Association of Ginseng Consumption With All-cause and Cause-specific Mortality: Shanghai Women's Health Study.

backgroundGinseng, an herbal remedy, has been commonly used in Asian countries to promote longevity and health for over 2,000 years. However, the association of ginseng consumption with 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).

methodsThis study included 56,183 female participants with an average follow-up of 14.7 years in the Shanghai Women's Health Study, 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 (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for ginseng-mortality associations after adjusting for confounders.

resultsCompared with those who never used ginseng, regular ginseng use was associated with 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.

conclusionRegular ginseng consumption, particularly over a long duration, was associated with decreased risk of all causes of death, death due to CVD, and death due to certain other diseases.