STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Eating chocolate twice or more a week is associated with lower cardiac mortality in patients who suffered their first heart attack compared to patients who never eat chocolate, according to a new study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine.
The study followed 1,169 non-diabetic patients hospitalized with a confirmed first acute myocardial infarction (AMI) between 1992 and 1994 in Stockholm County, Sweden, as part of the Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program. Participants self-reported usual chocolate consumption over the preceding 12 months with a standardized questionnaire distributed during hospitalization and underwent a health examination thee months after discharge. Participants were followed for hospitalizations and mortality with national registries for eight years.
When compared with those never eating chocolate, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios were 0.73 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.41–1.31), 0.56 (0.32–0.99) and 0.34 (0.17–0.70) for those consuming chocolate less than once per month, up to once per week and twice or more per week respectively. Chocolate consumption generally had an inverse but weak association with total mortality and nonfatal outcomes. Intake of other sweets was not associated with cardiac or total mortality.