Arterial stiffness and cardiometabolic health in omnivores and vegetarians: a cross-sectional pilot study

Abstract

Objective Arterial stiffness is a strong predictor of cardiovascular mortality, and often precedes elevations in blood pressure. This cross-sectional pilot study examined differences in arterial stiffness, blood pressure, cardiometabolic markers, anthropometric outcomes, and inflammation in vegetarians and matched omnivores. Participants were healthy, non-smoking adults (18–65 years old) adhering to either a vegetarian/vegan or omnivore diet. Omnivores were matched to vegetarians using broad body mass index (BMI) categories. Results Arterial stiffness trended higher in omnivores versus vegetarians (7.0 ± 1.5 and 6.8 ± 1.1 m/s, respectively; p = 0.073). This trend was mainly driven by the male omnivores (p = 0.006 for gender effect and p = 0.294 for eating pattern effect). Omnivores displayed higher HDL concentrations compared to vegetarians, 63.8 ± 18.5 and 55.2 ± 16.9 mg/dL; however, total cholesterol/HDL ratio did not vary significantly between groups; p = 0.310. In men, a vegetarian eating pattern may reduce arterial stiffness; however, this benefit may be limited in women, particularly those who are premenopausal. Future research should examine arterial stiffness and cardiometabolic health outcomes in younger versus older female vegetarians, as these data can provide valuable insights on the role of plant-based eating patterns on arterial stiffness and cardiometabolic health.

The Influence of Dietary Interventions on Arterial Stiffness in Overweight and Obese Subjects

“…Thus, preventing arterial stiffness seems reasonable in improving cardiovascular health. In the literature, various nutritional interventions regarding arterial stiffness have recently been widely discussed [ 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 , …”

“…The beneficial influence of a low-fat meat diet is seen mainly in studies analyzing the impact of diets typical for omnivores and vegetarians/vegans on arterial stiffness, for example, lower PWV (−8%) in healthy male vegetarians ( n = 44) compared to the omnivore control sample ( n = 44; 7.1 ± 0.8 and 7.7 ± 0.9 m/s, respectively) [ 90 ]. Similarly, the study of Mayra et al has shown a tendency for higher arterial stiffness in omnivores versus vegetarians (7.0 ± 1.5 and 6.8 ± 1.1 m/s, respectively; p = 0.073), mainly male omnivores ( p = 0.006 for the effect of gender and p = 0.294 for the effect of the eating pattern effect), suggesting that the beneficial effect of the vegetarian eating pattern may be limited in premenopausal women [ 91 ].…”

Differences in carotid to femoral pulse wave velocity and carotid intima media thickness between vegetarian and omnivorous diets in healthy subjects: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…For atherosclerosis, the studies included a total of 227 and 247 healthy subjects for vegetarian and omnivorous diets, respectively (age range 24–60 years), and for arterial stiffness, the studies included a total of 253 and 259 healthy subjects for vegetarian and omnivorous diets, respectively (age range 20–70 years). Finally, six studies measured cf-PWv 26,27,29,31–33 as an index of arterial stiffness and seven studies measured c-IMT 24,25,27–31 as an index of atherosclerosis. Table 1 shows the characteristics of the included studies.…”

“…In total, 10 studies [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] were included in the systematic review and seven in the meta-analysis [24][25][26][27]30,32,33 (Fig. 1).…”

Can age be a modifiable risk factor? the impact of dietary patterns on the molecular mechanisms that underlie cardiovascular aging

“…Overall, intermittent fasting appears to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, portending improvement in inflammatory phenotypes such as hypertension, obesity, insulin resistance, and hyperlipidemia. Despite this promising evidence, there remains a need for additional large RCTs to assess the long-term impact of IF on inflammation as it pertains to cardiovascular risk [65,66] .…”