NUTRITION RECOMMENDATIONS AND ALL CAUSES MORTALITY

This study evaluated the relationship between meeting the Nutrition Re commendations and mortality from all causes in a cohort of 1,623 men f rom the Quebec City area followed from 1985 to 1991. The usual dietary intake was assessed by a self-administered semi-quantitative food fre quency questionnaire. Most participants did not meet the Nutrition Rec ommendations. During the follow-up 69 men died. The mortality was sign ificantly lower among those who did not meet the recommendations for t otal fat (RR=0.45, CI:0.25-0.81) or for carbohydrates (RR=0.49, CI:0.2 6-0.92). This unexpected result could be attributable to an excessive alcohol intake or to dietary changes in the direction of the Nutrition Recommendations, made prior to the dietary assessment often because o f illness. It would be interesting to continue the follow-up of this c ohort to evaluate the long-term effect of a diet meeting the Nutrition Recommendations on mortality from all causes.