Anti-inflammatory diet and incident peripheral artery disease: Two prospective cohort studies

Systemic inflammation plays a role in peripheral artery disease (PAD), and therefore, an anti-inflammatory diet may reduce PAD risk. We examined the association between the anti-inflammatory diet and PAD risk by smoking status, a trigger of systemic inflammation.

The study was based on two cohorts of 82 295 Swedish adults aged 45-83 years (38 823 women from Swedish Mammography Cohort and 45 472 men from Cohort of Swedish Men). An anti-inflammatory diet index (AIDI; 0-17 scores) was used to estimate the anti-inflammatory potential of diet. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Over a median 22-year (interquartile range 7.5 years) follow-up period, 3413 PAD cases were ascertained. Compared with individuals in the lowest quartile of the AIDI (score ≤4), the HR of PAD for those in the highest quartile (score ≥8) was 0.84 (95% CI, 0.74-0.94). The inverse association was observed in current and past smokers but not in never smokers. The HR of PAD comparing extreme quartiles of the AIDI was 0.67 (95% CI, 0.53-0.86) in current smoker, 0.78 (95% CI, 0.63-0.97) in past smoker, and 1.00 (95% CI, 0.82-1.23) in never smokers. Among foods included in AIDI, high consumption of breakfast cereals, chocolate, red wine, and olive/canola oil, and low consumption of processed red meat and organ meats were associated with low PAD risk.

The study suggests that adherence to a diet with high anti-inflammatory potential may lower PAD risk, especially in smokers.