Hematological parameters and prevalence of anemia in white and British Indian vegetarians and nonvegetarians in the UK Biobank

Abstract

BackgroundThere may be differences in hematological parameters between meat-eaters and vegetarians.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to perform cross-sectional analyses of hematological parameters by diet group in a large cohort in the United Kingdom.MethodsA complete blood count was carried out in all UK Biobank participants at recruitment (2006–2010). We examined hemoglobin, red and white blood cell counts, and platelet counts and volume in regular meat eaters (>3 times/wk of red/processed meat consumption, n = 212,831), low meat eaters (n = 213,092), poultry eaters (n = 4815), fish eaters (n = 10,042), vegetarians (n = 6548), and vegans (n = 398) of white ethnicity and meat eaters (n = 3875) and vegetarians (n = 1362) of British Indian ethnicity.ResultsIn both white and British Indian populations, compared with regular meat eaters (or meat eaters in Indians), the other diet groups had up to 3.7% lower age-adjusted hemoglobin concentrations (difference not significant in white vegan women) and were generally more likely to have anemia (e.g., 8.7% of regular meat eaters compared with 12.8% of vegetarians in white premenopausal women; P < 0.05 after Bonferroni correction). In the white population, compared with regular meat eaters, all other diet groups had lower age- and sex-adjusted total white cells, neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, and eosinophils (P-heterogeneity < 0.001 for all), but basophil counts were similar across diet groups; in British Indians, there was no significant difference in any of the white blood cell counts by diet group. Compared with white regular meat eaters, the low meat eaters, poultry eaters, fish eaters, and vegans had significantly lower platelet counts and higher platelet volume, whereas vegetarians had higher counts and lower volume. Compared with British Indian meat eaters, vegetarians had higher platelet count and lower volume.ConclusionsIn the UK Biobank, people with low or no red meat intake generally had lower hemoglobin concentrations and were slightly more likely to be anemic. The lower white blood cell counts observed in low and non-meat eaters, and differences in mean platelet counts and volume between diet groups, warrant further investigation. This observational study was registered at http://www.isrctn.com/ as ISRCTN10125697.

The association between protein consumption from animal and plant sources with psychological distress in older people in the Mediterranean region

“…In Japan, higher intake of plant-based proteins, but not animal protein, was associated with lower total mortality [54]. The UK Bio bank cohort found people with no or low red meat intake were slightly more likely to be anaemic and had lower haemoglobin concentrations [55], while in the EPIC cohort, red and processed meat was positively associated with risk for ischemic heart disease [56]. Psychological distress can potentially be prevented through factors other than diet such as physical activity and exercise as these two factors possess anti-depressive effects through both biological and psychosocial mechanisms [57], and the combined effects of exercise and the type of protein in the diet warrant further investigation.…”

Meat consumption and risk of 25 common conditions: outcome-wide analyses in 475,000 men and women in the UK Biobank study

“…Moreover, previous cross-sectional work from the UK Biobank has shown that people who did not consume meat were more likely to be anaemic 41 . This association is likely related to the high availability of heme iron in meat, which is more easily absorbed than non-heme iron (found in plant sources) 42 Similar to our findings, meta-analyses of prospective cohort studies have consistently reported a positive association between red and processed meat consumption and risk of diabetes [43][44][45] .…”

Nutritional Status and the Influence of the Vegan Diet on the Gut Microbiota and Human Health

“…In contrast, there are significant deficiencies concerning other vitamins, including vitamin B12 and vitamin D. Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin that is found predominantly in products of animal origin, playing a vital role in hematopoiesis and nervous system, whereas a severe deficiency may occur by either alterations in absorption or nutritional insufficiency [23,54,55], resulting in several comorbidities such as megaloblastic anemia, stroke, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, vascular dementia, cognitive impairment, and more [2]. In order to prevent vitamin deficiency due to inadequate dietary intake, there is an urgent need for vegans to incorporate reliable vitamin B12 sources including vitamin B12-fortified foods such as fortified soy and rice beverages, certain breakfast cereals, or vitamin B12 dietary supplements which usually provide high absorption capacities [1,4,18,24,31,50].…”