Potato consumption and all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality – a long-term follow-up of a Norwegian cohort

Abstract

Purpose. To examine the association between potato consumption and death of all-causes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) over a substantial follow-up period within a cohort predominantly consuming boiled potatoes. Methods. Adults from three Norwegian counties were invited to three health screenings in 1974–1988 (> 80% attendance). Dietary data were collected using semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires at each screening to categorize weekly potato consumption (≤ 6, 7–13, or ≥ 14 potatoes/week) and calculate daily cumulative mean intakes (grams/day). Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using multivariable Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between potato consumption and risk of death from all-causes, CVD, ischaemic heart disease (IHD), and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Results. Among 78,400 subjects with a mean baseline age of 41 years, we observed 27,737 deaths, including 9,028 deaths due to CVD, over a median follow-up of 33.5 years. Subjects who consumed ≥ 14 potatoes/week had a lower risk of all-cause death compared to subjects consuming ≤ 6 potatoes/week (HR = 0.88; 95% CI 0.84, 0.92). Potato consumption was associated with a small, inverse risk of death due to CVD, IHD, and AMI. In continuous analyses, each 100 g/day increment was associated with 4% lower risk of death from all-causes (HR = 0.96; 95% CI 0.94, 0.98) and CVD (0.96; 0.93, 0.99), along with 5% (0.95; 0.91, 1.00) and 4% lower (0.96; 0.91, 1.01) risk of IHD and AMI death, respectively. Conclusion. In this cohort with a generally high consumption of potatoes, we found modest, inverse associations between potato consumption and death of all-causes, CVD, and IHD.