BACKGROUND

Prospective studies of dietary fiber intake in relation to stroke risk have reported inconsistent results.

OBJECTIVE

This study assessed the association between intake of total fiber and fiber sources and stroke incidence in healthy Swedish adults.

METHODS

The analysis was based on 69,677 participants (aged 45-83 y) from the Swedish Mammography Cohort and the Cohort of Swedish Men who were free from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes at baseline (1 January 1998). Diet was assessed with a food-frequency questionnaire. Cases of stroke were ascertained through linkage to the Swedish Inpatient Register and the Swedish Cause of Death Register. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to calculate RRs, adjusted for potential confounders.

RESULTS

During 10.3 y of follow-up, 3680 incident stroke cases, including 2722 cerebral infarctions, 363 intracerebral hemorrhages, 160 subarachnoid hemorrhages, and 435 unspecified strokes, were ascertained. High intakes of total fiber and fiber from fruits and vegetables but not from cereals were inversely associated with risk of stroke. After adjustment for other risk factors for stroke, the multivariable RRs of total stroke for the highest vs. lowest quintile of intake were 0.90 (95% CI: 0.81, 0.99) for total fiber, 0.85 (95% CI: 0.77, 0.95) for fruit fiber, 0.90 (95% CI: 0.82, 1.00) for vegetable fiber, and 0.94 (95% CI: 0.84, 1.04) for cereal fiber.

CONCLUSION

These findings indicate that intake of dietary fiber, especially fruit and vegetable fibers, is inversely associated with risk of stroke.