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Increased consumption of fruit and vegetables is related to a reduced risk of coronary heart disease: meta-analysis of cohort studies

He FJ, Nowson CA, Lucas M, Macgregor GA
J Hum Hypertens. 2007 Apr 19; [Epub ahead of print]

Le linee guida per una sana alimentazione raccomandano il consumo di almeno cinque porzioni giornaliere di frutta e verdura. Una meta analisi pubblicata sul Journal of Human Hypertension rafforza tale raccomandazione sottolineando l’importanza di frutta e verdura nella prevenzione delle patologie coronariche.
L’indagine ha preso in esame i risultati di 12 studi di coorte, per un totale di quasi 280 mila individui coinvolti e un follow-up medio di 11 anni. Dall’analisi dei dati è emerso che, rispetto a coloro che consumavano meno di 3 porzioni al giorno di frutta e verdura, coloro che ne consumavano 3-5 o più di 5, presentavano una riduzione del rischio coronarico pari, rispettivamente, al 7% e al 17%.

Increased consumption of fruit and vegetables has been shown to be associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in many epidemiological studies, however, the extent of the association is uncertain. We quantitatively assessed the relation between fruit and vegetable intake and incidence of CHD by carrying out a meta-analysis of cohort studies. Studies were included if they reported relative risks (RRs) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) of CHD with respect to frequency of fruit and vegetable intake. Twelve studies, consisting of 13 independent cohorts, met the inclusion criteria. There were 278 459 individuals (9143 CHD events) with a median follow-up of 11 years. Compared with individuals who had less than 3 servings/day of fruit and vegetables, the pooled RR of CHD was 0.93 (95% CI: 0.86-1.00, P=0.06) for those with 3-5 servings/day and 0.83 (0.77-0.89, P<0.0001) for those with more than 5 servings/day. Subgroup analyses showed that both fruits and vegetables had a significant protective effect on CHD. Our meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies demonstrates that increased consumption of fruit and vegetables from less than 3 to more than 5 servings/day is related to a 17% reduction in CHD risk, whereas increased intake to 3-5 servings/day is associated with a smaller and borderline significant reduction in CHD risk. These results provide strong support for the recommendations to consume more than 5 servings/day of fruit and vegetables.