The Association of Hot Red Chili Pepper Consumption and Mortality: A Large Population-Based Cohort Study

Mustafa Chopan, Senior Medical Student, and Benjamin Littenberg, Henry and Carleen Tufo Professor of Medicine, published an article today in PLoS ONE on the relationship of dietary spices with long-term mortality. Using data on over 16,000 Americans followed for up to 23 years, they demonstrated that consuming hot red chili peppers is associated with a 13% reduction in total mortality. The effect seems to be concentrated primarily in deaths due to Heart Disease or Stroke.

Chopan M, Littenberg B (2017) The Association of Hot Red Chili Pepper Consumption and Mortality: A Large Population-Based Cohort Study. PLOS ONE 12(1): e0169876. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169876