Legume consumption and risk of coronary heart disease in US men and women: NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study.
BACKGROUND
Soybean protein and dietary fiber supplementation reduce serum cholesterol in randomized controlled trials. Consumption of legumes, which are high in bean protein and water-soluble fiber, may be associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).


METHODS
A total of 9632 men and women who participated in the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study (NHEFS) and were free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) at their baseline examination were included in this prospective cohort study. Frequency of legume intake was estimated using a 3-month food frequency questionnaire, and incidence of CHD and CVD was obtained from medical records and death certificates.


RESULTS
Over an average of 19 years of follow-up, 1802 incident cases of CHD and 3680 incident cases of CVD were documented. Legume consumption was significantly and inversely associated with risk of CHD (P =.002 for trend) and CVD (P =.02 for trend) after adjustment for established CVD risk factors. Legume consumption 4 times or more per week compared with less than once a week was associated with a 22% lower risk of CHD (relative risk, 0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.68-0.90) and an 11% lower risk of CVD (relative risk, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.80-0.98).


CONCLUSIONS
Our study indicates a significant inverse relationship between legume intake and risk of CHD and suggests that increasing legume intake may be an important part of a dietary approach to the primary prevention of CHD in the general population.
Bazzano
L A
LA
Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1430 Tulane Ave, SL18, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. jhe@tulane.edu
He
J
J
Ogden
L G
LG
Loria
C
C
Vupputuri
S
S
Myers
L
L
Whelton
P K
PK
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004034:Diet Surveys; D007887:Fabaceae; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology