Cor Vasa 2014, 56(2):e140-e144 | DOI: 10.1016/j.crvasa.2013.12.004

Vegetarian vs. conventional diabetic diet - A 1-year follow-up

Hana Kahleová^a,*, Martin Hill^b, Terezie Pelikánová^a

^a Centrum diabetologie, Institut klinické a experimentální medicíny, Praha, Česká republika

^b Endokrinologický ústav, Praha, Česká republika

Objective: Our previous 6-month, randomized study demonstrated the beneficial effect of a vegetarian (V) compared to a conventional diet (C) with similar caloric restriction on cardiovascular risk factors for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), namely increased insulin sensitivity, reduced body weight, reduced volume of visceral and subcutaneous fat, decreased LDL-cholesterol and improved oxidative stress markers and chosen adipokines. We conducted post-trial monitoring to determine whether the improved outcomes persisted 1 year after the end of the study.

Methods: 62 subjects with T2D who completed the study were asked to come for a 1-year follow-up to measure weight, waist circumference, HbA1c and blood lipids. No attempts were made to maintain their previously assigned diets.

Results: 44 patients (71%) attended the post-trial monitoring. Hypoglycemic agents were increased by 14% in V and by 26% in C; insulin therapy was introduced in 5% in V and in 13% in C one year after the end of the intervention. Neither weight nor waist circumference changed significantly in either group. HbA1c increased (p ≤ 0.05) similarly in both groups (+0.49 ± 1.04% in V vs. +0.42 ± 0.8% in C). Blood lipids did not change in either group.

Conclusion: 1 year after the end of the intervention, the positive effects of a vegetarian diet on cardiovascular risk factors compared to a conventional diet were partially maintained.

Keywords: Follow-up; Type 2 diabetes; Vegetarian diet

Received: October 10, 2013; Accepted: December 6, 2013; Published: April 1, 2014  Show citation