Frequency of Seaweed Intake and Its Association with Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: The JACC Study

Abstract

Seaweed is a popular traditional foodstuff in Asian countries. To our knowledge, few studies have examined the association of seaweed intake with mortality from cardiovascular disease. We examined the association of frequency of seaweed intake with total and specific cardiovascular disease mortality. Methods: We examined the association of seaweed intake with mortality from cardiovascular disease among 40,234 men and 55,981 women who participated in the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk. Sex-specific hazard ratios for mortality from cardiovascular disease (stroke, stroke subtypes, and coronary heart disease) according to the frequency of seaweed intake were calculated stratified by study area and adjusted for potential cardiovascular risk factors and dietary factors. Results: During the 1,580,996 person-year follow-up, 6,525 cardiovascular deaths occurred, of which 2,820 were due to stroke, and 1,378, to coronary heart disease. Among men, the multivariable analysis showed that participants who ate seaweed almost every day compared with those who never ate seaweed had hazard ratios (95% confidence interval; P for trend) of 0.79 (0.62-1.01; 0.72) for total cardiovascular disease, 0.70 (0.49-0.99; 0.47) for total stroke, 0.69 (0.41-1.16; 0.11) for cerebral infarction. Among women, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios were 0.72 (0.55-0.95; 0.001) for total cardiovascular disease, 0.70 (0.46-1.06; 0.01) for total stroke, and 0.49 (0.27-0.90; 0.22) for cerebral infarction. No associations were observed between seaweed intake and risk of intraparenchymal hemorrhage and coronary heart disease among either men or women. Conclusions: We found an inverse association between seaweed intake and cardiovascular mortality among Japanese men and women, especially that from cerebral infarction. combination of these nutrients and other nutrients as food is largely known. Seaweed is a popular traditional foodstuff in Asian countries, including Japan, Korea, and parts of China. For example, on average, Japanese population consumes 9.9 g of seaweed a day 15). Japan's longest life expectancy and the lowest CVD mortality in the world 16) could be due to their unique dietary patterns 17) , which are partly characterized by regular Copyright©2020 Japan Atherosclerosis Society This article is distributed under the terms of the latest version of CC BY-NC-SA defined by the Creative Commons Attribution License.

Association between consumption of edible seaweeds and newly diagnosed non‐alcohol fatty liver disease: The TCLSIH Cohort Study

“…In our study, the average intake of seaweed was 2.8 g/d, which is lower than the previous studies performed in Japan (9.9 g/day) and Korea (8.5 g/day) 36,37 . Moreover eating habits may vary greatly in different areas of China.…”

“…Previous epidemiologic studies have shown the potential benefits of seaweed for cancer, CVD and diabetes 36‐38 . Studies have also investigated the association between seaweed and MetS.…”

The Edible Brown Seaweed Sargassum horneri (Turner) C. Agardh Ameliorates High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity, Diabetes, and Hepatic Steatosis in Mice

“…In addition, seaweed is rich in bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols and carotenoids [3]. Recent epidemiological evidence indicates that a seaweed intake is associated with a reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease mortality and increased life expectancy [4,5]. Seaweed has been regularly consumed in the daily diet since ancient times in Japan, Korea, and China, which may contribute to the longevity noted in these countries [6].…”

Seaweed Intake and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: The Circulatory Risk in Communities Study (CIRCS)

“…In the present study, the reproducibility of seaweed intake in the 24 h dietary recall survey was not high (quadratic weighted kappa coefficient 0.24, Spearman's correlation coefficients 0.14) compared with the reproducibility estimated by using repeated food frequency questionnaires in the other study 23) (Spearman's correlation coefficients 0.35). In previous studies, the frequency of seaweed intake was usually one to two times or three to four times a week 22,23) ; therefore, the participants may not necessarily have consumed seaweed the day before the survey. Since such measurement errors would occur randomly across the exposure groups, they likely diluted the association between seaweed intake and risk of cardiovascular disease.…”

“…The Japan Public Health Center (JPHC) Study, involving 86,113 men and women aged 40-69 years during the baseline period (1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994), showed that the frequency of seaweed intake was inversely associated with the risk of incident coronary heart disease among men and women but not of stroke 23) . By contrast, another recent report from the Japan Collaborative Cohort (JACC) Study, involving 96,215 men and women aged 40-79 years during the baseline period (1988)(1989)(1990), showed that the frequency of seaweed intake based on a food frequency questionnaire was inversely associated with mortality from total stroke, cerebral infarction, and total cardiovascular disease among women but not among men 22) . In that study, seaweed intake was not associated with mortality from coronary heart disease in either sex.…”