ARTICLES Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Risk of Major Chronic Disease

Background: Studies of fruit and vegetable consumption in relation to overall health are limited. We evaluated the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and the in-cidence of cardiovascular disease and cancer and of deaths from other causes in two prospective cohorts. Methods: A total of 71 910 female participants in the Nurses ’ Health study and 37 725 male participants in the Health Profession-als ’ Follow-up Study who were free of major chronic disease completed baseline semiquantitative food-frequency ques-tionnaires in 1984 and 1986, respectively. Dietary informa-tion was updated in 1986, 1990, and 1994 for women and in 1990 and 1994 for men. Participants were followed up for incidence of cardiovascular disease, cancer, or death