Dietary patterns and CVD: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Epidemiological studies show that diet is linked to the risk of developing CVD. The objective of this meta-analysis was to estimate the association between empirically derived dietary patterns and CVD. PubMed was searched for observational studies of data-driven dietary patterns that reported outcomes of cardiovascular events. The association between dietary patterns and CVD was estimated using a random-effects meta-analysis with 95 % CI. Totally, twenty-two observational studies met the inclusion criteria. The pooled relative risk (RR) for CVD, CHD and stroke in a comparison of the highest to the lowest category of prudent/healthy dietary patterns in cohort studies was 0.69 (95 % CI 0.60, 0.78; I ²=0 %), 0.83 (95 % CI 0.75, 0.92; I ²=44.6 %) and 0.86 (95 % CI 0.74, 1.01; I ²=59.5 %), respectively. The pooled RR of CHD in a case-control comparison of the highest to the lowest category of prudent/healthy dietary patterns was 0.71 (95 % CI 0.63, 0.80; I ²=0 %). The pooled RR for CVD, CHD and stroke in a comparison of the highest to the lowest category of western dietary patterns in cohort studies was 1.14 (95 % CI 0.92, 1.42; I ²=56.9 %), 1.03 (95 % CI 0.90, 1.17; I ²=59.4 %) and 1.05 (95 % CI 0.91, 1.22; I ²=27.6 %), respectively; in case-control studies, there was evidence of increased CHD risk. Our results support the evidence of the prudent/healthy pattern as a protective factor for CVD.