Scientists from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and elsewhere found eating various healthy diets may reduce the risk of early death.
The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend multiple healthy eating patterns.
However, few studies have examined the associations between adherence to different healthy diets with long-term risk of early death.
In the current study, researchers aimed to examine the associations of dietary scores for 4 healthy eating patterns with the risk of early death.
The four patterns included Healthy Eating Index 2015 (HEI-2015), Alternate Mediterranean Diet (AMED) score, Healthful Plant-based Diet Index (HPDI), and Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI).
The team used data from more than 75 000 women from the Nurses’ Health Study (1984-2020) and more than 44 000 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986-2020).
During the 36 years of follow-up, 31 263 women and 22 900 men died.
The team found greater adherence to several healthy diets was linked to a lower risk of death.
All dietary scores were strongly associated with lower death risks from heart disease, cancer, and respiratory disease.
The AMED score and AHEI were associated with lower death from neurodegenerative disease.
The team found these associations were consistent in different racial and ethnic groups, including Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, and non-Hispanic White individuals.
The team says these findings support the recommendations of Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Greater adherence to various healthy diets was consistently linked to a lower risk of total and cause-specific mortality.
They suggest that eating multiple healthy diets can be adapted to individual food traditions and preferences and reduce death risk.
The research was published in JAMA Internal Medicine and conducted by Zhilei Shan et al.
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