Dietary fibre intake and mortality from cardiovascular disease and all cancers: A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies

Summary Background Accumulating evidence supports health benefits of dietary fibre, such as improving lipid profiles, lowering blood pressure and improving insulin sensitivity, but evidence from comprehensive investigation of dietary fibre intake and mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all cancers is limited. Aims To quantitatively assess the association between dietary fibre intake and mortality from CVD and all cancers. Methods We performed a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Eligible studies were identified by searching PubMed and Embase databases for all articles published up to September 2014 and via hand searching. Study-specific estimates adjusting for potential confounders were combined to calculate pooled relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), using a random-effects model. Results We found 15 studies that examined the association between dietary fibre and mortality from CVD, coronary heart disease (CHD) and all cancers. The pooled RRs of CVD, CHD and all-cancer mortality for the highest versus lowest category of dietary fibre were 0.77 (95% CI: 0.71–0.84), 0.76 (95% CI: 0.67–0.87) and 0.86 (95% CI: 0.79–0.93), respectively. In a dose-response meta-analysis, the pooled RRs for an increment of 10 g/day in dietary fibre intake were 0.91 (95% CI: 0.88–0.94) for CVD, 0.89 (95% CI: 0.85–0.93) for CHD and 0.94 (95% CI: 0.91–0.97) for all cancers. Conclusions Our findings suggest that high dietary fibre intake is associated with a reduced risk of mortality from CVD and all cancers. These results support the current recommendation that high dietary fibre intake should be part of a healthy diet.