Does a Gluten-Free Diet Help to Prevent Coronary Heart Disease?
Gluten-free diets should not be recommended to individuals without celiac disease for the prevention of heart disease, according to the results of a new study.
The prospective cohort study included 64,714 women involved in the Nurses’ Health Study and 45,303 men involved in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study without a history of coronary heart disease. Participants in the 2 studies completed a 131-item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire every 4 years from 1986 to 2010.
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A total of 2431 women and 4098 men developed coronary heart disease over the 26 years of follow-up.
The incidence rate of coronary heart disease was 352 per 100,000 person years for participants who consumed the least amount of gluten, and the incidence rate was 277 events per 100,000 person years for participants who consumed the most. Overall, participants who consumed the most gluten had fewer coronary heart disease incidence compared with those who consumed the least, with an unadjusted rate difference of 75 fewer cases per 100,000 person years.
“Long term dietary intake of gluten was not associated with risk of coronary heart disease. However, the avoidance of gluten may result in reduced consumption of beneficial whole grains, which may affect cardiovascular risk,” the researchers concluded. “The promotion of gluten-free diets among people without celiac disease should not be encouraged.”
—Melissa Weiss
Reference:
Lebwohl B, Cao Y, Zong G, et al. Long term gluten consumption in adults without celiac disease and risk of coronary heart disease: prospective cohort study [published online May 2, 2017]. BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j1892