Dietary fibre intake protective against stroke, mortality

Consuming high amounts of dietary fibre helps reduce the risk of stroke and of all-cause mortality among individuals who have already survived a stroke, according to a study.

Researchers used data from 1,453 patients with stroke who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2018. They assessed the incidence of stroke and the mortality associated with stroke. A two-sample Mendelian randomization and inverse-variance weighted method was also performed to establish a causal relationship between dietary fibre intake and stroke.

In the fully adjusted logistic regression model, dietary fibre intake had a consistent negative association with stroke (continuous variable: odds ratio [OR], 0.98, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.97–0.99; p<0.0001; tertile 3 vs 1; OR, 0.71, 95 percent CI, 0.57–0.88; p=0.002). A stable and linear inverse correlation between dietary fibre intake and stroke risk was confirmed (nonlinear, p=0.566) using the multivariate adjusted spline regression model.

In the survey-weighted multivariate Cox regression model, dietary fibre intake was associated with a significant reduction in all-cause mortality (tertile 3 vs 1; OR, 0.68, 95 percent CI, 0.47–0.97; p=0.04). Further analysis indicated improved survival of stroke patients with higher dietary fibre intake (p=0.02325).

The two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis showed a causal relationship between high amounts of dietary fibre intake and reduced risk of small vessel stroke (OR, 0.8326, 95 percent CI, 0.7051–0.9833; p=0.0309).