Adherence to a healthy Nordic diet and risk of type 2 diabetes among men: the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study.

PURPOSE

To investigate the association between healthy Nordic diet and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in middle-aged and older men from eastern Finland.

METHODS

A total of 2332 men aged 42-60 years and free of T2D at baseline in 1984-1989 were included. Diet was assessed with 4-day food records at baseline and the healthy Nordic diet score was calculated based on a modified Baltic Sea Diet Score. T2D diagnosis was based on self-administered questionnaires, fasting and 2-h oral glucose tolerance test blood glucose measurements, or by record linkage to national health registries. Cox proportional hazards regression and analysis of covariance were used for analyses.

RESULTS

During the mean follow-up of 19.3 years, 432 men (18.5%) were diagnosed with T2D. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio for T2D in the lowest vs. the highest quartile of the healthy Nordic diet score was 1.35 (95% CI 1.03-1.76) (P trend across quartiles 0.028). Lower adherence to healthy Nordic diet was also associated with higher plasma glucose and insulin concentrations.

CONCLUSIONS

In this prospective population-based cohort study among middle-aged and older men from eastern Finland, lower adherence to healthy Nordic diet was associated with higher risk of T2D and higher plasma glucose and serum insulin concentrations.