Prevention & lipidsCohort study
Long-term dietary iron intake and risk of non-fatal cardiovascular diseases in the China Health and Nutrition Survey
- Prospective cohort study
Diet assessed repeatedly by three consecutive 24-h dietary recalls; Cox proportional hazard models
Authors' conclusion
Moderate dietary iron intake may protect against non-fatal CVDs and stroke, especially in Chinese men consuming plant-based diets.
Study context
- Population
- Chinese adults aged 18–80 years with predominantly plant-based diets, China Health and Nutrition Survey 1989–20158,569 men · 8,538 women
- Participants
- 17,107 adults
- Exposure
- Quintiles of total dietary iron intake
- Menn = 8,569
- Womenn = 8,538
- Outcome
- Non-fatal CVD
- Follow-up
- Median 11.1 years
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Non-fatal CVD, men
Adjusted hazard ratio (95% CI)
Q2 vs Q1
0.65(0.46–0.93)
Q3 vs Q1
0.54(0.37–0.78)
Q4 vs Q1
0.66(0.46–0.94)
Q5 vs Q1
0.69(0.47–1.03)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Stroke and myocardial infarction (MI)
- Similar associations for stroke risk, but not for MI risk
Dose-response: total and non-heme iron with non-fatal CVD and stroke
- Reverse J-shape only in men
- P-non-linearity <0.05
- Heme iron: reverse J-shape in both men and women
- P-non-linearity <0.05
Original publication
Long-term dietary iron intake and risk of non-fatal cardiovascular diseases in the China Health and Nutrition Survey. Eur J Prev Cardiol. Published 26 July 2023. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwad244
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it