Background: Studies investigating the relationship between egg consumption and the risk of cerebrovascular disease (CED) have yielded inconsistent results. This study evaluated the association between egg consumption and the risk of CED among Chinese adults.
Methods: Data were obtained from China Kadoorie Biobank, Qingdao. A computerised questionnaire was used to collect information regarding egg consumption frequency. CED events were tracked through linkage with the Disease Surveillance Point System and the new national health insurance databases. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to evaluate associations between egg consumption and CED risk controlling for potential confounders.
Results: After a median follow-up of 9.2 years, 865 and 1083 CED events among men and women, respectively, were documented. More than 50% of participants consumed eggs daily with an average age of 52.0 (10.4) years at baseline. No association between egg consumption and CED were identified in the whole cohort and women. However, a 28% lower risk of CED was observed in those who consumed eggs at a higher frequency (HR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.55-0.95) and a significant trend for the association (p for trend = 0.012) in a multivariable model in men.
Conclusion: Higher frequency of egg consumption was associated with a lower risk of total CED events among men but not women in Chinese adults. The beneficial effect on women warrants further investigations.
Keywords: Chinese; cerebrovascular disease; egg; prospective study.