Food groups associated with a reduced risk of 15-year all-cause death

Background/Objectives: Long-term observational cohorts provide the opportunity to investigate the potential impact of dietary patterns on death. We aimed to investigate all-cause death according to the consumption of selected food groups, and then to identify those independently associated with reduced mortality. Subjects/Methods: Population survey of middle-aged men randomly selected in the period 1995–1997 from the general population of three French areas and followed over a median of 14.8 years. Dietary data were collected through a 3-day food record. Cox modeling was used to assess the risk of death according to selected foods groups after extensive adjustment for confounders, including a diet quality index. Results: The study population comprised 960 men (mean age 55.5 ±6.2 years). After a median follow-up of 14.8 (interquartile range 14.3–15.2) years, 150 (15.6%) subjects had died. Food groups that remained independently predictive of a lower risk of death after extensive adjustment were an above-median consumption of milk (adjusted relative risk: 0.61, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.43–0.86, P -value=0.005), fruits and vegetables (0.68, 0.46–0.98, P -value=0.041) and a moderate consumption of yogurts and cottage cheese (0.50, 95% CI: 0.31–0.81, P -value=0.005), other cheeses (0.62, 0.39–0.97, P -value=0.036) and bread (0.57, 0.37–0.89, P -value=0.014). Besides, there was a nonsignificant trend for a higher risk of death associated with highest sodium intakes. Conclusions: Consumption of food groups that largely match recommendations is associated with a reduced risk of all-cause death in men. A diet providing moderate amounts of diverse food groups appears associated with the highest life expectancy.