Association of plant-based dietary patterns with metabolic syndrome: baseline results from the Persian Kavar cohort study (PKCS)

The association between plant-based diet indices and metabolic syndrome: a systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis

“…Table 1 describes the characteristics of eligible studies [including 7 cross-sectional studies ( 3 , 5 , 21 , 22 , 24 – 26 ) and 2 cohort studies ( 4 , 23 )], which included a total of 34,953 participants. The eligible studies have been conducted in Iran ( 5 , 21 , 22 , 26 ), South Korea ( 23 , 24 ), China ( 4 ), Denmark ( 25 ), and the United States ( 3 ). These studies were published between 2020 and 2023.…”

“…However, it should be mentioned that this study did not evaluate the association between O-PDI and the risk of MetS. In addition, Jafari et al conducted a cross-sectional study in 2,225 healthy Iranian participants in order to evaluate the association between PDIs and odds of MetS ( 22 ). According to the study’s findings, there was a nonsignificant direct association between O-PDI and odds of MetS.…”

“…In addition, the results of a meta-analysis study conducted on longitudinal investigations including 698,707 participants who predominantly lived in the United States and the United Kingdoms indicated that individuals who were in the highest categories of plant-based diets compared to those in the lowest ones had a 14% lower risk of cardiovascular diseases ( 35 ). In recent years, several studies have been conducted to demonstrate whether adherence to PDIs is associated with MetS and its related components ( 3 , 4 , 22 , 24 , 26 ). Huo et al performed a longitudinal study among 9,949 Chinese adults in the framework of the China Health and Nutrition Survey, which demonstrated that throughout a five-year follow-up period, participants who were in the highest quintile of H-PDI compared to those in the lowest quintile of H-PDI had a 28% lower risk of MetS after controlling for cardiometabolic and lifestyle confounders ( 4 ).…”

“…The presence of low-grade inflammation, obesity, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and high blood pressure are the hallmarks of the MetS ( 1 ). The possible biological and nutritional factors explaining the association between H-PDI and the lower risk of developing MetS may be as follows: lower intake of animal-based foods and higher consumption of healthy plant-based foods including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and vegetable oils which claimed to accompany with lower levels of appetite, total energy intake, saturated fatty acid (SFA) and trans fatty acid (TFA), added sugar, sugar-sweetened foods, glycemic index, glycemic load, salty foods, as well as higher consumption of antioxidants, phytochemicals, polyphenols and isoflavones, vitamins, soluble and insoluble dietary fibers, which are all inversely associated with MetS and its components ( 5 , 12 , 22 , 44 ).…”

“…Recently, most studies have attempted to assess the association between PDIs and odds of MetS; however, their results have been inconclusive ( 3 – 5 , 21 – 26 ). It has been found that H-PDI and U-PDI were significantly associated with decreasing ( 22 , 25 ) and increasing ( 24 , 25 ) risk of MetS, respectively. In addition, Bhupathiraju et al demonstrated no significant association between PDIs adherence and risk of MetS, however, adherence to the H-PDI was significantly redeuced the risk of MetS component including obesity and elevated FBS ( 3 ).…”