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Abstract Frequent fruit consumption has been associated with lower office blood pressure. Less is known about associations between fruit consumption and home blood pressure. Our aim was to study the correlation between consumption of specific fruits and home blood pressure in a large randomly selected study population. The main outcome was systolic home blood pressure. Home blood pressure measurements were performed with calibrated oscillometric meters during seven consecutive days. Means for all available measurements were used. Validated food frequency questionnaires were used for estimating frequency of fruit consumption. The specified fruits were bananas, apples/pears and oranges/citrus fruit. Complete case analysis regarding fruit consumption, office‐ and home blood pressure measurements and other relevant variables was performed in 2283 study participants out of 2603 available. Multivariable linear regression analysis was performed. There were statistically significant associations between consumption of all fruit types and lower systolic home blood pressure unadjusted (p for trend; bananas, apples/pears and oranges/citrus fruit p < .001). The numerical differences between most and least frequent consumption of fruit were for bananas ‐2.7 mm Hg, apples/pears ‐3.9 mm Hg and for oranges/citrus fruit ‐3.4 mm Hg. When adjusted for covariates, both consumption of apples/pears and oranges/citrus fruit had an independent statistically significant association with lower blood pressure (p = .048 resp. p = .009). Future controlled interventional studies are needed to evaluate the effect of specific fruit on home blood pressure.

Background and aim: Poor dental health status has been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Less is known about self-perceived dental health and cardiovascular risk. Our aim with this study was to investigate this association. Methods: Recruitment of T2D patients took place between 2005 and 2008 in Swedish primary care. Teeth satisfaction was assessed by questionnaire at baseline. The major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in this study were hospitalization due to myocardial infarction, stroke or cardiovascular death. Cox regression models were used. Results: Out of 761 participants 601 had complete data. Ninety-two MACEs occurred (median follow-up time: 11.6 years). Those satisfied with their teeth (n = 458) had 61 events (1.2 events per 100 person-years), while those dissatisfied with teeth (n = 143) had 31 events (2.2 events per 100 person-years). Dissatisfaction with teeth was associated with an increased risk of MACE independent of age, sex and levels of CRP (HR 1.85, 95% CI 1.20 – 2.86). Conclusions: In patients with T2D, dissatisfaction with teeth was associated with increased risk of MACE and may be considered as a marker of risk.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147149.].

BACKGROUND:Fruit has since long been advocated as a healthy source of many nutrients, however, the high content of sugars in fruit might be a concern. OBJECTIVES:To study effects of an increased fruit intake compared with similar amount of extra calories from nuts in humans. METHODS:Thirty healthy non-obese participants were randomized to either supplement the diet with fruits or nuts, each at +7 kcal/kg bodyweight/day for two months. Major endpoints were change of hepatic fat content (HFC, by magnetic resonance imaging, MRI), basal metabolic rate (BMR, with indirect calorimetry) and cardiovascular risk markers. RESULTS:Weight gain was numerically similar in both groups although only statistically significant in the group randomized to nuts (fruit: from 22.15 ± 1.61 kg/m(2) to 22.30 ± 1.7 kg/m(2), p = 0.24 nuts: from 22.54 ± 2.26 kg/m(2) to 22.73 ± 2.28 kg/m(2), p = 0.045). On the other hand BMR increased in the nut group only (p = 0.028). Only the nut group reported a net increase of calories (from 2519 ± 721 kcal/day to 2763 ± 595 kcal/day, p = 0.035) according to 3-day food registrations. Despite an almost three-fold reported increased fructose-intake in the fruit group (from 9.1 ± 6.0 gram/day to 25.6 ± 9.6 gram/day, p