Plant-Centered Diet May Reduce Emphysema Risk in Young Smokers, reveals study

The key findings of the study were:

• In the cohort, 13% developed emphysema, with an average age of 50.4 ± 3.5 years.

• The prevalence of emphysema was 4.5% in the highest APDQS quintile (high nutritional richness) compared to 25.4% in the lowest quintile.

• After adjusting for several covariates, including smoking, greater adherence to a plant-centered diet was inversely associated with emphysema.

• Those in the highest quintile had an odds ratio of 0.44 for developing emphysema (95% CI 0.19-0.99, ptrend=0.008).

These findings suggest that a nutritionally rich, plant-centered diet may provide a protective effect against emphysema development in young ever-smokers. This dietary approach could serve as a promising strategy for emphysema prevention among high-risk smoking populations.

The study's results indicate that following a plant-centered diet over time may decrease the risk of emphysema development in middle adulthood, especially in individuals with a history of smoking. This highlights the potential for dietary changes as a preventive measure for emphysema in at-risk populations.

Reference:

Jackson MK, Choi Y, Eisenberg E, et al. A plant-centered diet is inversely associated with radiographic emphysema: findings from the CARDIA Lung Study. Chronic Obstr Pulm Dis. 2024; 11(2): 164-173. doi: http://doi.org/10.15326/jcopdf.2023.0437