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Association of mushroom consumption with all-cause and cause-specific mortality among American adults: prospective cohort study findings from NHANES III

Summary

This study followed over 15,000 American adults for nearly 20 years and found that people who ate mushrooms had a lower risk of dying from any cause compared to those who didn’t eat mushrooms. The more mushrooms people ate, the greater the benefit. Replacing red or processed meat with mushrooms was associated with even greater longevity benefits. Mushrooms’ beneficial effects likely come from their high antioxidant content, particularly compounds called ergothioneine and glutathione.

Background

Mushrooms are rich in bioactive compounds including ergothioneine and glutathione, which are potent antioxidants. Whether mushroom consumption is inversely associated with all-cause and cause-specific mortality remains uncertain in large-scale epidemiologic studies.

Objective

To prospectively investigate the association between mushroom consumption and all-cause and cause-specific mortality risk among American adults using data from NHANES III (1988-1994).

Results

During mean 19.5-year follow-up, 5,826 deaths occurred. Mushroom consumers had significantly lower all-cause mortality risk (HR=0.84; 95% CI: 0.73-0.98) with dose-response relationship (P-trend=0.03). Substituting one serving of mushrooms for red/processed meat associated with lower mortality (HR=0.65; 95% CI: 0.50-0.84). No significant associations found for cause-specific mortality.

Conclusion

  • Published in:Nutrition Journal,
  • Study Type:Prospective Cohort Study,
  • Source: PMID: 33888143, DOI: 10.1186/s12937-021-00691-8
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