Cohort studyindependent cross-checkabstract checked I-GRN-115 standard review
Rice eating was not linked to heart disease in 200,000 Americans
Rice consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease: results from a pooled analysis of 3 U.S. cohorts.
Overview
Muraki I et al.. Am J Clin Nutr 2015 · PMID 25527760 · DOI 10.3945/ajcn.114.087551
Eating white or brown rice 5 or more times a week was not associated with higher cardiovascular risk.
Does the study support the specific claim? Partly · Methodological quality: high
Plain-language summary
Study explained simply
- What did the researchers want to find out?
Test rice and CVD.
- How was the study done?
Three cohorts.
- How many people, animals or samples were studied?
207,556 adults.
- What was actually found?
No association.
- How large was the observed effect?
HR 0.98 for white rice.
- What do the results mean in everyday life?
Moderate rice is not a heart risk.
- What are the study's limitations?
Low US intake.
- What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?
Supports moderate rice; not "unlimited".
- Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?
Moderate.
- What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?
Does not address diabetes or very high intake.
Scientific in-depth review
1. Full reference
- Authors
- Muraki I et al.
- Journal
- Am J Clin Nutr
- Year
- 2015
- Identifier
- PMID 25527760 DOI 10.3945/ajcn.114.087551 · PMC4266886
- Verification
- verified – PubMed efetch 2026-10-26; Crossref works API 2026-10-26
- Retracted
- no
- Corrections
- none
- Extent checked
- abstract only
- Conflicts of interest and funding
NIH grants
2. Research question
Is habitual white or brown rice consumption associated with cardiovascular disease?
3. Study design and population
- Study design
- Cohort study – Pooled analysis of three prospective cohorts (NHS, NHS II, HPFS)
- Population
US women and men free of CVD and cancer
- Country
USA
- Period
1984-2011
- Sample size
207,556; 12,391 CVD cases
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria
Free of CVD/cancer at baseline
4. Methods and endpoints
- Exposure / intervention
White, brown and total rice (FFQ)
- Comparator
<1 serving/week
- Endpoints
Fatal and non-fatal CVD
- Statistical methods
Cox models
5. Actual results
- Results
>=5 servings/week vs <1/week: white rice HR 0.98 (0.84-1.14); brown rice 1.01 (0.79-1.28); total rice 0.99 (0.90-1.08). Whites only: white rice 1.04 (0.88-1.22).
- Absolute risks
not reported in abstract
- Authors' conclusion
Greater habitual consumption of white or brown rice is not associated with CVD risk at current US intakes.
6. Strengths
- Very large
- Long follow-up
- Repeated diet measures
7. Weaknesses
- Low rice intake in US population
- FFQ
8. Risk of bias
- Orienting tool
- ROBINS-E
- Type of assessment
- simplified assessment (abstract only)
- Full formal assessment
- no
- Overall risk of bias
- low
- Rationale
Well-adjusted cohorts.
9. Assessment of the statistical interpretation
Precise null (CI 0.84-1.14).
10. Relevance to the specific claim
Supports that moderate rice intake (also in the context of arsenic) is not linked to heart disease.
11. Independent contrary findings
Intakes lower than in Egypt; T2D outcome not studied here.
12. Transferability to Germany and Europe
Moderate.
13. Overall methodological judgement
Good-quality null result.
| Multidimensional assessment | |
|---|---|
| Authenticity of the source | verified |
| Methodological quality | high |
| Risk of bias | low |
| Precision of results | high |
| Directness | direct |
| Reproducibility | replicated |
| Consistency with the overall evidence | consistent |
| Regional transferability | moderate |
| Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive) | not applicable |
14. Open questions
High-intake populations.
15. Linked fact checks
- Rice in all forms (including white rice) is allowed without restriction; 'rice is sugar' and two spoons of rice a day sustain life. – Studies supporting the claim
- Concerns about arsenic in rice are unfounded and can be dismissed ('we love arsenic'). – Studies supporting the claim