Sunday, August 22, 2010

Moderate Chocolate Intake Tied to Lower Heart Failure Risk

However, protective association not observed with intake of one or more servings daily

22 aug 2010-- Regular, moderate chocolate consumption is linked to a lower rate of heart failure hospitalization or death, but no protective association is seen in individuals consuming one or more servings of chocolate daily, according to a study published online Aug. 16 in Circulation: Heart Failure.

In a prospective cohort study, Elizabeth Mostofsky, of Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues followed 31,823 women, aged 48 to 83 years, without baseline diabetes or a history of heart failure or myocardial infarction from Jan. 1, 1998, through Dec. 31, 2006.

During nine years of follow-up, the investigators found that 419 women were hospitalized for incident heart failure (379) or died of heart failure (40). The multivariate adjusted rate ratio of heart failure was 0.74 for those consuming one to three servings of chocolate per month, 0.68 for those consuming one to two servings per week, 1.09 for those consuming three to six servings per week, and 1.23 for those consuming one or more servings per day, compared to those not regularly consuming chocolate.

"Further studies are needed to confirm or refute these findings and to determine the optimal dose and type of chocolate and to clarify the mechanisms involved," the authors write.

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