PAD Risk Lowered With Daily Fruit,Vegetable Intake

HealthDay News — Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables may help reduce the risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD), according to a study published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

Researchers analyzed data from 3.7 million people, average age 64. They found that those who ate 3 or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day had an 18% reduced risk of PAD.

Older white women were most likely to eat 3 or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily, the investigators found, while younger black men were least likely to do so. 

Current and former smokers with low fruit and vegetable intake had particularly high odds for PAD.

“One-on-one dietary assessments and counseling for PAD patients, as well as greater public health awareness of the importance of fruit and vegetable consumption, are both needed,” study coauthor Sean Heffron, MD, an instructor in medicine at the New York University School of Medicine in New York City, said in a journal news release.

Reference

Heffron SP, Rockman CB, Adelman MA, Gianos E, Guo Y, Xu JF, Berger JS. Greater frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with lower prevalence of peripheral artery disease. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2017 May 18. pii: ATVBAHA.116.308474. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.116.308474.