title: Fruit Intake and Abdominal Aortic Calcification in Elderly Women: A Prospective Cohort Study.
abstract: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. There is a consistent inverse relationship between fruit intake with CVD events and mortality in cross-sectional and prospective observational studies, but the relationship of fruit intake with measurements of atherosclerosis in humans is less clear. Nutritional effects on abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), a marker for subclinical intimal and medial atherosclerotic vascular disease, have not been studied previously. The aim of this study was to examine the cross-sectional relationship of total and individual fruit (apple, pear, orange and other citrus, and banana) intake with AAC, scored between 0 and 24. The current study assessed baseline data for a cohort of 1052 women over 70 years of age who completed both a food frequency questionnaire assessing fruit intake, and underwent AAC measurement using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. AAC scores were significantly negatively correlated with total fruit and apple intakes (p < 0.05), but not with pear, orange or banana intakes (p > 0.25). In multivariable-adjusted logistic regression, each standard deviation (SD; 50 g/day) increase in apple intake was associated with a 24% lower odds of having severe AAC (AAC score >5) (odd ratio OR): 0.76 (0.62, 0.93), p = 0.009). Total and other individual fruit intake were not associated with increased odds of having severe AAC. Apple but not total or other fruit intake is independently negatively associated with AAC in older women.
authors.affiliation: Royal Perth Hospital, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Perth 6000, Western Australia, Australia. nicola.bondonno@uwa.edu.au.
authors.forename: Nicola P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Bondonno
authors.affiliation: Centre for Kidney Research, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney 2145, New South Wales, Australia. joshua.lewis@sydney.edu.au.|School of Public Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, New South Wales, Australia. joshua.lewis@sydney.edu.au.|Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Unit, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Perth 6009, Western Australia, Australia. joshua.lewis@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Joshua R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Unit, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Perth 6009, Western Australia, Australia. richard.prince@uwa.edu.au.|Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth 6009, Western Australia, Australia. richard.prince@uwa.edu.au.
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Prince
authors.affiliation: Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Unit, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Perth 6009, Western Australia, Australia. wai.lim@health.wa.gov.au.|Department of Renal Medicine, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth 6009, Western Australia, Australia. wai.lim@health.wa.gov.au.
authors.forename: Wai H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Centre for Kidney Research, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney 2145, New South Wales, Australia. germaine.wong@health.nsw.gov.au.|School of Public Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, New South Wales, Australia. germaine.wong@health.nsw.gov.au.
authors.forename: Germaine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Park Nicollet Osteoporosis Centre and HealthPartners Institute, HealthPartners, Minneapolis, MN 55416, USA. scho0600@umn.edu.|Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. scho0600@umn.edu.
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Schousboe
authors.affiliation: Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide 5042, South Australia, Australia. richard.woodman@flinders.edu.au.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Woodman
authors.affiliation: Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew Senior Life, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA. kiel@hsl.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Douglas P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Kiel
authors.affiliation: Royal Perth Hospital, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Perth 6000, Western Australia, Australia. catherine.bondonno@uwa.edu.au.
authors.forename: Catherine P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Bondonno
authors.affiliation: Royal Perth Hospital, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Perth 6000, Western Australia, Australia. natalie.ward@uwa.edu.au.|School of Biomedical Sciences and Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University Western Australia, Perth 6102, Australia. natalie.ward@uwa.edu.au.
authors.forename: Natalie C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.affiliation: Royal Perth Hospital, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Perth 6000, Western Australia, Australia. kevin.croft@uwa.edu.au.
authors.forename: Kevin D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Croft
authors.affiliation: Royal Perth Hospital, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Perth 6000, Western Australia, Australia. jonathan.hodgson@uwa.edu.au.
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hodgson
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011446:Prospective Studies; D065840:Protective Factors; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D061205:Vascular Calcification / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*
keywords: abdominal aortic calcification; apples; atherosclerosis; cardiovascular disease; fruit