Associations of 100% fruit juice versus whole fruit with hypertension and diabetes risk in postmenopausal women: Results from the Women's Health Initiative

The objective of this study was to determine whether consumption of 100% fruit juice as compared to whole fruit is associated with increased risk of hypertension or diabetes. We analyzed postmenopausal women in the United States enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative between 1993 and 1998. Whole fruit and 100% fruit juice intake were assessed by baseline food frequency questionnaire. Standardized questionnaires assessed outcomes every 6-12 months during a mean 7.8 years of follow-up. Cox regression estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for incident hypertension (n = 36,314 incident cases/80,539 total participants) and diabetes (n = 11,488 incident cases/114,219 total participants). In multivariable analyses there was no significant association comparing the highest to lowest quintiles of 100% fruit juice consumption (8 oz/day compared to none) and incident hypertension (HR 1.00, 95% CI 0.97-1.03) or diabetes (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.90-1.03). There was also no significant association between whole fruit consumption (2.4 servings/day compared to 0.3 servings/day) and incident hypertension (HR 1.02, 95% CI 0.98-1.05) or diabetes (HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.96-1.10). Consuming moderate amounts of 100% fruit juice or whole fruit was not significantly associated with risk of hypertension or diabetes among postmenopausal US women.