Association between whole grain intake and stroke risk: evidence from a meta-analysis

Liqun Fang; Wen Li; Wenjie Zhang; Yanan Wang; Songbin Fu

Association between whole grain intake and stroke risk: evidence from a meta-analysis

Int J Clin Exp Med. 2015 Sep 15;8(9):16978-83. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Liqun Fang¹, Wen Li², Wenjie Zhang¹, Yanan Wang¹, Songbin Fu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Haerbin, Medical University Haerbin 150001, China.
² Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University Suzhou 215006, China.

PMID: 26629253
PMCID: PMC4659141

Abstract

Background: Researches of the relationships between dietary whole grains intake and risk of stroke have produced inconsistent results. We therefore conducted a meta-analysis to summarize the evidence from observed studies regarding the association between whole grain intake and stroke risk.

Methods: Pertinent studies were identified by searching Web of Knowledge and PubMed up to May 2015. Random-effect model was used to combine the relative risk (RR) with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). Publication bias was estimated using Egger's regression asymmetry test.

Results: Six prospective studies involving 1635 stroke cases and 247487 participants were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled results suggested that highest category of whole grain intake versus lowest category was significantly associated with reduced the risk of stroke [summary RR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.73-0.99, I2 = 0.0%]. Inverse associations were also found in the America population [summary RR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.67-0.98, I(2) = 0.0%] and subgroup analysis of females [summary RR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.63-0.97, I(2) = 0.0%]. No publication bias was found.

Conclusion: Our analysis indicated that higher whole grain intake has a protective effect on stroke.

Keywords: Whole grain; meta-analysis; stroke.