[ad_1]
"It seems that the lower risk of coronary heart disease outweighs the higher risk of stroke, if we look at the absolute numbers," said lead researcher Tammy Tong, a nutrition epidemiologist at Nuffield's Department of Health. the population of Oxford University. .
This is the first study to examine the risk of stroke in vegetarians, Tong said. The research found that vegetarians and vegans had a 20% greater risk of stroke than meat eaters, especially hemorrhagic stroke – caused when the blood was high. an artery begins to bleed into the brain. This results in 3 other strokes per 1,000 people over 10 years.
The exact reasons for this higher risk among vegetarians are unclear, said Tong. It may be due to "very low levels of cholesterol or certain nutrients," she said.
"Some evidence suggests that very low cholesterol levels could be associated with a slightly higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke," she said. Similarly, other research indicates that deficiencies in certain nutrients, such as vitamin B12, could be linked to a higher risk of stroke, Tong said.
Nevertheless, some researchers were skeptical about the discovery of a stroke.
Research shows that people who eliminate meat from their diet are much healthier than meat eaters, said Dr. Malcolm Finlay, consulting cardiologist at Barts Heart Center, Queen Mary University, London, at the Science Media Center. .
But he said the study put "too much weight on a complex statistical method to try to correct the fact that vegetarians were much healthier than meat eaters".
"Although this method may say that the risk of stroke is not as low as one might think in vegetarians, given their general welfare compared to carnivores, their Overall risk that a major cardiovascular event occurs always appears much lower, "said Finlay, who did not participate in the study.
No significantly higher stroke rate for pescetarians
Tong's research team tracked more than 48,000 people in the United Kingdom, aged on average 45 years old, grouped into meat eaters (24,428), pescetarians (7,506) and vegetarians, including vegans (16254). Participants were followed on average for 18 years and, during the study period, 2,820 cases of coronary heart disease and 1,072 cases of stroke.
The study's calculations took into account factors of influence, such as smoking or physical activity.
The study found that people on a pescetarian diet did not have a significantly higher stroke rate.
This could be due to the fact that cholesterol levels in fish consumers are not as low as those of vegetarians, explained Tong. It is also unlikely that they are suffering from a vitamin B12 deficiency, "because they can get vitamin B12 from fish and other animal products than they can." they consume, "she said.
While "vegetarians and vegans consume very little animal products, they can only get vitamin B12 through supplements or fortified foods," she added.
Vegetarians have a lower risk of heart disease
The research team found that vegetarians (including vegans) had 22% less risk of coronary heart disease than meat consumers. This equates to 10 less cases coronary heart disease in vegetarians only in carnivores per 1,000 people over 10 years of age.
The study shows that the risk of coronary heart disease was 13% lower in pescetarians than in carnivores.
The researchers suggest that this finding could be due to vegans, vegetarians and pescatarians with lower BMIs and lower rates of high blood pressure, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes.
Heart disease is more common than hemorrhagic stroke, which means that vegetarians have better cardiovascular health outcomes despite higher risk of stroke, said Stephen Burgess, group leader at the ### 39; MRC Biostatistics Unit of the University of Cambridge, at the Science Media Center.
"While the observed differences are small in magnitude, this study suggests that adopting a vegetarian diet might not be universally beneficial for all health outcomes," said Burgess, who said: did not participate in the study.
"With regard to cardiovascular health, switching to a vegetarian diet should not be considered an end in itself, but should be considered in conjunction with further changes in diet and lifestyle."
More research needed
"The participants all came from the UK, where eating habits and other lifestyles may differ from those in low- and middle-income countries, where most of the world's vegetarians live," Lawrence and McNaughton wrote. , who did not participate in the study. .
Tracy Parker, a senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said the study provided further evidence that herbal foods can reduce the risk of heart disease.
"However, it was also found that vegetarians, including vegans, were at a higher risk of stroke than meat eaters – potentially due to the lack of certain nutrients," she said. stated in an email. She has not been involved in the research either.
"While this is an interesting finding, this study is an observation and does not provide us with enough evidence, so further research in this area is needed."
The authors of the study also noted that further research was needed and indicated that the results were based on a largely white European population.
"Further studies in other large-scale cohorts with a high proportion of non-meat consumers are needed to confirm the generalizability of these findings and assess their relevance for clinical practice and public health," Tong said. .
[ad_2]
Source link