time of 5.6 years, during which 2,065 deaths
occurred.
The study shows the association between RFS and death from cancer,
coronary heart disease, stroke, and all other causes combined.
"Our study suggests that women reporting dietary patterns that included
fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and lean meats, as
recommended by current dietary guidelines, have a lower risk of mortality,"
the authors write. "Women in the highest intake level of recommended
foods had 30 percent lower risk of multivariate-adjusted all-cause mortality
compared with those in the lowest level."
The authors conclude, "Our results provide evidence in support of the
prevailing food-based dietary guidelines and suggest that diets complying
with current dietary recommendations are indeed associated with improved
health outcome. The potential public health implications of these findings
are considerable." (JAMA. 2000;283:2109-2115)
[Contact: Scot Roskelley]
26-Apr-2000 |
