A selection of study findings on disease outcomes in the Seven Countries Study.
The results suggest that in elderly men without chronic diseases, smoking and drinking were not related to cognitive decline.
The Zutphen Elderly Study showed that the risk of cognitive decline over three years was 187% higher among the carriers of certain variety of gene called the APO e4 isoform.
Men with a history of CVD at baseline had a 94% higher risk of dementia compared to those with no history.
Long-term all-cause mortality was 25% lower in men who drank less than 20 g alcohol per day compared to non-drinkers.
Smoking was associated with all-cause mortality, but the strength of that association varied between cultures.
Changes in physical activity between 1985 and 1990 were related to all-cause mortality in the period 1990-1995.
Diets contain nutrients, and these are generally highly correlated with other factors due to the choice of foods in which they occur, but also on the consumption of a particular food at the expense of another one. These factors are taken into account when indicators of dietary patterns are evaluated.
The intake of one type of lignan was significantly inversely related to 15-year fatal CHD.
The Seven Countries Study showed strong associations between dietary saturated fat and both serum cholesterol and CHD mortality among the 16 cohorts.
Already in the 18th century chocolate was believed to strengthen the heart, but this benefit was not based on scientific evidence.
