Plant-based diet associated with lower total and cardiac mortality

Higher plant protein consumption was found to be correlated to lower total and cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related mortality, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

In the prospective cohort study involving Japanese adults followed up for a mean of 18 years, researchers assessed the relationships between animal and plant protein consumption and all-cause and cause-specific mortality. The replacement of red meat protein or processed meat protein with plant protein was correlated with lower total, cancer-related, and CVD-related mortality. However, animal protein consumption was not related to mortality outcomes.

The study included 70,696 participants, ages 45 to 74 years from the Japan Public Health Center-Based Prospective Cohort who had no history of cancer, cerebrovascular disease, or ischemic heart disease at baseline. Researchers looked at data from January 1, 1995 through December 31, 1999, following up December 31, 2016. During that time, 12,381 deaths were documented.

Dietary intake information was collected through a validated food frequency questionnaire and used to estimate protein intake in all participants. Participants were grouped into quintile categories based on their protein intake, expressed as a percentage of total energy. Data were analyzed from July 18, 2017, through April 10, 2019.

Among participants, 45.5 percent were men and 54.5 percent were women. Consumption of animal protein exhibited no clear correlation with total or cause-specific mortality. However, consumption of plant protein was related to lower total mortality. This correlation with plant protein consumption was evident for CVD–related mortality and for cause-specific mortality, according to the study abstract.

For red meat protein, isocaloric substitution of 3 percent energy from plant protein was related to lower total, cancer-related, and CVD-related mortality and substitution for processed meat protein was correlated with lower total and cancer-related mortality, researchers said.

Although animal protein intake was not associated with mortality outcomes, replacement of red meat protein or processed meat protein with plant protein was associated with lower total, cancer-related, and CVD-related mortality.