Daijiworld Media Network - Berlin
Berlin, Jul 11: A plant-based diet may significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in people with severe autoimmune diabetes, according to findings from the German Diabetes Study (GDS).
Researchers analysed data from 612 adults who had either recently been diagnosed with diabetes or had been living with the condition for around five years.
Participants were classified into three diabetes subtypes: severe autoimmune diabetes (39.1 per cent), mild obesity-related diabetes (30.9 per cent), and mild age-related diabetes (30.1 per cent).
The researchers assessed participants' estimated 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease using the SCORE2 Diabetes risk model and evaluated their dietary habits through food frequency questionnaires.
The study found that participants with severe autoimmune diabetes who adhered more closely to healthy plant-based dietary patterns had a significantly lower estimated risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Each one standard deviation increase in the overall plant-based diet index was associated with a 6.8 per cent reduction in estimated cardiovascular risk. Similarly, every one standard deviation increase in the healthy plant-based diet index was linked to an 8.8 per cent lower estimated risk.
The researchers also found that the relationship between plant-based diets and cardiovascular risk differed significantly across diabetes subtypes.
No statistically significant association between dietary patterns and cardiovascular risk was observed among participants with mild obesity-related diabetes or mild age-related diabetes.
Higher dietary fibre intake was also linked to improved heart health among individuals with severe autoimmune diabetes. Each one standard deviation increase in fibre intake was associated with a 7.8 per cent reduction in estimated cardiovascular risk.
According to the researchers, greater consumption of fibre-rich foods such as nuts and legumes may have contributed to the beneficial effects, as higher intake of these foods was also associated with lower cardiovascular risk in this subgroup.
The findings suggest that plant-based dietary patterns and increased fibre intake may offer subtype-specific cardiovascular benefits for people with diabetes.
The researchers emphasised the need for further long-term and intervention-based studies to determine whether dietary factors have differing effects on future cardiovascular outcomes across various diabetes subtypes.