Plasma Vitamin C Level, Fruit and Vegetable Consumption, and the Risk of New-Onset Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The European Prospective Investigation of Cancer–Norfolk Prospective Study [Source: Archives of Internal Medicine, Jul 28, 2008]

This study aims to examine whether fruit and vegetable intake and plasma vitamin C level are associated with the risk of incident type 2 diabetes.

Methods: We administered a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire to men and women from a population-based prospective cohort (European Prospective Investigation of Cancer–Norfolk) study who were aged 40 to 75 years at baseline (1993-1997) when plasma vitamin C level was determined and habitual intake of fruit and vegetables was assessed.

During 12 years of follow-up between February 1993 and the end of December 2005, 735 clinically incident cases of diabetes were identified among 21,831 healthy individuals. We report the odds ratios of diabetes associated with sex-specific quintiles of fruit and vegetable intake and of plasma vitamin C levels.

Results: A strong inverse association was found between plasma vitamin C level and diabetes risk [higher vitamin C, lower diabetes risk]. The odds ratio of diabetes in the top quintile of plasma vitamin C was 0.38 (95% confidence interval, 0.28-0.52) in a model adjusted for demographic, lifestyle, and anthropometric variables. [Note: an odds ratio of 1 implies the event is equally likely in groups being compared. An odds ratio less than one implies the event is less likely in the first group - in this case in the top quintile vit. C group.] In a similarly adjusted model, the odds ratio of diabetes in the top quintile of fruit and vegetable consumption was 0.78 (95% confidence interval, 0.60-1.00).

Conclusions: Higher plasma vitamin C level and, to a lesser degree, fruit and vegetable intake were associated with a substantially decreased risk of diabetes. Our findings highlight a potentially important public health message on the benefits of a diet rich in fruit and vegetables for the prevention of diabetes.

Source: Archives of Internal Medicine. Jul 28, 2008;168(14):1493-1499. PMID: 18663161 by Harding AH, Wareham NJ, Bingham SA, Khaw K, Luben R, Welch A, Forouhi NG. Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke's Hospital; Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England.