Relationship of carotid intima-media thickness and duration of vegetarian diet in Chinese male vegetarians

Abstract

ObjectiveMany studies have shown that vegetarian diet has beneficial effects on the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. However, the effect of vegetarian diet on carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), as well as the association between IMT and duration of vegetarian diet, are still unclear. The present study aims to investigate the influence of duration of vegetarian diet on cardiovascular risk factors, and more importantly on IMT among Chinese vegetarians.MethodsOne hundred and seventy-one Chinese male vegetarians were screened for metabolic profile, cardiovascular risk and carotid IMT. They were compared with 129 age-matched omnivores recruited from a community-based health project. The effects of confounding factors were adjusted by stepwise logistic regression analysis.ResultsCompared to the omnivores, the vegetarians had lower BMI, weight, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. Also, the levels of triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL-Cholesterol, LDL-Cholesterol, ApoA1, ApoB, uric acid, albumin and γ-glutamyltransferase were significantly reduced in vegetarians. Omnivores had significantly higher fasting blood glucose than that of vegetarians. However, there were no differences in fasting insulin, C-reactive protein and HOMA-IR between the two groups. IMT was thinner in the vegetarian group than in the omnivore group (0.59 ± 0.16 vs. 0.63 ± 0.10 cm, P < 0.05). The vegetarians were divided according to duration of vegetarian diet (< 6 years, 6 to ≤ 11 years, > 11 years), those in tertile 1 (< 6 years) and tertile 2 (6 to ≤ 11 years) had shown thinner IMT as compared to the omnivores, and tertile 3 had shown no reduction.ConclusionA decrease in multiple cardiovascular risk factors such as BMI, blood pressure and lipid profile was associated with vegetarian diet. Moreover, taking a low-calorie, low-protein, or vegetarian diet might have great beneficial effects on IMT through improved lipid profile, and the beneficial effects appeared to be correlated with the duration of vegetarian diet.

Plant-based diets for children as a means of improving adult cardiometabolic health

“…54 Finally, lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) have been reported in adult vegetarians (0.77 mg/L; standard error (SE) 1.29) for vegetarians; (1.30 mg/L; (SE 1.38)) for matched omnivores, P<0.01), 55 and a decrease in CRP was observed in adults adopting vegan diets (-28.2%; (SE 10.8%), P = .02). 56 Some studies have shown that healthy adult lacto vegetarians have significantly lower carotid intima media thickness (IMT) 57 , and the advantage was related to the duration of consuming the vegetarian diet 58 , but one study showed no such difference. 59 Altogether, a lower prevalence of cardio-metabolic risk factors among adults following plantbased diets is likely to be the primary reason why they have ~25% lower risk of developing ischemic heart disease.…”

Comparative Study of Serum Leptin and Insulin Resistance Levels Between Korean Postmenopausal Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian Women

“…The traditional Korean diet consists primarily of grain and vegetables. In numerous studies, Western countries have been clearly shown to have a long history of health problems caused by excessive intake of animal-based foods such as meat [ 5 6 7 ].…”

Major dietary patterns and carotid intima-media thickness in Bangladesh

“…For example, a recent series of studies comparing vegetarian and omnivore diets in Chinese men associated a vegetarian diet with decreased IMT (10; 11) . It is crucial to note, however, that specific nutritional deficiencies may be present in certain types of vegetable-based diets and can predispose adherents to adverse health outcomes, especially in a lean population (49; 50) .…”