Dietary gluten intake and cardiovascular disease mortality in Japanese adults in the Takayama study.

Abstract

Background: There is growing attention toward the gluten-free diet in Japan, in spite of a low prevalence of celiac disease and high consumption of rice.

Objectives: The present study examined whether gluten intake is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in Japanese adults.

Methods: In 1992, 13,355 men and 15,724 women, 35 years of age and older, in the Takayama study completed a self-administered questionnaire. Gluten intake was estimated using a food-frequency questionnaire as the baseline. Mortality was ascertained during 16 years of follow-up. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for CVD mortality according to gluten intake quartiles were calculated.

Results: During 16.1 years of follow-up, 775 CVD deaths in men and 903 CVD deaths in women occurred. As compared with the lowest quartile of intake, the highest quartile of gluten intake was significantly associated with a decreased risk of CVD mortality after controlling for age, sex and other covariates (HR = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.62-0.86, P-trend = 0.0003).

Conclusions: Our data showed a significant inverse association between gluten intake and CVD mortality. The present study does not support the notion that gluten avoidance should have a beneficial effect on CVD mortality.