Dietary Gluten Intake and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in Japanese Adults in the Takayama Study

There is growing attention toward the gluten-free diet in Japan, in spite of a low prevalence of celiac disease and high consumption of rice.

The present study examined whether gluten intake is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in Japanese adults.

In 1992, 13,355 men and 15,724 women, ≥35 y of age, in the Takayama study, completed a self-administered questionnaire. Gluten intake was estimated using a food frequency questionnaire as a baseline. Mortality was ascertained during 16 y of follow-up. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for CVD mortality were calculated according to gluten intake quartiles.

During 16.1 y of follow-up, 775 CVD deaths in men and 903 CVD deaths in women occurred. Compared with the lowest quartile of intake, the highest quartile of gluten intake was significantly associated with a decreased risk of CVD mortality after controlling for age, sex, and other covariates (HR = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.62, 0.86, P-trend = 0.0003).

Our data showed a significant inverse association between gluten intake and CVD mortality. The present study does not support the notion that gluten avoidance should have a beneficial effect on CVD mortality.