Abstract

Background: Vitamin K–dependent proteins are important for maintaining lung structure and function, yet few studies have examined dietary vitamin K intake in relation to chronic respiratory disease. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the associations between dietary intakes of vitamin K1 and vitamin K2 and the incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and lung function. Methods: We analyzed data from 179,062 UK Biobank participants without COPD or asthma. Associations between dietary vitamin K1 and K2 intakes, estimated using the Oxford WebQ 24-h recall, and incident COPD and asthma, identified through hospital, death, and primary care records, were examined using Cox proportional hazards models. In cross-sectional analyses, associations of vitamin K intake with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and the FEV1/FVC ratio were assessed using splines within multiple regression. Stratified analyses were performed by sex, smoking status, and occupation. Results: Over 10.5-y follow-up, higher vitamin K1 intakes were associated with lower COPD rates, with inverse associations reaching a plateau above ∼250 μg/d [HRquintile (Q)5 compared with Q1: 0.84; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.75, 0.94], whereas no association was observed for vitamin K2. No associations were observed between vitamin K1 or vitamin K2 intakes and asthma. Higher vitamin K1 intakes (Q5 compared with Q1) were associated with better lung function (FVC: 44 mL; 95% CI: 35, 53 mL and FEV1: 32 mL; 95% CI: 25, 40 mL), whereas vitamin K2 showed weaker and nonlinear associations. Stronger associations between vitamin K1 and lung function were evident in smokers and participants with high-risk occupations. Conclusions: Higher dietary vitamin K1 intake was associated with better lung function and a lower rate of COPD. As vitamin K1 is abundant in green leafy vegetables (e.g., ∼1 serving of kale, ∼1½–2 cups), higher consumption of these foods within a healthy diet may be associated with favorable respiratory health.

Keywords

asthma, COPD, lung function, prospective cohort, vitamin K

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

6-1-2026

Volume

123

Issue

6

PubMed ID

42025963

Publication Title

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Publisher

Elsevier

School

Nutrition and Health Innovation Research Institute / School of Medical and Health Sciences

RAS ID

99310

Funding Information

This study was supported by a grant from Independent Research Fund Denmark (3101-00054B). PP is supported by a research grant from the Danish Diabetes and Endocrine Academy which is funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation (grant number: NNF22SA0079901). The salary of CPB is funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council Ideas Grant (grant number: APP2030071) and the Western Australian Future Health Research and Innovation Fund (grant number: WANMA/EL2023-24/2), an initiative of the Western Australian State Government. The salary of LZ is supported by an Emerging Leader Fellowship from the Western Australian Future Health Research and Innovation Fund (identification number: WANMA/EL2022/8), an initiative of the Western Australian State Government, and a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Ideas Grant (identification number: 2028286). BHP was supported by a Postdoctoral Fellowship (110456-2025) from the National Heart Foundation of Australia and a Priming Grant from the Raine Medical Research Foundation (RPG027-2025). This research was supported by Research Ireland, Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, and UK Research and Innovation via the International Science Partnerships Fund (grant number: 22/CC/11147) at the Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems. This study was also supported by resources provided by the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre’s Setonix Supercomputer (https://doi.org/10.48569/18sb-8s43), with funding from the Australian Government and the Government of Western Australia.

Grant Number

NHMRC Numbers : APP2030071, 2028286

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Comments

Li, C., Pokharel, P., Sim, M., Murray, K., Bondonno, C. P., Parmenter, B. H., Zhong, L., Dupuy, M., Meteran, H., Jakobsen, J., Linneberg, A., Kühn, T., Cassidy, A., & Bondonno, N. P. (2026). Dietary vitamin K intakes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, adult asthma, and lung function: A prospective cohort study in the UK Biobank. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 123(6), 101324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2026.101324

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1016/j.ajcnut.2026.101324