Egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in the SUN project

Background/objections
Egg consumption has been associated with the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), but evidence isscarce and inconsistent. Our aim was to examine the association between egg consumption and incidence of CVD in aprospective dynamic Mediterranean cohort of 14 185 university graduates.

Subjects/methods
Egg intake was assessed using a 136-item-validated food-frequency questionnaire. Baseline consumptionwas categorized into no consumption or o1 egg/week, 1 egg/week, 2–4 eggs/week and 44 eggs/week. The presence ofcardiovascular risk factors was assessed by questionnaire at baseline, and the incidence of CVD was assessed using biennialassessments. The median follow-up was 6.1 years. Cox regression models were fitted to estimate multivariable-adjusted hazardratios (HRs) for CVD (myocardial infarction, revascularization procedures or stroke). Outcomes were confirmed by review ofmedical records.

Results
During a median follow-up of 6.1 years, 91 new confirmed cases of CVD were observed. No association was foundbetween egg consumption and the incidence of CVD (HR: 1.10, 95% confidence interval: 0.46–2.63) for the highest versus thelowest category of egg consumption after adjusting for age, sex, total energy intake, adherence to the Mediterranean foodpattern and other cardiovascular risk factors. Results were robust to different analytical scenarios.

Conclusions
No association between egg consumption and the incidence of CVD was found in this Mediterranean cohort.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition advance online publication, 23 March 2011; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2011.30

Reference

Egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in the SUN ProjectZazpe I, Beunza JJ, Bes-Rastrollo M et al. (2011) European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 65(6):676-82

 

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