(P12-19-26) Avocado Intake and Risk of Gastrointestinal Disorders: A Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study

Saturday, July 25, 2026

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM ET

Location: Poster Board C-69

Presenting Author(s)

Wenying Gao, MD, MSc

PhD Candidate
School of Public Health, Institute of Nutrition, Fudan University
Shanghai, Shanghai, China (People's Republic)

Co-Author(s)

Feon Cheng, PhD, MPH, RDN, CHTS-CP

Nutrition Epidemiologist
Avocado Nutrition Center
MISSION VIEJO, California, United States
Nikki A. Ford, PhD

Senior Director of Nutrition
Avocado Nutrition Center
Mission viejo, California, United States
XG

Xiang Gao, MD, PhD

School of Public Health, Institute of Nutrition, Fudan University

Disclosure(s):

Wenying Gao, MD, MSc: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Nikki A. Ford, PhD: Hass Avocado Board: Employee (Ongoing)

Objectives: To examine the associations between avocado intake and the risk of gastrointestinal disorders, including diverticular disease, inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Methods: This prospective cohort study used data from the UK Biobank and included adults who had available dietary assessment data and were free of gastrointestinal disorders at baseline. Avocado intake was assessed using web-based 24-hour dietary recalls (Oxford WebQ), with 1–5 assessments per participant, and categorized as consumer versus non-consumer. Incident gastrointestinal disorders were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for total energy intake, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. Dose–response associations were evaluated by modeling avocado intake continuously.

Results: Among 193,900 participants (mean age 56.0 ± 8.0 years; 55.2% women; 95.4% White) followed for a median of 10.42 years, we identified 10,681 incident cases of diverticular disease, 588 of IBD, and 1,597 of IBS. After full adjustment, avocado consumers had a lower risk of diverticular disease compared with non-consumers (HR 0.90; 95% CI 0.83–0.98). No significant associations were observed for IBD (HR 0.89; 95% CI 0.61–1.29) or IBS (HR 1.10; 95% CI 0.90–1.34). In dose–response analyses, each additional avocado consumed per day was associated with a 22% lower risk of diverticular disease (HR 0.78; 95% CI 0.63–0.97; P-trend = 0.04).

Conclusions: In this large prospective cohort, avocado intake was associated with a lower risk of diverticular disease but not with other gastrointestinal disorders. Avocado fiber may increase stool bulk and colonic transit while fermentation-derived short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate support colonocyte metabolism and epithelial barrier integrity. These mechanisms may be more relevant to structural colonic disorders than to functional (IBS) or immune-mediated (IBD).

Funding Sources: This research was supported by the Avocado Nutrition Center.