High diversity of dietary flavonoid intake is associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality and major chronic diseases

Summary

This large prospective cohort study using UK Biobank data (n = 124,805) investigated whether diversity of dietary flavonoid intake, beyond quantity alone, is associated with reduced risk of mortality and major chronic diseases. Participants with the widest diversity of flavonoid-rich food consumption showed a 6–20% significantly lower risk across multiple disease outcomes. The findings suggest that both the quantity and variety of flavonoids consumed are independent predictors of health outcomes, supporting a dietary diversity approach rather than focusing solely on total intake.

UK applicability

The study is directly applicable to UK conditions, having been conducted using UK Biobank participants. The findings are relevant to UK dietary guidelines, public health nutrition policy, and food environment strategies encouraging broader consumption of flavonoid-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, and wholegrains.

Key measures

Flavonoid diversity score; flavonoid intake quantity; risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio); incidence of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, respiratory disease, and neurodegenerative disease (hazard ratios); n = 124,805 UK Biobank participants

Outcomes reported

The study measured the association between diversity of dietary flavonoid intake and risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, respiratory disease, and neurodegenerative disease. It reported that both quantity and diversity of flavonoid consumption were independently associated with 6–20% lower risk of these outcomes.

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