Clinical InvestigationChocolate intake and incidence of heart failure: Findings from the Cohort of Swedish Men
Section snippets
Study cohort
The Cohort of Swedish Men (COSM) is a population-based cohort study established in central Sweden (Västmanland and Örebro counties) and includes 48,850 men aged 45-79 years old in 1997, when baseline data were collected.19., 20. The cohort includes questionnaire-based information about such modifiable lifestyle factors as diet, physical activity, smoking, weight, use of dietary supplements, some prescribed drugs, and alcohol. Cardiovascular and other diseases as well as surgical procedures and
Results
During 14 years of follow-up, 2,157 men were hospitalized for first HF (n = 1,901) or died of HF (n =256), corresponding to a crude rate of 5.2 cases per 1000 person-years. Median chocolate intake was 1-3 servings per month. Compared with men reporting no chocolate intake, men who ate more chocolate had higher total daily energy intake, were more likely to be never smokers and have university-level education, and were less likely to be previously diagnosed with hypertension (Table I).
Compared with
Discussion
In this prospective study, we found that moderate habitual chocolate intake in men was associated with a lower rate of HF hospitalization or death, but the protective association was not observed with intake of ≥1 serving per day.
Chocolate has been shown to have multiple benefits to cardiovascular health, possibly mediated in part through their high concentration of plant-derived antioxidants called flavonoids.7., 30. Chocolate provides a significant dietary source of flavonoids, which are also
Conflicts of interest
All authors have no conflicts to declare. The authors are solely responsible for the design and conduct of this study, all study analyses and drafting and editing of the paper.
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