Association between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease events, diabetes and all-cause mortality

Abstract

PurposeThe association between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease (CVD) or type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains controversial. We investigated the association between egg consumption and risk of CVD (primary outcome), T2D and mortality in the Caerphilly prospective cohort study (CAPS) and National Diet and Nutritional Survey (NDNS).MethodsCAPS included 2512 men aged 45–59 years (1979–1983). Dietary intake, disease incidence and mortality were updated at 5-year intervals. NDNS included 754 adults aged 19–64 years from 2008 to 2012.ResultsMen free of CVD (n = 1781) were followed up for a mean of 22.8 years, egg consumption was not associated with new incidence of CVD (n = 715), mortality (n = 1028) or T2D (n = 120). When stroke (n = 248), MI (n = 477), heart failure (n = 201) were investigated separately, no associations between egg consumption and stroke and MI were identified, however, increased risk of stroke in subjects with T2D and/or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT, fasting plasma glucose ≥ 6.1 mmol/L), adjusted hazard ratios (95% CI) were 1.0 (reference), 1.09 (0.41, 2.88), 0.96 (0.37, 2.50), 1.39 (0.54, 3.56) and 2.87 (1.13, 7.27) for egg intake (n) of 0 ≤ n ≤ 1, 1 < n ≤ 2, 2 < n ≤ 3, 3 < n < 5, and n ≥ 5 eggs/wk, respectively (P = 0.01). In addition, cross-sectional analyses revealed that higher egg consumption was significantly associated with elevated fasting glucose in those with T2D and/or IGT (CAPS: baseline P = 0.02 and 5-year P = 0.04; NDNS: P = 0.05).ConclusionsHigher egg consumption was associated with higher blood glucose in subjects with T2D and/or IGT. The increased incidence of stroke with higher egg consumption among T2D and/or IGT sub-group warrants further investigation.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00394-017-1566-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease: three large prospective US cohort studies, systematic review, and updated meta-analysis

“…We screened a total of 763 studies, and 27 studies (28 including the current study) met inclusion criteria (supplemental fig 4) 56891011124546474850515253545556575859606162636465. Supplemental table 10 presents characteristics of the included studies.…”

“…In studies with only dose-response estimates, we calculated the relative risk for one egg per day and used this estimate in the meta-analysis of high versus low egg consumption. For studies that did not publish person years for each category of egg intake,68945464748 we imputed person years based on available data.…”

“…Many prospective studies on the association between egg intake and cardiovascular disease risk have provided conflicting findings. Some studies have reported no association between egg intake and risk of cardiovascular disease,567 some have reported a higher risk,89 and others have reported an inverse association with cardiovascular disease events1011 or subclinical measures 12. Even meta-analyses of prospective studies on egg consumption and cardiovascular disease risk did not provide consistent results and created further confusion 1314151617…”

Choline Intake as Supplement or as a Component of Eggs Increases Plasma Choline and Reduces Interleukin-6 without Modifying Plasma Cholesterol in Participants with Metabolic Syndrome

“…Previous findings about the effects of egg consumption on fasting blood glucose levels have been mixed. While some studies have reported higher egg consumption to be associated with higher blood glucose in people with impaired glucose tolerance [ 36 ], other research shows that egg consumption can improve blood glucose levels in people with pre-diabetes and type II diabetes [ 37 , 38 ]. The current study found that egg consumption did not negatively affect fasting blood glucose in people with MetS.…”

Dietary Cholesterol Intake Is Not Associated with Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in the Framingham Offspring Study

“…Few previous prospective studies have examined the direct relation between DC intake and T2DM or IFG. Most frequently, eggs have been used as a surrogate for dietary cholesterol intake and the effects on diabetes risk have been variable, with some studies suggesting an adverse effect and others finding eggs to be inversely associated with T2DM risk [ 12 , 15 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. A recent review concluded that any apparent adverse effect of egg consumption on either CVD or diabetes risk was most likely due to confounding by other dietary factors [ 28 ].…”