High diversity of dietary flavonoid intake is associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality and major chronic diseases
Higher habitual intakes of dietary flavonoids have been linked with a lower risk of all-cause mortality and major chronic disease. Yet, the contribution of diversity of flavonoid intake to health outcomes remains to be investigated. Here, using a cohort of 124,805 UK Biobank participants, we show that participants who consumed the widest diversity of dietary flavonoids, flavonoid-rich foods and/or specific flavonoid subclasses had a 6-20% significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality and incidence of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, respiratory disease and neurodegenerative disease. Furthermore, we report that both quantity and diversity of flavonoids are independent predictors of mortality and several chronic diseases, suggesting that consuming a higher quantity and wider diversity is better for longer-term health than either component alone. These findings suggest that consuming several different daily servings of flavonoid-rich foods or beverages, such as tea, berries, apples, oranges or grapes, may lower risk of all-cause mortality and chronic disease.
Authors
- Aedín Cassidy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0048-5602)
- Amy Jennings (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5333-714X)
- Nicola P. Bondonno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5905-444X)
- Alysha S Thompson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9863-4017)
- Tilman Kühn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7702-317X)
- Jonathan M. Hodgson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6184-7764)
- Aurora Perez‐Cornago (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5652-356X)
- Kevin Murray (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8856-6046)
- Benjamin H. Parmenter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9166-618X)
- Anna Tresserra‐Rimbau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7022-9041)
Institutions
- Edith Cowan University (AU)
- Queen's University Belfast (GB)
- University of Vienna (AT)
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (ES)
- Danish Cancer Society (DK)
- Universitat de Barcelona (ES)
- Medical University of Vienna (AT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Food
- Published
- 2025-06-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01176-1
- Citations
- 39
- Primary Topic
- Nutrition, Genetics, and Disease
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 70.87
Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, UK Government
- UK Research and Innovation
- Department for the Economy
- British Heart Foundation
- Northwest Regional Development Agency
- Medical Research Council
- National Health and Medical Research Council