Fibre and myocardial infarction

Canadian Medical Association Journal 1996; 155: 307

In 1986, as part of the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, 43 757 men aged 40 to 75 years with no diagnosed cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus completed detailed questionnaires to provide data on the relation between total dietary fibre intake and the risk of myocardial infarction (MI). During 6 years of follow-up 734 cases of MI were recorded. After controlling for physical activity, total energy intake, saturated fat intake, smoking and other dietary and nondietary confounders, the researchers concluded that men in the highest quintile for fibre intake (median 28.9 g/d) had an age-adjusted relative risk (RR) for MI of 0.64 (95% confidence interval 0.47 to 0.87) compared with men in the lowest quintile (median 12.4 g/d). Cereal fibre was found to be more strongly associated than vegetable and fruit fibre with a reduced risk of MI (RR 0.71 for each 10-g increment in daily intake).

Source: Rimm EB, Ascherio A, Giovannucci E, Spiegelman D, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC. Vegetable, fruit, and cereal fiber intake and risk of coronary heart disease among men. JAMA 1996; 275: 447-51.

| CMAJ August 1, 1996 (vol 155, no 3) |