Associations of dietary patterns with risk of gastrointestinal disorders: a prospective cohort study

Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders are highly prevalent and severely diminish life quality. It is yet unknown which dietary pattern is optimal for the prevention of GI disorders. Among 141 450 participants from UK Biobank with a median follow-up of 15 years, we comprehensively assessed 13 dietary patterns in relation to 6 GI disorders. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models demonstrated that adherence to healthy diets was associated with lower risk of GI disorders, with the strongest associations observed for the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet (HR_Q4 = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.81, 0.88), the Alternate Mediterranean Diet (AMED) (HR_Q4 = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.81, 0.88), and the Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI-2010) (HR_Q4 = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.82, 0.89). AHEI-2010 (HRs ranging from 0.76 to 0.90) and DASH (HRs ranging from 0.75 to 0.88) showed inverse associations with every individual GI disorder. Furthermore, comorbidities decreased significantly in number with higher AMED and DASH diet scores (P for trend <0.001). Finally, the associations of AHEI-2010, AMED and DASH with GI disorders diminished most intensely after removing the component of fruits or whole grains. The combined intake of fruits and whole grains was inversely associated with the risk of overall GI disorders (HR_T3 = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.86, 0.93). In conclusion, AHEI-2010 and DASH were the most recommended dietary patterns for the prevention of GI disorders. Fruits and whole grains are the most significant contributors to the protective effect.