Associations of total nut and peanut intakes with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a Japanese community: the Takayama study
Abstract Numerous epidemiological studies have suggested that nut intake is associated with a reduced risk of mortality. Although diets and lifestyles differ by regions or races/ethnicities, few studies have investigated the associations among non-white, non-Western populations. We evaluated the associations of total nut and peanut intakes with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a population-based prospective cohort in Japan. Participants (age: ≥35 years at baseline in 1992; n = 31,552) were followed up until death or the end of follow-up in 2008. Those with cancer, coronary heart disease, or stroke at baseline were excluded. Dietary intake was assessed only at baseline by using a validated food frequency questionnaire. In total, 2901 men died during 183,299 person-years and 2438 women died during 227,054 person-years. The mean intakes of total nuts were 1.8 and 1.4 g/day in men and women, respectively. Although peanut intake accounted for approximately 80% of the total nut intake, total nut and peanut intakes were inversely associated with all-cause mortality in men after adjusting for all potential confounders. For example, compared with the lowest quartile category, the adjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) of total nut intake for all-cause mortality in men of the highest quartile category was 0.85 (0.75–0.96) (P for trend = 0.034). Peanut intake was inversely associated with digestive disease mortality in men and cardiovascular disease mortality in women. Total nut and peanut intakes, even in low amounts, were associated with a reduced risk of mortality particularly in men.