Plant-based diet lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes

A more plant-based and less animal-based diet may lower the risk of insulin resistance, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes (T2D), according to a new study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology.

Vegan or vegetarian diets have been suggested to reduce the risk of T2D. However, not much is known on whether variation in the degree of having a plant-based versus animal-based diet may be beneficial for prevention of T2D.

Zhangling Chen, Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University, Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and colleagues conducted the study to investigate whether the level of adherence to a diet high in plant-based foods and low in animal-based foods is associated with insulin resistance, prediabetes, and T2D.

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The study involved 6798 participants (62.7 ± 7.8 years) from the Rotterdam Study (RS), a prospective population-based cohort in the Netherlands. Dietary intake data were collected with food-frequency questionnaires at baseline of three sub-cohorts of RS (RS-I-1: 1989–1993, RS-II-1: 2000–2001, RS-III-1: 2006–2008). A continuous plant-based dietary index (range 0–92) assessing adherence to a plant-based versus animal-based diet was constructed.

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Key Findings:

• During median 5.7, and 7.3 years of follow-up, 928 prediabetes cases, and 642 T2D cases were documented.


• After adjusting for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, a higher score on the plant-based dietary index was associated with lower insulin resistance (per 10 units higher score: β = −0.09; 95% CI: − 0.10; − 0.08), lower prediabetes risk (HR = 0.89; 95% CI: 0.81; 0.98), and lower T2D risk [HR = 0.82 (0.73; 0.92)].


• After additional adjustment for BMI, associations attenuated and remained statistically significant for longitudinal insulin resistance [β = −0.05 (− 0.06; − 0.04)] and T2D risk [HR = 0.87 (0.79; 0.99)], but no longer for prediabetes risk [HR = 0.93 (0.85; 1.03)].

"In this large population-based cohort, we observed that a diet higher in plant-based foods and lower in animal-based foods was associated with lower insulin resistance, and a lower risk of prediabetes and T2D, suggesting a protective role of a more plant-based opposed to a more animal-based diet in the development to T2D, beyond strict adherence to a vegetarian or vegan diet. These findings strengthen recent dietary recommendations to adopt a more plant-based diet," concluded the authors.

For further reference follow the link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-018-0414-8