Vitamin K Intake and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in the Danish Diet Cancer and Health Study

BACKGROUND: Dietary vitamin K (K(1) and K(2)) may reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk via several mechanisms. However, studies linking vitamin K intake with incident ASCVD are limited. We aimed to determine the relationship between dietary vitamin K intake and ASCVD hospitalizations. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this prospective cohort study, participants from the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study, with no prior ASCVD, completed a food‐frequency questionnaire at baseline and were followed up for hospital admissions of ASCVD; ischemic heart disease, ischemic stroke, or peripheral artery disease. Intakes of vitamin K(1) and vitamin K(2) were estimated from the food‐frequency questionnaire, and their relationship with ASCVD hospitalizations was determined using Cox proportional hazards models. Among 53 372 Danish citizens with a median (interquartile range) age of 56 (52–60) years, 8726 individuals were hospitalized for any ASCVD during 21 (17–22) years of follow‐up. Compared with participants with the lowest vitamin K(1) intakes, participants with the highest intakes had a 21% lower risk of an ASCVD‐related hospitalization (hazard ratio, 0.79; 95% CI: 0.74–0.84), after multivariable adjustments for relevant demographic covariates. Likewise for vitamin K(2), the risk of an ASCVD‐related hospitalization for participants with the highest intakes was 14% lower than participants with the lowest vitamin K(2) intake (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.81–0.91). CONCLUSIONS: Risk of ASCVD was inversely associated with diets high in vitamin K(1) or K(2). The similar inverse associations with both vitamin K(1) and K(2), despite very different dietary sources, highlight the potential importance of vitamin K for ASCVD prevention.