Vegetarian Nutrition (VN) DPG Public Library

Choi Y, Larson N, Steffen LM, et al.
Journal: Journal of the American Heart Association
Published: 2021

Key Points

• Aim: The study aims to assess the relationship between plant-centered diet quality and the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) over a 32-year follow-up period.

• Study design: Prospective study including 4946 adults in the CARDIA prospective study, initially aged 18 to 30, and free of CVD in 1985–1986, followed until 2018.

• Measurement: Plant-centered diet quality was assessed using the A Priori Diet Quality Score (APDQS), which emphasizes higher consumption of nutritionally rich plant foods and limited consumption of high-fat meat products and less healthy plant foods.

• Results: Both long-term consumption and a shift toward a plant-centered diet were associated with a lower risk of CVD during the 32-year follow-up.

  • Long-term consumption of a plant-centered diet was associated with a 52% lower risk for CVD (95% CI, 0.28–0.81) for the highest quintile of time-varying average APDQS compared to the lowest quintiles.

  • A shift towards a plant-based diet over 13 years was associated with a 61% lower risk of CVD (95% CI, 0.19–0.81) in the subsequent 12 years when comparing the extreme quintiles.

  • Researchers also found strong inverse associations for CHD and hypertension-related CVD.

• The study suggests that consumption of a plant-centered, high-quality diet starting in young adulthood is associated with a lower risk of CVD by middle age.

• Significance: This study provides evidence for the benefits of making long-term changes towards a more plant-based diet.

Conclusion

Long-term consumption of a nutritionally rich plant-centered diet is associated with a lower risk of CVD. Increased plant-centered diet quality from young adulthood is linked to a lower subsequent risk of CVD in middle age.

Editor’s Note: The findings of this study support the idea that a nutritionally rich plant-centered diet can help prevent the development of cardiovascular disease. The tool used to measure diet allowed for flexibility in food choice and scored diets based on the variety of nutrient-rich plant foods included. The authors suggest that the exclusion of all animal foods from the diet may not be necessary and that allowing small amounts of animal products while primarily focusing on nutritionally rich plant foods may help maintain long-term stability in healthy eating. The aforementioned strengths of the measurement tool, long-term follow-up design, and high retention rate, may have contributed to the significant CVD risk reduction demonstrated by this study, which is substantially greater than other studies reviewed in this brief.