Cardiovascular disease mortality and cancer incidence in vegetarians: a meta-analysis and systematic review
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Prospective cohort studies have examined mortality and overall cancer incidence among vegetarians, but the results have been inconclusive. AIMS: The objective of the present meta-analysis was to investigate cardiovascular disease mortality and cancer incidence among vegetarians and nonvegetarians. METHODS: Medline, EMBASE and Web Of Science databases were searched for cohort studies published from inception to September 2011. Studies were included if they contained the relative risk (RR) and corresponding 95% CI. Participants were from the UK, Germany, California, USA, the Netherlands and Japan. RESULTS: Seven studies with a total of 124,706 participants were included in this analysis. All-cause mortality in vegetarians was 9% lower than in nonvegetarians (RR = 0.91; 95% CI, 0.66-1.16). The mortality from ischemic heart disease was significantly lower in vegetarians than in nonvegetarians (RR = 0.71; 95% CI, 0.56-0.87). We observed a 16% lower mortality from circulatory diseases (RR = 0.84; 95% CI, 0.54-1.14) and a 12% lower mortality from cerebrovascular disease (RR = 0.88; 95% CI, 0.70-1.06) in vegetarians compared with nonvegetarians. Vegetarians had a significantly lower cancer incidence than nonvegetarians (RR = 0.82; 95% CI, 0.67-0.97). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that vegetarians have a significantly lower ischemic heart disease mortality (29%) and overall cancer incidence (18%) than nonvegetarians.
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Plant-based diets have been associated with a lower risk of various diseases, including coronary heart disease.
“Plant-based diets have been associated with a lower risk of various diseases,(1–3) including coronary heart disease (CHD),(4–9) the leading global cause of death.(10)”
From Healthful and Unhealthful Plant-Based Diets and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in U.S. Adults (2017) · cites this paper as [4]
Prior studies have defined plant-based diets as vegetarian diets, which exclude some or all animal foods.
“With the exception of a recent investigation,(3) prior studies(4–9) have defined plant-based diets as ‘vegetarian’ diets, which constitute a family of dietary patterns that exclude some or all animal foods.”
From Healthful and Unhealthful Plant-Based Diets and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in U.S. Adults (2017) · cites this paper as [4]
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References 44 · Cited by 382
Research works printed but not linked: 4
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- Authors
- Huang, T., Yang, B., Zheng, J., Li, G., Wahlqvist, M. L., & Li, D.
- Affiliations
- Zhejiang University (CN)
- Monash University (AU)
- Venue
- Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism
- Publisher
- S. Karger AG
- Published
- 2012
- Volume
- 60
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 233-240
- ISSN
- 0250-6807 (ISSN-L)
- 1421-9697
- OpenAlex
- W2086077802
- Cited by
- 382
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 85 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 11
- FWCI
- 2.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiovascular Health and Risk Factors
- Keywords
- vegetarians, cardiovascular mortality, cancer incidence, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, circulatory diseases, all-cause mortality, plant-based diet, dietary habits
- MeSH terms
- California, Cardiovascular Diseases, Germany, United Kingdom, Humans, Japan, Neoplasms, Netherlands, Diet, Vegetarian, Incidence, Databases, Factual
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