Other research in the past has also suggested that the risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease, high blood cholesterol and mortality can be reduced with a diet rich in grain products.
Experts say the lifetime risk of heart failure is estimated at 20 percent (one in five) for both men and women aged 40 years and over.
Heart failure, occurs when the heart muscle becomes weakened by a poor blood supply and sufferers become breathless and find even mild forms of exercise an effort.
Wholegrain cereal is one that contains at least 25% oats or bran.
The researchers from the Brigham and Women ™s Hospital (BWH) and Harvard Medical School, Boston, used data collected in the Physician ™s Health Study I to analyse the association between breakfast cereal intake and new cases of heart failure in a large group of men (21,376) with an average age of 53.
The men's cereal intake was estimated by using a food frequency questionnaire and the incident of heart failure was assessed by annual follow-up questionnaires over a 19 year period.
The study authors, Dr. Luck Djousse and Dr. Michael Gaziano found that 1,018 of the participants experienced heart failure; this number included 362 of 6,995 participants who did not eat any cereal, 237 of 4,987 of those who ate one serving or less per week, 230 of 5,227 of those who ate two to six servings per week and 189 of 4,167 of those who ate seven or more servings per week.
The authors say that the data demonstrates that a higher intake of whole grain breakfast cereals is associated with a lower risk of heart failure and confirms the results of other studies.
The study is published in the current issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
In the mid-1970s, a virus called SMAM-1 was believed responsible for an increased death rate among commercially raised chickens in India. SMAM-1 is associated with decreased immune function and an increased accumulation of body fat in infected chickens. Dr. Atkinson reports that one study tested 52 obese humans for antibodies to SMAM-1. About 20 percent had SMAM-1 antibodies, indicating exposure to this virus. The study participants who had these antibodies were heavier and had a higher body mass index compared with the antibody-negative group.
Dr. Atkinson's article also explores what current research has to say about the possible mechanisms underlying virus-induced obesity. Some research suggests that viral infections have a direct effect on adipocytes, cells that manufacture and store fat, turning on the enzymes of fat accumulation and recruitment of new adipocytes.
What's the next step for this research? According to Dr. Atkinson, the body of evidence linking adenoviruses to obesity in humans is now sufficient to think about the next step. Ideally, we could prevent infection and virus-induced obesity with a vaccine for the obesity viruses. Development of a human vaccine will take several years.
A peer-review journal, Mayo Clinic Proceedings publishes original articles, reviews and editorials dealing with clinical and laboratory medicine, clinical research, basic science research and clinical epidemiology. Mayo Clinic Proceedings is published monthly by Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research as part of its commitment to the medical education of physicians. The journal has been published for more than 80 years and has a circulation of 130,000 nationally and internationally. Articles are available online at mayoclinicproceedings.
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