Adherence to diet recommendations and risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm in the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study

The research examining the association between quality of diet and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is scarce. The aim of the present study was to explore the association between diet quality and development of AAA for middle-aged individuals in the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study (MDCS), a prospective cohort study with baseline data collection carried out between 1991 and 1996. At baseline, the study participants who were eligible for this study (n = 26133) documented their dietary habits in a food diary and questionnaire. Incident AAA cases during an average of 20.7 years of follow-up were identified by using registers. A diet quality index consisting of six components, saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, fibre, sucrose, fruits and vegetables and fish and shellfish, was used to assess the diet quality. After adjusting for potential confounders, the diet quality index was not associated with incident AAA. However, a tendency of decreased risk was observed among individuals adhering to recommendations for fruit and vegetables compared with non-adherence. When comparing the risk of more extreme intake groups, high intakes of both fruits and vegetables were associated with decreased risk.