Rice intake and type 2 diabetes in Japanese men and women the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study

Background Refined carbohydrates have been suggested to deteriorate glucose metabolism however whether persons with elevated Intakes of white rice which is a major staple food for the Japanese experience Increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes remains unclear Objective We prospectively investigated the association between white rice intake and risk of type 2 diabetes Design Participants were 25 666 men and 33 622 women aged 45 75 y who participated in the second survey of the Japan Public Health Center based Prospective Study and who had no prior history of diabetes We ascertained food intake by using a validated 147 Item food frequency questionnaire Odds ratios of self reported physician diagnosed type 2 diabetes over 5 y were estimated by using logistic regressions Results A total of 1103 new cases of type 2 diabetes were sell reported There was a significant association between rice intake and an Increased risk of type 2 diabetes in women the multivariate adjusted odds ratio for the highest compared with lowest quartiles of rice Intake was 1 65 (95% Cl 1 06 257 P for trend = 0 005) In men the association was unclear although there was a suggestion of a positive association in persons who were not engaged in strenuous physical activity (P for trend = 0 08) Conclusions Elevated intake of white rice is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in Japanese women The finding that is suggestive of a positive association of rice intake in physically inactive men deserves further investigation Am J Clin Nutr 2010 92 1468-77