Women who eat
a healthy diet, drink moderate amounts of alcohol, are physically active,
maintain a healthy weight and do not smoke have a significantly reduced
risk of heart attack, according to a new report in the Archives of Internal
Medicine.
"Coronary heart disease is the most important cause of
death and disability in women," the authors write as background information
in the article. "Despite a lower incidence in women, coronary heart disease--related
mortality and the percentage of sudden deaths from coronary heart disease
without previous symptoms is higher and the trend of decline in incidence
is slower than in men."
Agneta Akesson, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the Karolinska Institutet,
Stockholm, and colleagues identified dietary patterns in 24,444 postmenopausal
women by analyzing food frequency questionnaires, on which the women supplied
information about how often they ate 96 common foods.
"We derived four major dietary patterns: 'healthy' (vegetables,
fruits and legumes), 'Western/Swedish' (red meat, processed meat, poultry,
rice, pasta, eggs, fried potatoes and fish), 'alcohol' (wine, liquor, beer
and some snacks) and 'sweets' (sweet baked goods, candy, chocolate, jam
and ice cream)," the authors write. Participants also answered questions
about education, family history, health status, use of medications, body
measurements and physical activity. When they enrolled in the study in
1997, none of the women had heart disease, diabetes or cancer.
Over an average of 6.2 years of follow-up, 308 women had
a new myocardial infarction (heart attack); 51 of these cases were fatal.
Two diet types--"healthy" and "alcohol"--were associated with a reduced
risk for heart attack.
"The low-risk diet (high scores for the healthy dietary
pattern) characterized by a high intake of vegetables, fruit, whole grains,
fish and legumes, in combination with moderate alcohol consumption (5 grams
of alcohol per day or less), along with the three low-risk lifestyle behaviors
[not smoking, having a waist-hip ratio of less than the 75th percentile
and being physically active], was associated with 92 percent decreased
risk compared with findings in women without any low-risk diet and lifestyle
factors," the authors write. "This combination of healthy behaviors, present
in 5 percent, may prevent 77 percent of myocardial infarctions in the study
population."
Several components of fruits, vegetables and whole grains--including
fiber, antioxidant vitamins and minerals--have been associated with a reduced
risk for coronary heart disease, the researchers note. In addition, previous
studies have found beneficial effects of small amounts of alcohol in preventing
the buildup of plaque in the arteries, which could help prevent heart attacks.
"Our study findings indicate that healthy dietary behaviors
are present in the population," the authors conclude. "These dietary behaviors
together with a healthy lifestyle and body weight may prevent most myocardial
infarction events."
Reference: Arch Intern Med. 2007;167(19):2122-2127.
This study was supported by research grants from the Center
for Health Care Sciences, Karolinska Institutet; the Swedish Research Council/Medicine
and Longitudinal Studies; and the Swedish Council for Working Life and
Social Research.
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Adapted
from materials provided by JAMA and Archives Journals.
http://www.sciencedaily.com
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