Abstract P509: Olive Oil Consumption and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Background: Olive oil intake has been associated with lower risk of cardiometabolic risk factors in Mediterranean populations, but little is known about these associations in the U.S. population, where olive oil intake is relatively low. Objectives: To examine whether olive oil intake is associated with total Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke risk. Methods: We included 63,867 women from the Nurses’ Health Study (1990 to 2014) and 35,512 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1990 to 2014) who were free of cancer, heart disease, and stroke at baseline. Diet was assessed using food frequency questionnaires at baseline and then every 4 years. Cumulative average of intake was used in the primary analysis. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Results: During 24 years of follow-up, we documented 10,240 incident cases of CVD, including 6,270 CHD cases and 3,970 stroke cases. After adjusting for major diet and lifestyle factors, compared with non-consumers, those with higher olive oil intake (>1/2 tablespoon/d or > 7g/d) had 15% lower risk of total CVD [pooled hazard ratio (95% confidence interval): 0.85 (0.77, 0.93)] and 21% lower risk of CHD [pooled hazard ratio (95% confidence interval): 0.79 (0.70, 0.89)]. No significant associations were observed for total stroke or ischemic stroke. We estimated that replacing 5g of margarine, butter, mayonnaise, or dairy fat with the equivalent amount of olive oil was associated with 5-7% lower risk of total CVD and CHD. No significant associations were observed when olive oil was compared with other plant oils combined (corn, safflower, soybean and canola oil). Conclusions: Higher olive oil intake was associated with a lower risk of CHD and total CVD in two large prospective cohorts of U.S. men and women. The substitution of margarine, butter, mayonnaise, and dairy fat with olive oil might lead to a lower risk for CHD and CVD.