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Nut consumption may reduce risk for mortality
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High consumption of nuts was associated with significantly decreased risk for all-cause and CV mortality, regardless of sex or ethnicity, according to a new report in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers evaluated self-reported nut consumption and peanut consumption specifically and mortality rates across three cohorts: the prospective Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS), which recruited 71,764 participants in the southeastern United States from 2002 to 2009; the Shanghai Women’s Health Study (SWHS), which recruited 73,142 participants in China from 1996 to 2000; and the Shanghai Men’s Health Study (SMHS), which recruited 61,123 participants from 2002 to 2006.
Median follow-up was 12.2 years in the SWHS, 6.5 years in the SMHS and 5.4 years in the SCCS. Across all three cohorts, 14,440 patients died (6,256 in SCCS, 3,387 in SMHS, 4,757 in SWHS). Researchers observed a significant inverse association between nut consumption and risk for total mortality across all three groups (P < .001 for trend). This association was observed regardless of race/ethnicity or sex.
Adjusted analyses indicated reduced risk among patients in the highest quintile of reported nut intake compared with the lowest quintile of consumption for participants in the United States (adjusted HR = 0.79; 95% CI, 0.73-0.86) and China (adjusted HR = 0.83; 95% CI, 0.77-0.88). The researchers attributed this association primarily to reduced risk for CVD-related mortality (P < .05 for trend in the United States; P < .001 for trend in Shanghai).
Analyses according to mortality due to specific types of CVD indicated significant inverse associations between nut consumption and risk for ischemic heart disease among white participants (HR = 0.6; 95% CI, 0.39-0.92), black participants (HR = 0.62; 95% CI, 0.45-0.85) and Asian participants (HR = 0.7; 95% CI, 0.54-0.89). Similar associations were observed among Asian participants for ischemic stroke (HR = 0.77; 95% CI, 0.6-1) and hemorrhagic stroke (HR = 0.77; 95% CI, 0.6-0.99).
“Our findings … raise the possibility that a diet including peanuts may offer some CVD protection,” the researchers wrote. “We cannot, however, make etiologic inferences from these observational data, especially with the lack of a clear dose-response trend in many of the analyses. Nevertheless, the findings highlight a substantive public health impact of nut/peanut consumption in lowering CVD mortality, given the affordability of peanuts to individuals from all [socioeconomic status] backgrounds.” –by Adam Taliercio
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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