Article ID: JE20210393
Background: Ginseng, an herbal remedy, has been commonly used in Asian countries to promote longevity and health for over 2000 years. However, the association of ginseng consumption on all-cause and cause-specific mortality is still unclear. We analyzed the association of total and major cause-specific mortality (cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and other death) with consumption of ginseng (primarily American and white ginseng).
Methods: This study included 56,183 female participants with an average follow-up of 14.7 years in the Shanghai Women’s Health Study (SWHS), an ongoing prospective cohort study. Data were assessed via an in-person interview conducted at baseline recruitment. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for ginseng-mortality associations after adjusting for confounders.
Results: Compared with those who never used ginseng, regular ginseng use was associated with a significantly reduced all-cause mortality (HR=0.92, 95% CI: 0.87-0.98). This inverse association was seen primarily among those who consumed ginseng for perceived general health benefit (HR=0.90, 95% CI: 0.85-0.96). A significant dose-response association was observed between duration of ginseng use and total mortality (HR=0.85, for using ≥ 6 years vs never use, P for trend < 0.001), CVD mortality (HR=0.83, P for trend = 0.019), and other-cause mortality (HR=0.76, P for trend = 0.001). However, no dose-response association was observed between amount of ginseng consumption and mortality outcomes.
Conclusion: Regular ginseng consumption, particularly over a long duration, was associated with decreased risk of all causes of death, death due to CVD, and certain other diseases.
