A Dietary Pattern Characterized by a High Consumption of Vegetables and Fruits is related to lower Concentrations of Serum Bilirubin in Japanese women

Background: Bilirubin is a potent anti-oxidant, and has been shown to be inversely related to diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, and stroke. Few studies have reported the relation of specific foods to serum bilirubin, but none has examined the association between dietary patterns and bilirubin. We investigated the relation between dietary patterns and serum bilirubin in Japanese men and women. Methods: The study subjects were men and women aged 49 to 76 years who participated in the baseline survey of a cohort study of lifestyle-related diseases between February 2004 and August 2007. The dietary patterns were derived from principal component analysis of the intakes of 31 foods and food groups ascertained by the food-frequency questionnaire. Analysis of covariance was used to estimate geometric means of serum bilirubin according to quintiles of the dietary pattern scores with adjustment for potential confounding factors. Results: Only one dietary pattern was distinguishable, and the dietary pattern was characterized by high intakes of vegetables and fruit. The dietary pattern was not related to serum bilirubin concentrations in men, and showed an inverse association with bilirubin in women (trend P = 0.04). Conclusions: A dietary pattern represented by high intakes of vegetables and fruit was inversely associated with serum bilirubin in women, but not in men.