Higher olive oil intake may lower risk of death in adults

Greater consumption of olive oil results in a reduced risk of total and cause-specific mortality, suggests a US study, noting that substituting margarine, butter, mayonnaise, and dairy fat with olive oil can lower the risk of death.

Using multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models, the authors estimated the hazard ratios (HRs) for total and cause-specific mortality among 60,582 women (Nurses’ Health Study, 1990‒2018) and 31,801 men (Health Professionals Follow-up Study, 1990‒2018) who were free of cardiovascular disease or cancer at baseline. They also evaluated diet using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire every 4 years.

A total of 36,856 deaths occurred during 28 years of follow-up. Compared with participants who never or rarely consumed olive oil, those with the highest intake (>0.5 tablespoon/day or >7 g/day) had a lower risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 0.81, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.78‒0.84).

Higher olive oil intake also correlated with 19-percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality (HR, 0.71, 95 percent CI, 0.75‒0.87), 17-percent lower risk of cancer mortality (HR, 0.83, 95 percent CI, 0.78‒0.89), 29-percent lower risk of neurodegenerative disease mortality (HR, 0.71, 95 percent CI, 0.64‒0.78), and 18-percent lower risk of respiratory disease mortality (HR, 0.82, 95 percent CI, 0.72‒0.93).

Substitution analyses revealed that replacing 10 g/day of margarine, butter, mayonnaise, and dairy fat with the equivalent amount of olive oil led to 8‒34 percent lower risk of total and cause-specific mortality. However, no significant associations were seen when olive oil was compared with other vegetable oils.