A Case-control Study on Potato Consumption and Risk of Stroke among Iranians

Previous studies on the correlation between dietary intakes and stroke have mostly focused on the dietary glycemic index (GI) of potatoes and there is no information regarding the correlation between potato consumption and risk of stroke. Therefore، the aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between potato consumption and risk of stroke in an Iranian population.

195 patients، who had had a stroke and were hospitalized in the neurology ward of Alzahra University Hospital، and 195 control patients from other wards of the hospital were selected by convenience non-random sampling method. Data on dietary intake were collected by the help of food frequency questionnaire. Other information was collected by the use of questionnaires.

Mean potato consumption was 31. 1 ± 3. 4 and 23. 4 ± 1. 3 g/d for cases and controls، respectively. Participants with the highest potato consumption were younger and more likely to be physically active. High potato consumption was associated with higher intakes of energy، fruits، vegetables، beans، and grains. After adjustment for age، sex، and total energy intake، we found that individuals with the highest potato consumption were more likely to have a stroke as compared with those with the lowest consumption (OR: 1. 9; 95% CI: 1. 0-3. 6). Even after additional control for smoking and physical activity، the correlation remained significant (OR: 1. 9; 95% CI: 1. 0-3. 6). Further adjustment for dietary intakes made the correlation non-significant (OR: 1. 1; 95% CI: 0. 5-2. 5). However، when BMI was taken into account in the final model، we found that individuals in the third quartile of potato consumption were significantly more likely to have a stroke (OR: 2. 2; 95% CI: 1. 0-4. 7).

We found evidence indicating a marginally significant independent correlation between potato consumption and risk of stroke. More studies are required to confirm this finding.