• Louise I Mennen, David Sapinho, Angelika de Bree, Nathalie Arnault, Sandrine Bertrais, Pilar Galan, and Serge Hercberg.
• UMR INSERM unit 557/INRA unit 1125, Institut Scientifique et Technique de la Nutrition et de l'Alimentation, ISTNA-CNAM, Paris, France. s_mennen@vcnam.cnam.fr
• J. Nutr. 2004 Apr 1; 134 (4): 923-6.

AbstractA high consumption of flavonoids may lower cardiovascular risk through their antioxidant capacity. This study evaluated the relation between consumption of foods rich in flavonoids and estimated cardiovascular risk. A cross-sectional analysis was performed in 1286 women and 1005 men of the SU.VI.MAX Study (an 8-y trial evaluating the effect of antioxidant supplementation on the incidence of major chronic diseases). Dietary intakes were estimated using six 24-h dietary records collected during the year between the clinical measurement of blood pressure, weight and height and the biological measurement of total serum cholesterol and fasting plasma glucose. The relation between flavonoid rich food consumption and cardiovascular risk factors was evaluated with analyses of covariance and the effect on cardiovascular risk with logistic regression analyses. In women, flavonoid-rich food consumption was inversely related to systolic blood pressure (P = 0.005). No relation between risk factors and flavonoid-rich food consumption was seen in men. Women in the highest tertile of flavonoid-rich food consumption were at lower risk for cardiovascular disease [odds ratio (OR): 0.31; 95%CI: 0.14, 0.68], whereas a positive tendency was seen in men (OR: 1.38; 95%CI: 0.96, 2.00). These results indicate that in women, a high consumption of flavonoid-rich foods may prevent cardiovascular disease.

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