Essi Hantikainen1, Alessandra Grotta2, Mauro Serafini3, Ylva Trolle Lagerros4,5, Olof Nyren2, Weimin Ye2, Luca Colarusso1, Rino Bellocco1,2. 1. Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy. 2. Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. 3. Functional Food and Metabolic Stress Prevention Laboratory, Faculty of BioSciences and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy. 4. Department of Medicine, Clinical Epidemiology Unit T2, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. 5. Department of Medicine, Clinic of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden.
Abstract
Background: Results from randomized trials of antioxidant supplementation have cast doubt on observational data linking diets high in antioxidants to a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases. We hypothesized that supplementation of one or a few antioxidants might not simulate the complex actions of all antioxidants in the human diet. We therefore investigated the association between dietary Non Enzymatic Antioxidant Capacity (NEAC), reflecting the antioxidant potential of the whole diet, and the risk of myocardial infarction (MI). Methods: In the Swedish National March Cohort, 34 543 men and women free from cardiovascular diseases and cancer were followed through record linkages from 1997 until 2010. NEAC was assessed with a validated food-frequency questionnaire at baseline. The distribution of NEAC was categorized into sex-specific quartiles. We fitted multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: During a mean follow-up time of 12.7 years, we identified 1142 incident cases of MI. Successively higher quartiles (Qs) of dietary NEAC were accompanied by a monotonic trend of decreasing MI incidence, both for overall MI (HR Q4 vs Q1: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.61-0.96; p for trend = 0.008) and non-fatal MI (HR Q4 vs Q1: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.56-0.92; p for trend = 0.004). No such association was found for fatal MI. Conclusions: A diet rich in antioxidants might protect from MI.
Background: Results from randomized trials of antioxidant supplementation have cast doubt on observational data linking diets high in antioxidants to a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases. We hypothesized that supplementation of one or a few antioxidants might not simulate the complex actions of all antioxidants in the human diet. We therefore investigated the association between dietary Non Enzymatic Antioxidant Capacity (NEAC), reflecting the antioxidant potential of the whole diet, and the risk of myocardial infarction (MI). Methods: In the Swedish National March Cohort, 34 543 men and women free from cardiovascular diseases and cancer were followed through record linkages from 1997 until 2010. NEAC was assessed with a validated food-frequency questionnaire at baseline. The distribution of NEAC was categorized into sex-specific quartiles. We fitted multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: During a mean follow-up time of 12.7 years, we identified 1142 incident cases of MI. Successively higher quartiles (Qs) of dietary NEAC were accompanied by a monotonic trend of decreasing MI incidence, both for overall MI (HR Q4 vs Q1: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.61-0.96; p for trend = 0.008) and non-fatal MI (HR Q4 vs Q1: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.56-0.92; p for trend = 0.004). No such association was found for fatal MI. Conclusions: A diet rich in antioxidants might protect from MI.