title: Dietary protein and risk of ischemic heart disease in middle-aged men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Prospective studies in US women have suggested an inverse relation between dietary protein and risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD). However, no large-scale prospective studies have been conducted in US men.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective was to examine the association between dietary protein and risk of IHD in a prospective study of US men.
  
  
  METHODS
  Intakes of protein and other nutrients were assessed by using a validated food-frequency questionnaire at 4 time points during follow-up of 43,960 men participating in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate multivariable-adjusted relative risks (RRs) and 95% CIs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During 18 y of follow-up, we documented 2959 incident cases of IHD. The RR of IHD was 1.08 (95% CI: 0.95, 1.23; P for trend = 0.30) comparing the top with the bottom quintile of percentage of energy from total protein. RRs for animal and vegetable protein were 1.11 (95% CI: 0.97, 1.28; P for trend = 0.18) and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.78, 1.12; P for trend = 0.49), respectively. When the population was restricted to "healthy" men (those free of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes at baseline), the RR of IHD was 1.21 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.44; P for trend = 0.02) for total protein, 1.25 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.51; P for trend = 0.02) for animal protein, and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.72, 1.19; P for trend = 0.65) for vegetable protein.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We observed no association between dietary protein and risk of total IHD in this group of men aged 40-75 y. However, higher intake of animal protein may be associated with an increased risk of IHD in "healthy" men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah Rosner
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Preis
authors.forename: Meir J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Stampfer
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spiegelman
authors.forename: Walter C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Willett
authors.forename: Eric B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Rimm
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000009:adverse effects; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D004044:Dietary Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins