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. 2021 Jan 5;18(1):342.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18010342.

Fruit and Vegetable Intake and All-Cause Mortality in a Chinese Population: The China Health and Nutrition Survey

Yuxuan Gu  1 , Yansu He  2 , Shahmir H Ali  3 , Kaitlyn Harper  4 , Hengjin Dong  1 , Joel Gittelsohn  4
Affiliations

Fruit and Vegetable Intake and All-Cause Mortality in a Chinese Population: The China Health and Nutrition Survey

Yuxuan Gu et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

This study was to investigate the association of long-term fruit and vegetable (FV) intake with all-cause mortality. We utilized data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), a prospective cohort study conducted in China. The sample population included 19,542 adult respondents with complete mortality data up to 31 December 2011. Cumulative FV intake was assessed by 3 day 24 h dietary recalls. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of all-cause mortality. Covariates included sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, health-related factors, and urban index. A total of 1409 deaths were observed during follow-up (median: 14 years). In the fully adjusted model, vegetable intake of the fourth quintile (327~408 g/day) had the greatest negative association with death compared to the lowest quintile (HR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.53-0.76). Fruit intake of the fifth quintile (more than 126 g/day) had the highest negative association (HR = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.15-0.40) and increasing general FV intake were also negatively associated with all-cause mortality which demonstrated the greatest negative association in the amount of fourth quintile (HR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.49-0.70) compared to the lowest quintile. To conclude, greater FV intake is associated with a reduced risk of total mortality for Chinese adults. High intake of fruit has a stronger negative association with mortality than differences in intake of vegetables. Our findings support recommendations to increase the intake of FV to promote overall longevity.

Keywords: China; fruit; mortality; prospective studies; vegetables.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of participants in China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Kaplan–Meier curve of all-cause mortality events according to quintiles of vegetable intake.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Kaplan–Meier curve of all-cause mortality events according to quintiles of fruit intake.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Kaplan–Meier curve of all-cause mortality events according to quintiles of FV intake.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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