廉价保健品：吃花生能降低心血管疾病死亡率

  如果你想寻找一种方法来降低你因心脏病发作而死亡的风险，那么就选择坚果吧，近日，刊登在国际杂志JAMA Internal Medicine上一篇研究论文中，来自上海癌症研究所等处的研究人员检测了花生和坚果的消耗和低收入及不同种族人群的死亡率之间的关系，结果显示花生的摄入和个体死亡风险降低直接相关，尤其是因心脏病死亡的风险。

  研究者Hung Luu表示，坚果中富含营养物，比如不饱和脂肪酸类、纤维、维生素、酚类抗氧化剂、精氨酸及其它植物素等，所有这些物质都对个体的心脑血管健康有益，这些物质主要是通过其抗氧化性、抗炎性等功能来维持其特性的。本研究中我们发现花生的消耗可以降低所研究的一系列人群的总体死亡率及因心血管疾病引发的死亡率，这些人群主要包括美国低收入的黑人及白人、生活在上海的男性和女性等。

  本研究基于目前三项正在进行的大型的队列研究，参与者包括来自美国南部社区队列研究（SCCS）中的7万多名非洲裔美国人和欧洲裔美国人，这些个体大多数为低收入人群；来自上海妇女及男性健康研究项目（SWHS和SMHS）的超过13万的中国人；研究者表示，总的来讲在研究中发现了1.4万名个体发生了死亡，其中研究者对SCCS项目中的个体平均随访时间为5.4年，SMHS项目中的个体为6.5年，SWHS项目中的个体为12.2年。

  研究者说道，花生的消耗和研究对象的总体死亡率下降相关，尤其是因心血管疾病的死亡率，比如相比低摄入者而言，高摄入者总体死亡率会降低为17%-21%时，而心血管疾病死亡率则会降低23%-28%。由于花生非常廉价，而且其很容易获得，增加花生的食用或许会为改善个体的心血管健康带来更有价值的好处。

  最后研究者William Blot说道，本文研究证实了食用花生对人群的有益作用，后期我们还将通过更为深入的研究来揭示花生带来潜在效益的分子机理。（转化医学网360zhyx.com）

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转化医学网推荐的原文摘要：

Prospective Evaluation of the Association of Nut/Peanut Consumption With Total and Cause-Specific Mortality.
JAMA Internal Medicine DOI:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.8347
Hung N. Luu, MD, PhD1,2; William J. Blot, PhD1,2,3; Yong-Bing Xiang, MD, MPH4; Hui Cai, MD, PhD1,2; Margaret K. Hargreaves, PhD5; Honglan Li, MD, MPH4; Gong Yang, MD, MPH1,2; Lisa Signorello, ScD6; Yu-Tang Gao, MD4; Wei Zheng, MD, PhD1,2; Xiao-Ou Shu, MD, PhD1,2
Importance  High intake of nuts has been linked to a reduced risk of mortality. Previous studies, however, were primarily conducted among people of European descent, particularly those of high socioeconomic status.

Objective  To examine the association of nut consumption with total and cause-specific mortality in Americans of African and European descent who were predominantly of low socioeconomic status (SES) and in Chinese individuals in Shanghai, China.

Design, Setting, and Participants  Three large cohorts were evaluated in the study. One included 71 764 US residents of African and European descent, primarily of low SES, who were participants in the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS) in the southeastern United States (March 2002 to September 2009), and the other 2 cohorts included 134 265 participants in the Shanghai Women’s Health Study (SWHS) (December 1996 to May 2000) and the Shanghai Men’s Health Study (SMHS) (January 2002 to September 2006) in Shanghai, China. Self-reported nut consumption in the SCCS (approximately 50% were peanuts) and peanut-only consumption in the SMHS/SWHS were assessed using validated food frequency questionnaires.

Main Outcomes and Measures  Deaths were ascertained through linkage with the National Death Index and Social Security Administration mortality files in the SCCS and annual linkage with the Shanghai Vital Statistics Registry and by biennial home visits in the SWHS/SMHS. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs.

Results  With a median follow-up of 5.4 years in the SCCS, 6.5 years in the SMHS, and 12.2 years in the SWHS, 14 440 deaths were identified. More than half of the women in the SCCS were ever smokers compared with only 2.8% in the SWHS. The ever-smoking rate for men was 77.1% in the SCCS and 69.6% in the SMHS. Nut intake was inversely associated with risk of total mortality in all 3 cohorts (all P < .001 for trend), with adjusted HRs associated with the highest vs lowest quintiles of intake being 0.79 (95% CI, 0.73-0.86) and 0.83 (95% CI, 0.77-0.88), respectively, for the US and Shanghai cohorts. This inverse association was predominantly driven by cardiovascular disease mortality (P < .05 for trend in the US cohort; P < .001 for trend in the Shanghai cohorts). When specific types of cardiovascular disease were examined, a significant inverse association was consistently seen for ischemic heart disease in all ethnic groups (HR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.45-0.85 in blacks; HR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.39-0.92 in whites; and HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.54-0.89 in Asians for the highest vs lowest quintile of nut intake). The associations for ischemic stroke (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.60-1.00 for the highest vs lowest quintile of nut intake) and hemorrhagic stroke (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.60-0.99 for the highest vs lowest quintile of nut intake) were significant only in Asians. The nut-mortality association was similar for men and women and for blacks, whites, and Asians and was not modified by the presence of metabolic conditions at study enrollment.

Conclusions and Relevance  Nut consumption was associated with decreased overall and cardiovascular disease mortality across different ethnic groups and among individuals from low SES groups. Consumption of nuts, particularly peanuts given their general affordability, may be considered a cost-effective measure to improve cardiovascular health.