Intake of fruit, berries, and vegetables and risk of type 2 diabetes in Finnish men: the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study

doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.069641

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Volume 99, Issue 2, February 2014, Pages 328-333

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ABSTRACT

Background:

Although higher intakes of fruit, berries, and vegetables (FBV) have been associated with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in some observational studies, the evidence is limited and inconclusive.

Objective:

We assessed the relation of FBV intake and T2D incidence in Finnish men.

Design:

We studied 2332 men from the prospective, population-based Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study who were aged 42–60 y and free of T2D or impaired fasting glucose at baseline in 1984–1989. Food intake was assessed with 4-d food recording. T2D was assessed by using self-administered questionnaires, a fasting blood glucose measurement, a 2-h oral-glucose-tolerance test, and record linkage to a reimbursement register on diabetes medication expenses. In the Cox proportional hazards model, HRs for T2D were computed for the highest compared with lowest quartiles of FBV intake adjusted for age, examination year, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, smoking, education, physical activity, family history of diabetes, and energy and alcohol intakes.

Results:

During the mean follow-up time of 19.3 y, 432 new cases of T2D occurred. For the total FBV intake (with the exclusion of potatoes and fruit and berry juices), the extreme-quartile multivariable-adjusted HR for T2D was 0.76 (95% CI: 0.57, 1.02; P-trend = 0.15). In the analysis for FBV components, berries had a corresponding HR of 0.65 (95% CI: 0.49, 0.88; P-trend = 0.003), whereas no significant associations were shown for fruit, fruit and berry juices, and vegetables.

Conclusion:

Fruit and vegetables, particularly berries, may reduce risk of T2D in men.

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^¹: From the Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.

^²: The sponsor did not play a role in the conception, design, or conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of data; or preparation, review, and approval of the manuscript.

^³: Supported in part by a grant from the Diabetes Research Foundation (to JM).

^⁴: Address reprint requests and correspondence to J Mursu, Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio Campus, PO Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland. E-mail: [email protected].

^⁵: Abbreviations used: FBV, fruit, berries, and vegetables; NHS, Nurses’ Health Study; OGTT, oral-glucose-tolerance test; T2D, type 2 diabetes; WHR, waist-to-hip ratio.