title: Total antioxidant capacity of diet and risk of stroke: a population-based prospective cohort of women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Consumption of antioxidant-rich foods may reduce the risk of stroke by inhibition of oxidative stress and inflammation. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) takes into account all antioxidants and the synergistic effects between them. We examined the association between dietary TAC and stroke incidence in cardiovascular disease (CVD)-free women and in women with CVD history at baseline.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included women (31,035 CVD-free and 5680 with CVD history at baseline), aged 49 to 83 years, from the Swedish Mammography Cohort. Diet was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire. Dietary TAC was calculated using oxygen radical absorbance capacity values. Stroke cases were ascertained by linkage with the Swedish Hospital Discharge Registry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During follow-up (September 1997 to December 2009), we identified 1322 stroke cases (988 cerebral infarctions, 226 hemorrhagic strokes, and 108 unspecified strokes) among CVD-free women and 1007 stroke cases (796 cerebral infarctions, 100 hemorrhagic strokes, and 111 unspecified strokes) among women with a CVD history. The multivariable hazard ratio of total stroke comparing the highest with the lowest quintile of dietary TAC was 0.83 (95% CI, 0.70-0.99; P for trend=0.04) in CVD-free women. Among women with a CVD history, the hazard ratios for the highest versus lowest quartile of TAC were 0.90 (95% CI, 0.75-1.07; P for trend=0.30) for total stroke and 0.55 (95% CI, 0.32-0.95; P for trend=0.03) for hemorrhagic stroke.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that dietary TAC is inversely associated with total stroke among CVD-free women and hemorrhagic stroke among women with CVD history.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nutritional Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rautiainen
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Larsson
authors.forename: Jarmo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Virtamo
authors.forename: Alicja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wolk
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D020300:Intracranial Hemorrhages / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants