Fruit and vegetable intake decreased risk of ischaemic stroke
QUESTION: Is increased fruit and vegetable intake associated with a reduction in ischaemic stroke?
Design
Population based cohort study of women in the Nurses' Health Study with 14 years of follow up, and men in the Health Professionals' Follow up Study with 8 years of follow up.
Setting
USA.
Participants
121 700 women in the Nurses' Health Study who were 30-55 years of age in 1976 (baseline) and 51 529 men in the Health Professionals' Follow up Study who were 40–75 years of age in 1986 (baseline). Exclusion criteria were ≥10 non-responses to dietary questions for women or ≥70 non-responses for men; implausible scores for total food intake; or previous cancer, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease. Data from 75 596 women and 38 683 men were eligible for analysis.
Assessment of risk factors
Participants completed postal questionnaires at baseline and every 2 years thereafter. Food frequency questionnaires gathered information on food and beverage intake and portion sizes. For analysis, participants were divided into 5 groups (quintiles) based on mean daily …
