Background/objectives: Lifestyle interventions such as dietary changes have been proposed to control the cardiometabolic risk factors and thus prevent cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD). We performed an umbrella review to investigate whether different dietary patterns affect CV risk in individuals with at least one cardiometabolic risk factor (hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome) but not established CVD.
Methods: We systematically searched the PubMed and Scopus databases (up to August 2024) for the systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Articles should be written in English and refer to a specific dietary pattern (such as Mediterranean diet, etc.). The population studied referred to adults with at least one cardiovascular (CV) risk factor.
Results: From 4512 records identified, we finally included 25 meta-analyses with a total of 329 associations. Strong evidence for a benefit was found for LCD with reductions in BW [MD: -4.79 (95% CI -5.85, -3.72) kg, p ≤ 0.001], SBP [MD: -6.38 (95% CI -7.84, -4.93) mmHg, p ≤ 0.001], TG [WMD: -5.81 (95% CI -7.96, -3.66) mg/dL, p ≤ 0.001], and fasting plasma insulin [MD: -15.35 (95% CI -19.58, -11.12) pmol/L, p ≤ 0.001], as well as for low-GI diet for the reduction of BW [SMD: -0.66 (95% CI -0.90, -0.43) kg, p ≤ 0.001].
Conclusions: Across many dietary patterns, LCD showed strong or highly suggestive evidence for a benefit on SBP, BW reduction, and lipid profile improvement. Secondarily, low-GI, DASH, and Portfolio and Nordic diets suggested beneficial effects on controlling CV risk.
Keywords: cardiometabolic risk factors; dietary pattern; umbrella review.