Simin Liu, MD, ScD, from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, and colleagues examined the hypothesis that higher whole grain intake reduces the risk of ischemic stroke in women. Adjustment for smoking modestly attenuated this association. This inverse association remained essentially unchanged with further adjustment for known CVD risk factors, including saturated fat and transfatty acids intake, reported Liu et al. The inverse relation was also consistently observed among subgroups of women who never smoked, did not drink alcohol, did not exercise regularly, or who did not use postmenopausal hormones. According to background information in the study, although increased intake of grain products has been recommended to prevent cardiovascular disease, prospective data examining the relation of whole grain intake to risk of ischemic stroke are sparse, especially among women.
Stroke remains a leading cause of serious disability and death in women.
In the United States, approximately 600,000 cases of stroke accounted for 160,000 deaths in 1997. At all ages, more women than men die of stroke. Because known risk factors for the development of stroke, including hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes mellitus, can be changed through dietary modification, primary prevention holds much promise. In this cohort of female nurses, whole grains accounted for only one-third of the servings of total grains, and median consumption of whole grain foods was one serving per day. Even the women in the top quintile of whole grain intake barely approached the three servings per day that are generally recommended.