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Whole Grains Lower Ischemic Stroke Risk In Women
A DGReview of :"Whole Grain Consumption and Risk of Ischemic Stroke in Women. A Prospective Study"
JAMA
09/26/2000
By Elda Hauschildt
Higher intake of whole grain foods may reduce the risk of ischemic stroke in women.
This association is independent of known cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, indicate results from a sub-study in the United States Nurses' Health Study.
"In this large prospective study, the higher the consumption of whole grain foods the lower the risk of ischemic stroke," Harvard and Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers report.
They found that the risk reduction in women levelled off, with about a 30 to 40 percent lower risk rate of ischemic stroke associated with 1.3 servings of whole grain foods per day.
"Replacing refined grains with whole grains by even one serving a day may have significant benefits," the researchers point out.
Their study included a prospective cohort of 75,521 women aged from 38 to 63 years. Participants had no previous diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, stroke or other CVD risks at baseline in 1984.
Participants first completed food frequency questionnaires at baseline and again in 1986, 1990 and 1994. They were followed for up to 12 years. Incidence of ischemic stroke were recorded and confirmed by medical records.
Researchers found 352 confirmed incidents of ischemic stroke during 861,900 person-years of follow-up.
"We observed an inverse association between whole grain intake and ischemic stroke risk," investigators note. "This inverse association remained essentially unchanged with further adjustment for known CVD risk factors, including saturated fat and transfatty acid intake."
Investigators also report that the inverse association between stroke and whole-grain food intake was consistently seen in subgroups of women who never smoked, did not drink alcohol, did not exercise regularly or who did not take post-menopausal hormone replacement therapy.
"Whole Grain Consumption and Risk of Ischemic Stroke in Women. A Prospective Study"
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