Association between rice intake and all-cause mortality among Chinese adults: findings from the Jiangsu Nutrition Study

Background and Objectives: The few studies that have assessed the association between rice intake and mortality have generated inconsistent results. We assessed whether rice intake was associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, cancer mortality and all-cause mortality in a prospective cohort of the Chinese population. Methods and Study Design: We prospectively studied 2,832 adults aged 20 years and above with a mean follow up of 10 years. Rice intake was measured by a 3-day weighed food record (WFR) in 2002. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CI were calculated by competing risks regression (CVD and cancer mortality) and Cox proportional hazards analysis (all-cause mortality). Results: We documented 184 deaths (including 70 CVD deaths and 63 cancer deaths) during 27,742 person-years of follow-up. No association between rice intake and all-cause mortality was found. After adjusting for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors as well as energy and fat intake, HRs for CVD mortality across tertiles of rice intake were 1.00,0.47 (95% CI 0.25-0.87), and 0.49 (95% CI 0.21-1.13) (p for trend 0.049). Conclusions: There was no association between rice intake and all-cause mortality.