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Epidemiology

Food groups associated with a reduced risk of 15-year all-cause death

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 70, pages 715–722 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

Long-term observational cohorts provide the opportunity to investigate the potential impact of dietary patterns on death. We aimed to investigate all-cause death according to the consumption of selected food groups, and then to identify those independently associated with reduced mortality.

Subjects/Methods:

Population survey of middle-aged men randomly selected in the period 1995–1997 from the general population of three French areas and followed over a median of 14.8 years. Dietary data were collected through a 3-day food record. Cox modeling was used to assess the risk of death according to selected foods groups after extensive adjustment for confounders, including a diet quality index.

Results:

The study population comprised 960 men (mean age 55.5 ±6.2 years). After a median follow-up of 14.8 (interquartile range 14.3–15.2) years, 150 (15.6%) subjects had died. Food groups that remained independently predictive of a lower risk of death after extensive adjustment were an above-median consumption of milk (adjusted relative risk: 0.61, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.43–0.86, P-value=0.005), fruits and vegetables (0.68, 0.46–0.98, P-value=0.041) and a moderate consumption of yogurts and cottage cheese (0.50, 95% CI: 0.31–0.81, P-value=0.005), other cheeses (0.62, 0.39–0.97, P-value=0.036) and bread (0.57, 0.37–0.89, P-value=0.014). Besides, there was a nonsignificant trend for a higher risk of death associated with highest sodium intakes.

Conclusions:

Consumption of food groups that largely match recommendations is associated with a reduced risk of all-cause death in men. A diet providing moderate amounts of diverse food groups appears associated with the highest life expectancy.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all the investigators of the MONICA Project for their contribution to the compilation, validation and analysis of the data. We are grateful to the Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE) and the three regional health centers for their collaboration. Sophie Rushton-Smith provided writing support and was funded by the authors. The study received an unrestricted grant from the Centre National Interprofessionnel de l’Economie Laitière (CNIEL).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France

    V Bongard & J-B Ruidavets

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UMR 1027, INSERM—Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France

    V Bongard, J-B Ruidavets & J Ferrières

  3. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, EA 3430, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France

    D Arveiler & A Wagner

  4. Department of Public Health, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France

    D Arveiler

  5. Institut Pasteur de Lille, U744 INSERM—Université Lille Nord de France, Lille, France

    J Dallongeville & N Marécaux

  6. Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, Hospices Civils de Lyon, UMR 1060 INSERM—Université Lyon 1, Oullins, France

    C Simon

  7. Department of Cardiology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France

    J Ferrières

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Correspondence to V Bongard.

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Bongard, V., Arveiler, D., Dallongeville, J. et al. Food groups associated with a reduced risk of 15-year all-cause death. Eur J Clin Nutr 70, 715–722 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.19

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