Dietary fiber and risk of coronary heart disease: a pooled analysis of cohort studies.
BACKGROUND
Few epidemiologic studies of dietary fiber intake and risk of coronary heart disease have compared fiber types (cereal, fruit, and vegetable) or included sex-specific results. The purpose of this study was to conduct a pooled analysis of dietary fiber and its subtypes and risk of coronary heart disease.


METHODS
We analyzed the original data from 10 prospective cohort studies from the United States and Europe to estimate the association between dietary fiber intake and the risk of coronary heart disease.


RESULTS
Over 6 to 10 years of follow-up, 5249 incident total coronary cases and 2011 coronary deaths occurred among 91058 men and 245186 women. After adjustment for demographics, body mass index, and lifestyle factors, each 10-g/d increment of energy-adjusted and measurement error-corrected total dietary fiber was associated with a 14% (relative risk [RR], 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78-0.96) decrease in risk of all coronary events and a 27% (RR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.61-0.87) decrease in risk of coronary death. For cereal, fruit, and vegetable fiber intake (not error corrected), RRs corresponding to 10-g/d increments were 0.90 (95% CI, 0.77-1.07), 0.84 (95% CI, 0.70-0.99), and 1.00 (95% CI, 0.88-1.13), respectively, for all coronary events and 0.75 (95% CI, 0.63-0.91), 0.70 (95% CI, 0.55-0.89), and 1.00 (95% CI, 0.82-1.23), respectively, for deaths. Results were similar for men and women.


CONCLUSIONS
Consumption of dietary fiber from cereals and fruits is inversely associated with risk of coronary heart disease.
Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN55454, USA. pereira@epi.umn.edu
Mark A
MA
Pereira
Eilis
E
O'Reilly
Katarina
K
Augustsson
Gary E
GE
Fraser
Uri
U
Goldbourt
Berit L
BL
Heitmann
Goran
G
Hallmans
Paul
P
Knekt
Simin
S
Liu
Pirjo
P
Pietinen
Donna
D
Spiegelman
June
J
Stevens
Jarmo
J
Virtamo
Walter C
WC
Willett
Alberto
A
Ascherio
D015331:Cohort Studies; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D002523:Edible Grain; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D018570:Risk Assessment