Dietary Gluten Intake and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in Japanese Adults in the Takayama Study.

Background: There is growing attention toward the gluten-free diet in Japan, in spite of a low prevalence of celiac disease and high consumption of rice.

Objectives: The present study examined whether gluten intake is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in Japanese adults.

Methods: In 1992, 13,355 men and 15,724 women, ≥35 y of age, in the Takayama study, completed a self-administered questionnaire. Gluten intake was estimated using a food frequency questionnaire as a baseline. Mortality was ascertained during 16 y of follow-up. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for CVD mortality were calculated according to gluten intake quartiles.

Results: During 16.1 y of follow-up, 775 CVD deaths in men and 903 CVD deaths in women occurred. Compared with the lowest quartile of intake, the highest quartile of gluten intake was significantly associated with a decreased risk of CVD mortality after controlling for age, sex, and other covariates (HR = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.62, 0.86, P-trend = 0.0003).

Conclusions: Our data showed a significant inverse association between gluten intake and CVD mortality. The present study does not support the notion that gluten avoidance should have a beneficial effect on CVD mortality.