Here's are few references from MEDLINE on the topic:
Appleby PN. Thorogood M. Mann JI. Key TJ.
Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Radcliffe Infirmary,
Oxford, United Kingdom. [log in to unmask]
The Oxford Vegetarian Study: an overview.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 70(3 Suppl):525S-531S, 1999 Sep.
The Oxford Vegetarian Study is a prospective study of 6000 vegetarians and
5000 nonvegetarian control subjects recruited in the United Kingdom between
1980 and 1984. Cross-sectional analyses of study data showed that vegans had
lower total- and LDL-cholesterol concentrations than did meat eaters;
vegetarians and fish eaters had intermediate and similar values. Meat and
cheese consumption were positively associated, and dietary fiber intake was
inversely associated, with total-cholesterol concentration in both men and
women. After 12 y of follow-up, all-cause mortality in the
whole cohort was roughly half that in the population of England and Wales
(standardized mortality ratio, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.42, 0.51).
After adjusting for smoking, body mass index, and social class, death rates
were lower in non-meat-eaters than in meat eaters for each of the
mortality endpoints studied [relative risks and 95% CIs:
0.80 (0. 65, 0.99) for all causes of death, 0.72 (0.47, 1.10) for ischemic
heart disease, and 0.61 (0.44, 0.84) for all malignant neoplasms].
Mortality from ischemic heart disease was also positively
associated with estimated intakes of total animal fat, saturated animal fat,
and dietary cholesterol. Other analyses showed that non-meat-eaters had only
half the risk of meat eaters of requiring an emergency appendectomy, and that
vegans in Britain may be at risk for iodine deficiency. Thus, the health of
vegetarians in this study is generally good and compares favorably with that
of the nonvegetarian control subjects. Larger studies are needed to examine
rates of specific cancers and other diseases among vegetarians.
Sabate J.
Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, CA
92350, USA. [log in to unmask]
Nut consumption, vegetarian diets, ischemic heart disease risk, and all-cause
mortality: evidence from epidemiologic studies. [Review] [30 refs]
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 70(3 Suppl):500S-503S, 1999 Sep.
Perhaps one of the most unexpected and novel findings in nutritional
epidemiology in the past 5 y has been that nut consumption seems to protect
against ischemic heart disease (IHD). Frequency and quantity of nut
consumption have been documented to be higher in vegetarian than in
nonvegetarian populations. Nuts also constitute an important part of other
plant-based diets, such as Mediterranean and Asian diets. In a large,
prospective epidemiologic study of Seventh-day Adventists in California, we
found that frequency of nut consumption had a substantial and highly
significant inverse association with risk of myocardial infarction and death
from IHD. The Iowa Women's Health Study also documented an association
between nut consumption and decreased risk of IHD. The protective effect of
nuts on IHD has been found in men and women and in the elderly. Importantly,
nuts have similar associations in both vegetarians and nonvegetarians. The
protective effect of nut consumption on IHD is not offset by increased
mortality from other causes. Moreover, frequency of nut
consumption has been found to be inversely related to all-cause
mortality in several population groups such as whites,
blacks, and the elderly. Thus, nut consumption may not only offer protection
against IHD, but also increase longevity. [References: 30]
Key TJ. Fraser GE. Thorogood M. Appleby PN. Beral V. Reeves G. Burr ML.
Chang-Claude J. Frentzel-Beyme R. Kuzma JW. Mann J. McPherson K.
Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Oxford, United
Kingdom. [log in to unmask]
Mortality in vegetarians and nonvegetarians: detailed
findings from a collaborative analysis of 5 prospective studies.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 70(3 Suppl):516S-524S, 1999 Sep.
We combined data from 5 prospective studies to compare the death rates from
common diseases of vegetarians with those of nonvegetarians with similar
lifestyles. A summary of these results was reported previously; we report
here more details of the findings. Data for 76172 men and women were
available. Vegetarians were those who did not eat any meat or fish (n =
27808). Death rate ratios at ages 16-89 y were calculated by Poisson
regression and all results were adjusted for age, sex, and smoking status. A
random-effects model was used to calculate pooled estimates of effect for all
studies combined. There were 8330 deaths after a mean of 10.6 y of follow-up.
Mortality from ischemic heart disease was 24% lower in
vegetarians than in nonvegetarians (death rate ratio: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.62,
0.94; P<0.01). The lower mortality from ischemic heart
disease among vegetarians was greater at younger ages and was restricted to
those who had followed their current diet for >5 y. Further categorization of
diets showed that, in comparison with regular meat eaters,
mortality from ischemic heart disease was 20% lower in
occasional meat eaters, 34% lower in people who ate fish but not meat, 34%
lower in lactoovovegetarians, and 26% lower in vegans. There were no
significant differences between vegetarians and nonvegetarians in
mortality from cerebrovascular disease, stomach cancer,
colorectal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, or all other
causes combined.
Fraser GE.
Center for Health Research and the Department of Epidemiology and
Biostatistics, Loma Linda University, CA 92350, USA. [log in to unmask]
Associations between diet and cancer, ischemic heart disease, and all-cause
mortality in non-Hispanic white California Seventh-day Adventists.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 70(3 Suppl):532S-538S, 1999 Sep.
Results associating diet with chronic disease in a cohort of 34192 California
Seventh-day Adventists are summarized. Most Seventh-day Adventists do not
smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol, and there is a wide range of dietary
exposures within the population. About 50% of those studied ate meat products
<1 time/wk or not at all, and vegetarians consumed more tomatoes, legumes,
nuts, and fruit, but less coffee, doughnuts, and eggs than did
nonvegetarians. Multivariate analyses showed significant associations between
beef consumption and fatal ischemic heart disease (IHD) in men [relative risk
(RR) = 2.31 for subjects who ate beef > or =3 times/wk compared with
vegetarians], significant protective associations between nut consumption and
fatal and nonfatal IHD in both sexes (RR approximately 0.5 for subjects who
ate nuts > or =5 times/wk compared with those who ate nuts <1 time/wk), and
reduced risk of IHD in subjects preferring whole-grain to white bread. The
lifetime risk of IHD was reduced by approximately 31% in those who consumed
nuts frequently and by 37% in male vegetarians compared with nonvegetarians.
Cancers of the colon and prostate were significantly more likely in
nonvegetarians (RR of 1.88 and 1.54, respectively), and frequent beef
consumers also had higher risk of bladder cancer. Intake of legumes was
negatively associated with risk of colon cancer in nonvegetarians and risk of
pancreatic cancer. Higher consumption of all fruit or dried fruit was
associated with lower risks of lung, prostate, and pancreatic cancers.
Cross-sectional data suggest vegetarian Seventh-day Adventists have lower
risks of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and arthritis than nonvegetarians.
Thus, among Seventh-day Adventists, vegetarians are healthier than
nonvegetarians but this cannot be ascribed only to the absence of meat.
Key TJ. Fraser GE. Thorogood M. Appleby PN. Beral V. Reeves G. Burr ML.
Chang-Claude J. Frentzel-Beyme R. Kuzma JW. Mann J. McPherson K.
Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Oxford, UK.
[log in to unmask]
Mortality in vegetarians and non-vegetarians: a
collaborative analysis of 8300 deaths among 76,000 men and women in five
prospective studies.
Public Health Nutrition. 1(1):33-41, 1998 Mar.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the mortality rates of vegetarians and
non-vegetarians. DESIGN: Collaborative analysis using original data from five
prospective studies. Death rate ratios for vegetarians compared to
non-vegetarians were calculated for ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular
disease, cancers of the stomach, large bowel, lung, breast and prostate, and
for all causes of death. All results were adjusted for age, sex and smoking.
A random effects model was used to calculate pooled estimates of effect for
all studies combined. SETTING: USA, UK and Germany. SUBJECTS: 76,172 men and
women aged 16-89 years at recruitment. Vegetarians were those who did not eat
any meat or fish (n = 27,808). Non-vegetarians were from a similar background
to the vegetarians within each study. RESULTS: After a mean of 10.6 years of
follow-up there were 8330 deaths before the age of 90 years, including 2264
deaths from ischaemic heart disease. In comparison with non-vegetarians,
vegetarians had a 24% reduction in mortality from ischaemic
heart disease (death rate ratio 0.76, 95% CI 0.62-0.94). The reduction in
mortality among vegetarians varied significantly with age at
death: rate ratios for vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians were 0.55 (95%
CI 0.35-0.85), 0.69 (95% CI 0.53-0.90) and 0.92 (95% CI 0.73-1.16) for deaths
from ischaemic heart disease at ages <65, 65-79 and 80-89 years,
respectively. When the non-vegetarians were divided into regular meat eaters
(who ate meat at least once a week) and semi-vegetarians (who ate fish only
or ate meat less than once a week), the ischaemic heart disease death rate
ratios compared to regular meat eaters were 0.78 (95% CI 0.68-0.89) in
semi-vegetarians and 0.66 (95% CI 0.53-0.83) in vegetarians (test for trend
P< 0.001). There were no significant differences between vegetarians and
non-vegetarians in mortality from the other causes of death
examined. CONCLUSION: Vegetarians have a lower risk of dying from ischaemic
heart disease than non-vegetarians.
Walter P.
Biochemistry Department, University of Basel, Switzerland.
Effects of vegetarian diets on aging and longevity. [Review][49 refs]
Nutrition Reviews. 55(1 Pt 2):S61-5; discussion S65-8, 1997 Jan.
Key TJ. Thorogood M. Appleby PN. Burr ML.
Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford.
Dietary habits and mortality in 11,000 vegetarians and
health conscious people: results of a 17 year follow up [see comments].
BMJ. 313(7060):775-9, 1996 Sep 28.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of dietary habits with
mortality in a cohort of vegetarians and other health
conscious people. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: United Kingdom.
SUBJECTS: 4336 men and 6435 women recruited through health food shops,
vegetarian societies, and magazines. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Mortality ratios for vegetarianism and for
daily versus less than daily consumption of wholemeal bread, bran cereals,
nuts or dried fruit, fresh fruit, and raw salad in relation to all cause
mortality and mortality from ischaemic
heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, all malignant neoplasms, lung cancer,
colorectal cancer, and breast cancer. RESULTS: 2064 (19%) subjects smoked,
4627 (43%) were vegetarian, 6699 (62%) ate wholemeal bread daily, 2948 (27%)
ate bran cereals daily, 4091 (38%) ate nuts or dried fruit daily, 8304 (77%)
ate fresh fruit daily, and 4105 (38%) ate raw salad daily. After a mean of
16.8 years follow up there were 1343 deaths before age 80. Overall the cohort
had a mortality about half that of the general population.
Within the cohort, daily consumption of fresh fruit was associated with
significantly reduced mortality from ischaemic heart disease
(rate ratio adjusted for smoking 0.76 (95% confidence interval 0.60 to
0.97)), cerebrovascular disease (0.68 (0.47 to 0.98)), and for all causes
combined (0.79 (0.70 to 0.90)). CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of health
conscious individuals, daily consumption of fresh fruit is associated with a
reduced mortality from ischaemic heart disease,
cerebrovascular disease, and all causes combined.
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