Coronary heart disease mortality among Seventh-Day Adventists with differing dietary habits: a preliminary report

Seventh-Day Adventists (SDAs) are a conservative religious denomination who abstain from tobacco and alcohol; approximately one-half follow a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet. In this 6-year prospective study of 24,044 California SDAs age 35 and over, coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality rates for ages 35 to 64 and 65+ are 28% and 50% respectively, of the rates for the same age groups of the total California population. This reduced risk of CHD mortality among SDAs is partially due to abstinence from smoking; however, at least half the low risk among SDAs is likely attributable to other characteristics of the SDA lifestyle. The risk of fatal CHD among nonvegetarian SDA males, ages 35 to 64, is three times greater than vegetarian SDA males of comparable age (P less than 0.01), suggesting that the SDA diet may account for a large share of their low risk. This differential was much smaller for older SDA males and SDA females. Although the differential in risk of fatal CHD for male nonvegetarians versus vegetarians may be partially accounted for by other CHD risk factors, which are more frequent among nonvegetarians, a significant differential persists after adjustment for each of six other CHD risk factors.