Healthy diet decreases risk of developing COPD

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

According to a new study published in The BMJ, researchers have found that eating a diet rich in nuts, polyunsaturated fats, and whole grains, and low in red and processed meat, sugary drinks, and refined grains, is associated with a decreased risk for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

For the study, researchers sought to investigate the association between the Alternate Healthy Eating Index 2010 (AHEI-2010) diet and the risk of developing COPD. Researchers identified over 120,000 American men and women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.

Participants completed surveys on dietary intake over the course of the studies. Results showed that 723 women and 167 men developed COPD.

After adjusting for other factors, researchers found that those who ate the healthiest AHEI-2010 diet had a 33% decreased risk of developing COPD compared with those who consumed the least healthy diet. The findings suggest that a healthy diet, in addition to smoking cessation, can prevent COPD.