Regular consumption of chocolate relates to lowered risk of death from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s disease, particularly in non-smokers.
The study traps a population-based cohort of 91,891 participants aged between 55-74 years from across the United States. The consumption of chocolate by these participants is gauged through a food frequency questionnaire. The Cox regression model was utilized to generate risk estimates. In an average monitoring period of 13.5 years, 19,586 all-cause deaths were recorded.
In the discussion of the outcomes, the study reveals an inverse correlation between regular chocolate intake and all-cause mortality. This advantage was more significant in those participants who never smoked compared to current or ex-smokers. A stronger inverse association was found for deaths from cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease. A nonlinear dose-response pattern was discovered for all-cause and cardiovascular deaths, with the least risk seen at a chocolate intake of 0.7 and 0.6 servings per week, respectively.
