Combined effect of low-risk dietary and lifestyle behaviors in primary prevention of myocardial infarction in women.
BACKGROUND
Limited data are available on the benefit of combining healthy dietary and lifestyle behaviors in the prevention of myocardial infarction (MI) in women.


METHODS
We used factor analysis to identify a low-risk behavior-based dietary pattern in 24 444 postmenopausal women from the population-based prospective Swedish Mammography Cohort who were free of diagnosed cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes mellitus at baseline (September 15, 1997). We also defined 3 low-risk lifestyle factors: nonsmoking, waist-hip ratio less than the 75th percentile (< 0.85), and being physically active (at least 40 minutes of daily walking or bicycling and 1 hour of weekly exercise).


RESULTS
During 6.2 years (151 434 person-years) of follow-up, we ascertained 308 cases of primary MI. Two major identified dietary patterns, "healthy" and "alcohol," were significantly associated with decreased risk of MI. The low-risk diet (high scores for the healthy dietary pattern) characterized by a high intake of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fish, and legumes, in combination with moderate alcohol consumption (>/= 5 g of alcohol per day), along with the 3 low-risk lifestyle behaviors, was associated with 92% decreased risk (95% confidence interval, 72%-98%) compared with findings in women without any low-risk diet and lifestyle factors. This combination of healthy behaviors, present in 5%, may prevent 77% of MIs in the study population.


CONCLUSIONS
Most MIs in women may be preventable by consuming a healthy diet and moderate amounts of alcohol, being physically active, not smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight.
Akesson
Agneta
A
Division of Nutritional Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Box 210, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden. Agneta.Akesson@ki.se
Weismayer
Christoph
C
Newby
P K
PK
Wolk
Alicja
A
D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017698:Postmenopause; D011322:Primary Prevention; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D016896:Treatment Outcome