Moderate egg consumption not associated with higher cardiovascular disease risk
March 5, 2020
Science Daily/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Consuming up to one egg per day does not appear to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, according to a new study and meta-analysis led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
"Recent studies reignited the debate on this controversial topic, but our study provides compelling evidence supporting the lack of an appreciable association between moderate egg consumption and cardiovascular disease," said first author Jean-Philippe Drouin-Chartier, visiting scientist in the Department of Nutrition and assistant professor at Laval University in Québec, Canada. The study will be published online March 4, 2020 in the BMJ.
The relationship between egg consumption and CVD risk has been a topic of intense debate in the scientific community in recent decades. Just in the past 12 months, three published studies have reported conflicting results.
The new findings update a 1999 study -- the first major analysis of eggs and cardiovascular disease -- that found no association between eggs and CVD risk. That study was led by Frank Hu, Fredrick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology, chair of the Department of Nutrition, and a co-author of the current study.
For this study, researchers analyzed health data from 173,563 women and 90,214 men participating in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) I and II, and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) who were free of CVD, type 2 diabetes, and cancer at baseline. They used repeated measures of diet during up to 32 years of follow-up to gain a detailed picture of potentially confounding lifestyle factors such as high body mass index and red meat consumption. The researchers also conducted the largest meta-analysis of this topic, including 28 prospective cohort studies with up to 1.7 million participants.
The analysis of NHS and HPFS participants found no association between moderate egg consumption and risk of CVD. Results from the meta-analysis supported this finding in U.S. and European populations; however, some evidence suggested that moderate egg consumption may be associated with lower CVD risk in Asian populations although this may be confounded by the overall dietary pattern.
Study co-author Shilpa Bhupathiraju, research scientist in the Harvard Chan School Department of Nutrition and associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said that while moderate egg consumption can be part of a healthy eating pattern, it is not essential. "There is a range of other foods that can be included in a healthy breakfast, such as whole grain toasts, plain yogurt, and fruits."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200305002842.htm
An egg a day not tied to risk of heart disease
January 27, 2020
Science Daily/McMaster University
The controversy about whether eggs are good or bad for your heart health may be solved, and about one a day is fine. A team of researchers found the answer by analyzing data from three large, long-term multinational studies.
A team of researchers from the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences found the answer by analyzing data from three large, long-term multinational studies.
The results suggest there is no harm from consuming eggs. Given that the majority of individuals in the study consumed one or fewer eggs per day, it would be safe to consume this level, says Mahshid Dehghan, first author and a PHRI investigator.
"Moderate egg intake, which is about one egg per day in most people, does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease or mortality even if people have a history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes," she said.
"Also, no association was found between egg intake and blood cholesterol, its components or other risk factors. These results are robust and widely applicable to both healthy individuals and those with vascular disease."
The details are published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Although eggs are an inexpensive source of essential nutrients, some guidelines have recommended limiting consumption to fewer than three eggs a week due to concerns they increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Previous studies on egg consumption and diseases have been contradictory, said Salim Yusuf, principal investigator of the study and director of PHRI.
"This is because most of these studies were relatively small or moderate in size and did not include individuals from a large number of countries," he said.
The researchers analyzed three international studies conducted by the PHRI. Egg consumption of 146,011 individuals from 21 countries was recorded in the PURE study and in 31,544 patients with vascular disease from the ONTARGET and the TRANSEND studies.
The data from these three studies involved populations from 50 countries spanning six continents at different income levels, so the results are widely applicable, said Yusuf.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200127134727.htm