Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Coronary Heart Disease
Authors: Peter Lindenauer, Darius A. Rastegar, Dorothea von Goeler
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2002)

Letters16 July 2002Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Coronary Heart DiseasePeter Lindenauer, MD, MSc, Darius A. Rastegar, MD, and Dorothea von Goeler, MD, MPHPeter Lindenauer, MD, MScBaystate Medical Center Springfield, MA 01199 (Lindenauer)Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Baltimore, MD 21222 (Rastegar)University of Massachusetts School of Medicine Worcester, MA 01655 (von Goeler), Darius A. Rastegar, MDBaystate Medical Center Springfield, MA 01199 (Lindenauer)Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Baltimore, MD 21222 (Rastegar)University of Massachusetts School of Medicine Worcester, MA 01655 (von Goeler), and Dorothea von Goeler, MD, MPHBaystate Medical Center Springfield, MA 01199 (Lindenauer)Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Baltimore, MD 21222 (Rastegar)University of Massachusetts School of Medicine Worcester, MA 01655 (von Goeler)Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-137-2-200207160-00020 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:We read with interest the study by Joshipura and colleagues (1), which reported that the consumption of one addi-tional daily serving of fruit or vegetables (beyond the median level of consumption) was associated with a 4% reduction in coronary events. Relative terms often do not give a good sense of the benefit of interventions. Increasingly, there is a call for the use of absolute numbers, such as the number needed to treat for benefit (NNTB), as a way of addressing the "clinical bottom line" when interpreting the results of clinical studies (2). In applying this concept to ...References1. Joshipura KJ, Hu FB, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Rimm EB, Speizer FE, et al . The effect of fruit and vegetable intake on risk for coronary heart disease. Ann Intern Med. 2001;134:1106-14. [PMID: 11412050] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Sackett DL, Haynes RB. Summarizing the effects of therapy: a new table and some more terms [Editorial]. ACP J Club. 1997;127:A15-6. [PMID: 9232126] AbstractGoogle Scholar3. Hu FB, Stampfer MJ, Manson JE, Rimm E, Colditz GA, Rosner BA, et al . Dietary fat intake and the risk of coronary heart disease in women. N Engl J Med. 1997;337:1491-9. [PMID: 9366580] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ, Ascherio A, Giovannucci E, Colditz GA, Willett WC. Vitamin E consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease in men. N Engl J Med. 1993;328:1450-6. [PMID: 8479464] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Peter Lindenauer, MD, MSc; Darius A. Rastegar, MD; Dorothea von Goeler, MD, MPHAffiliations: Baystate Medical Center Springfield, MA 01199 (Lindenauer)Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Baltimore, MD 21222 (Rastegar)University of Massachusetts School of Medicine Worcester, MA 01655 (von Goeler) PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoThe Effect of Fruit and Vegetable Intake on Risk for Coronary Heart Disease Kaumudi J. Joshipura , Frank B. Hu , JoAnn E. Manson , Meir J. Stampfer , Eric B. Rimm , Frank E. Speizer , Graham Colditz , Alberto Ascherio , Bernard Rosner , Donna Spiegelman , and Walter C. Willett Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Coronary Heart Disease Kaumudi J. Joshipura , Frank B. Hu , and Walter C. Willett Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Coronary Heart Disease Alexandra Alves-Rodrigues and Boban Thomas Metrics Cited byRaman Spectroscopy of Carotenoid Compounds for Clinical Applications—A Review 16 July 2002Volume 137, Issue 2Page: 144KeywordsAbsolute risk reductionCoronary heart diseaseDietLongitudinal studies ePublished: 16 July 2002 Issue Published: 16 July 2002 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2002 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...