title: Chocolate Consumption and Risk of Atrial Fibrillation (from the Physicians' Health Study).
abstract: Chocolate consumption has been shown to protect against various cardiovascular end points; however, little is known about the association between chocolate consumption and incident atrial fibrillation (AF). Therefore, we prospectively examined the association between chocolate consumption and incident AF in a cohort of 18,819 US male physicians. Chocolate consumption was ascertained from 1999 to 2002 through a self-administered food frequency questionnaire. Incident AF was ascertained through yearly follow-up questionnaires. Cox regression was used to estimate relative risks of AF. The average age at baseline was 66 years (±9.1). During a mean follow-up of 9.0 years (±3.0), 2,092 cases of AF occurred. Using <1 per month of chocolate consumption as the reference group, multivariable adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for AF were 1.04 (0.93 to 1.18), 1.10 (0.96 to 1.25), 1.14 (0.99 to 1.31), and 1.05 (0.89 to 1.25) for chocolate intake of 1 to 3 per month and 1, 2 to 4, and ≥5 per week (p for trend 0.25), respectively. In a secondary analysis, there was no evidence of effect modification by adiposity (p interaction = 0.71) or age (p interaction = 0.26). In conclusion, our data did not support an association between chocolate consumption and risk of AF in US male physicians.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, Toledo, Ohio. Electronic address: oajaz@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Owais
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Khawaja
authors.affiliation: Division of Aging, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Andrew B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Petrone
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, Toledo, Ohio.
authors.forename: Yousuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kanjwal
authors.affiliation: Division of Aging, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology and Research Information Center (MAVERIC), Boston Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts; Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), Boston Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gaziano
authors.affiliation: Division of Aging, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology and Research Information Center (MAVERIC), Boston Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts; Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), Boston Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Djoussé
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002099:Cacao; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004032:Diet; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control; D010820:Physicians; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014815:Vitamins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D014815:Vitamins; D019207:beta Carotene; D001241:Aspirin