flavan-3-ol and Stroke

Prospective cohort studies have shown that the consumption of cocoa and tea is associated with lower risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), and cocoa and tea have been shown to improve CVD risk factors in randomized controlled trials. Cocoa and tea are major dietary sources of the flavan-3-ol epicatechin.. We investigated the associations of dietary epicatechin intake with 25-y CVD mortality in elderly Dutch men.. We used data from the Zutphen Elderly Study, which was a prospective cohort study of 774 men aged 65-84 y in 1985. Epicatechin intake was estimated 4 times in 15 y with the use of the crosscheck dietary history method. Time-dependent Cox proportional hazards models were used to investigate repeated measures of epicatechin intake in relation to 25-y CVD mortality.. Mean intake of epicatechin was 15.2 ± 7.7 mg/d, and the major dietary sources were tea (51%), apples (28%), and cocoa (7%). During 25 y of follow-up, 329 men died from CVD, 148 died from coronary heart disease (CHD), and 72 men died from stroke. Risk of CHD mortality was 38% lower in men in the top tertile of epicatechin intake than in men in the bottom tertile of epicatechin intake (HR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.39, 0.98). Epicatechin intake was also significantly associated with 46% lower risk of CVD mortality in men with prevalent CVD (HR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.31, 0.96) but not in men who were free of CVD.. We show, for the first time to our knowledge, that epicatechin intake is inversely related to CHD mortality in elderly men and to CVD mortality in prevalent cases of CVD. More studies are needed before conclusions can be drawn.

Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cacao; Camellia sinensis; Cardiovascular Diseases; Catechin; Coronary Disease; Diet; Energy Intake; Flavonoids; Humans; Male; Malus; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts; Proportional Hazards Models; Prospective Studies; Risk Factors; Stroke

The role of flavonoids in CVD, especially in strokes, is unclear. Our aim was to study the role of flavonoids in CVD. We studied the association between the intakes of five subclasses (flavonols, flavones, flavanones, flavan-3-ols and anthocyanidins), a total of twenty-six flavonoids, on the risk of ischaemic stroke and CVD mortality. The study population consisted of 1950 eastern Finnish men aged 42-60 years free of prior CHD or stroke as part of the prospective population-based Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. During an average follow-up time of 15.2 years, 102 ischaemic strokes and 153 CVD deaths occurred. In the Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for age and examination years, BMI,systolic blood pressure, hypertension medication, serum HDL- and LDL-cholesterol, serum TAG, maximal oxygen uptake, smoking, family history of CVD, diabetes, alcohol intake, energy-adjusted intake of folate, vitamin E, total fat and saturated fat intake (percentage of energy), men in the highest quartile of flavonol and flavan-3-ol intakes had a relative risk of 0.55 (95% CI 0.31, 0.99) and 0.59 (95% CI 0.30, 1.14) for ischaemic stroke, respectively, as compared with the lowest quartile. After multivariate adjustment, the relative risk for CVD death in the highest quartile of flavanone and flavone intakes were 0.54 (95% CI 0.32, 0.92) and 0.65 (95% CI 0.40, 1.05), respectively. The present results suggest that high intakes of flavonoids may be associated with decreased risk of ischaemic stroke and possibly with reduced CVD mortality.

Topics: Anthocyanins; Cardiovascular Diseases; Diet; Finland; Flavanones; Flavones; Flavonoids; Flavonols; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Proportional Hazards Models; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Stroke; White People