title: Allium vegetable intake and risk of acute myocardial infarction in Italy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Interest in potential benefits of allium vegetables has its origin in antiquity, but the details of these benefits are still open to discussion. Only two epidemiological studies considered the relation between dietary intake of allium vegetables and cardiovascular diseases.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To provide further information we analysed the relationship between onion and garlic intake and acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
  
  
  METHODS
  We used data from a case-control study of 760 patients with a first episode of non-fatal AMI and 682 controls admitted to the same hospitals. Information was collected by trained interviewers using a validated and reproducible food-frequency questionnaire. Multivariate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained after allowance for recognized confounding factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with non-users, the ORs of AMI for subsequent categories of onion intake were 0.90 (95% CI: 0.69-1.21) for <1 portion of onion per week and 0.78 (95% CI: 0.56-0.99) for > or = 1 portion per week. For garlic, the ORs were 0.84 (95% CI: 0.66-1.09) for intermediate and 0.94 (95% CI: 0.68-1.32) for high use, compared with no or low use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The current study, the first from Mediterranean countries, suggests that a diet rich in onions may have a favourable effect on the risk of AMI.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Epidemiology, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Via La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy. galeone@marionegri.it
authors.forename: Carlotta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Galeone
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tavani
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pelucchi
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Negri
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: La Vecchia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D005737:Garlic; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D019697:Onions; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires