Five diets linked to added years in a study of 100,000 people

A UK Biobank analysis of more than 100,000 participants found closer adherence to five established healthy diets was associated with an extra one to three years of life for men and one to two years for women, and these associations held after accounting for 19 genetic markers tied to longevity.

Eating any one of five well‑known healthy diets was associated with longer life in a large cohort study. Researchers led by Yanling Lv analyzed diet and health data from over 100,000 UK Biobank participants who were followed for just over a decade. The team also examined 19 genetic markers related to longevity to separate dietary effects from inherited risk. The article reports that people whose diets most closely matched the healthy patterns lived longer than those with the poorest diets. Key findings: - The study used data from more than 100,000 UK Biobank participants, with 4,314 deaths recorded during about a decade of follow-up. - Diets were scored against five established healthy eating patterns and researchers analyzed 19 genetic markers linked to longevity to distinguish diet and genetic effects. - For a 45‑year‑old man, closer adherence to the healthier patterns was associated with about two to three additional years of life; women had estimated gains of about one to two years. - Men showed the largest estimated gains with the Diabetes Risk Reduction Diet, while women showed the largest gains with a Mediterranean‑style pattern; the Alternative Healthy Eating Index was associated with increases for both sexes. - Foods most strongly linked to longer life across the patterns included whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. - The associations remained after accounting for genetic differences, according to the reported analysis. Summary: The study reports that following any of several balanced, minimally processed dietary patterns was associated with modest increases in estimated life expectancy and that these associations persisted after adjusting for genetic risk. The findings reinforce links between plant-forward foods and longevity reported in the analysis. Undetermined at this time.