Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Linked to PAD Risk

Consuming 3 servings of fruit and vegetables each day could help to lower the risk of developing peripheral artery disease (PAD), according to a recent study.

For their study, researchers examined data from 3,696,778 individuals from more than 20,000 US sites who completed medical and lifestyle questionnaires. Overall, consumption of 3 or more servings of fruit and vegetables per day was reported by 29.2% of the participants. Characteristics that were positively associated with fruit and vegetable intake were increasing age, female sex, never smoking, being married, physical activity, increasing income, and frequent consumption of fish, nuts, and red meat.
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Researchers observed a stepwise inverse association between fruit and vegetable consumption and PAD, following multivariable adjustment. Consumption of 3 or more servings a day was associated with an 18% lower chance of PAD than that seen in those who consumed less than monthly consumption.

“Our study demonstrates an inverse association of [fruit and vegetable] consumption with prevalent PAD and overall low [fruit and vegetable] consumption. These observations suggest the need to further efforts to increase [fruit and vegetable] consumption and for more rigorous evaluation of the role of [fruit and vegetable] in PAD prevention,” the researchers concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Heffron SP, Rockman CB, Adelman MA. Greater frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with lower prevalence of peripheral artery disease [published online May 18, 2017]. doi: https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.116.308474.