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Eur J Nutr (2009) 48:120123 DOI 10.1007/s00394-008-0771-2
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Carlotta Galeone, ScD, PhD Alessandra Tavani, ScD Claudio Pelucchi, ScDEva Negri, ScDCarlo La Vecchia, MD
Allium vegetable intake and risk of acute myocardial infarction in Italy
j Abstract Background Interest in potential benets of allium vegetables has its origin in antiquity, but the details of these benets are still open to discussion. Only two epidemiological studies considered the relation between dietary intake of allium vegetables and cardiovascular diseases. Aim of the study To provide further information we analysed the relationship between onion and garlic intake and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods We used data from a casecontrol study of 760 patients with a rst episode of non-fatal AMI and 682 controls admitted to the same hospitals. Information was collected by trained interviewers using a validated and reproducible food-frequency questionnaire. Multivariate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% condence intervals (CIs)
were obtained after allowance for recognized confounding factors. Results Compared with non-users, the ORs of AMI for subsequent categories of onion intake were 0.90 (95% CI: 0.691.21) for <1 portion of onion per week and0.78 (95% CI: 0.560.99) for 1 portion per week. For garlic, the ORs were 0.84 (95% CI: 0.661.09) for intermediate and 0.94 (95% CI:0.681.32) for high use, compared with no or low use. Conclusion The current study, the rst from Mediterranean countries, suggests that a diet rich in onions may have a favourable effect on the risk of AMI.
j Key words onion
garlic allium vegetables diet myocardial infarction
Received: 27 October 2008 Accepted: 11 December 2008 Published online: 13 January 2009
C. Galeone, ScD, PhD (&) A. Tavani, ScDC. Pelucchi, ScD E. Negri, ScDC. La Vecchia, MDDept. of EpidemiologyIstituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri
Via La Masa 1920156 Milan, ItalyTel.: +39-02/39014656Fax: +39-02/33200231E-Mail: [email protected]
C. Galeone, ScD, PhD C. La Vecchia, MD Istituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria Universit degli Studi di MilanoMilan, Italy
Introduction
Garlic (Allium sativum) and onion (Allium cepa) are a rich source of several phytonutrients recognized as important elements of Mediterranean diet [11]. During the last three decades, several studies have reported benecial effects of garlic and onion intake on prevention and treatment of selected diseases, including coronary heart disease, obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, platelet mediated thrombosis and cancer [3, 6]....