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Cardiac risk factors and prevention
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Chocolate intake and risk of clinically apparent atrial fibrillation: the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study
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  • Published on: 14 July 2017
    Chocolate intake and risk of atrial fibrillation
    • Anna Vittoria Mattioli, Professor of Cardiology University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy)
    • Other Contributors:
      • Alberto Farinetti, Professor of surgery
      • Antonio Manenti, Professor, Faculty of Medicine

    Chocolate intake and risk of atrial fibrillation

    Dear Editor,

    We have read with great interest the paper “Chocolate intake and risk of clinically apparent atrial
    fibrillation: the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study” by Elizabeth Mostofsky and coworkers [1] and we found their conclusion of importance with a view to clinical prevention.

    With reference to the findings reported in the paper, we would like to make the following contribution to the discussion. In a recent analysis performed on 650 healthy women in pre-menopausal age (age range 45-54 years) chocolate intake was higher in women in the low quartile of adherence to Mediterranean Diet (low Med Score). This subgroup of women showed a lower ABI index compared to women with higher Med Score. The analysis of sources of antioxidants showed a greater intake from fruit and vegetables in the higher quartiles of Med Score. Coffee and tea were similarly distributed among the quartiles of Med Score [2]. Analysis from diet recall had the major limitation of missing data regarding out-of-mealtime snacking and drinking.
    In Mediterranean countries, wine is a strong antioxidant source and the synergistic effect of drinking wine during meals and antioxidant bioavailability is well known. We clearly understand that nutritional habits in Northern Europe differ from Mediterranean ones. However, we would like to underline that in a Mediterranean lifestyle characterized by high intake of antioxidants,...

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    Conflict of Interest:
    None declared.