Mortality in vegetarians and non-vegetarians

A collaborative analysis of 8300 deaths among 76,000 men and women in five prospective studies

Bibliographic Data

ID15097657
AuthorsTimothy J Key (0000-0003-2294-307X, World Cancer Research Fund International, corresponding author), Gary E Fraser (0000-0002-5577-3524, Loma Linda University), Margaret Thorogood (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine), Paul N Appleby, Valerie Beral (0000-0002-3581-9361), Gillian Reeves (0000-0003-3035-4697), Michael L Burr, Jenny Chang-Claude (0000-0001-8919-1971), Jenny C Chang (0000-0002-0890-9302, German Cancer Research Center), Rainer Frentzel-Beyme, Rainer Frentzel‐Beyme (Bremer Umweltinstitut), Jan W Kuzma (0009-0001-7721-7748, Loma Linda University), Jim Mann (0000-0001-7048-7844, University of Otago), Klim Mcpherson (0000-0002-5461-2569, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine)
Year1998
Volume1
Issue1
Pages33-41
Publication date1998-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Health Nutrition (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1368-9800 • E-ISSN: 1475-2727
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1079/phn19980006
PMID10555529
OpenAlexW2054969598
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited29

Objective: To compare the mortality rates of vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Design: Collaborative analysis using original data from five prospective studies. Death rate ratios for vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians were calculated for ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, cancers of the stomach, large bowel, lung, breast and prostate, and for all causes of death. All results were adjusted for age, sex and smoking. A random effects model was used to calculate pooled estimates of effect for all studies combined. Setting: USA, UK and Germany. Subjects: 76, 172 men and women aged 16–89 years at recruitment. Vegetarians were those who did not eat any meat or fish (n = 27,808). Non-vegetarians were from a similar background to the vegetarians within each study. Results: After a mean of 10.6 years of follow-up there were 8330 deaths before the age of 90 years, including 2264 deaths from ischaemic heart disease. In comparison with non-vegetarians, vegetarians had a 24% reduction in mortality from ischaemic heart disease (death rate ratio 0.76, 95% CI 0.62–0.94). The reduction in mortality among vegetarians varied significantly with age at death: rate ratios for vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians were 0.55 (95% CI 0.35—0.85), 0.69 (95% CI 0.53–0.90) and 0.92 (95% CI 0.73–1.16) for deaths from ischaemic heart disease at ages Conclusion: Vegetarians have a lower risk of dying from ischaemic heart disease than non-vegetarians

Cause of death · Disease · Ischaemic heart disease · Mortality rate · Prospective cohort study · Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact · Clinical Nutrition and Gastroenterology · Demography · Medicine · Nutritional Studies and Diet · Internal Medicine