Several healthy eating patterns may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes across diverse ethnic groups

A large new meta-analysis of more than 800,000 participants to be presented at this year's Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria (15-19 September) shows that high adherence to three well-established healthy eating patterns is linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, regardless of one's ethnicity. The study is led by PhD student and Gates Cambridge Scholar Ms Jia Yi Lee, Professor Nita Forouhi, and colleagues from the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, UK.

The study investigated three healthy dietary patterns: the Mediterranean Diet, the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH). All three have been recommended for general health and their potential to reduce chronic disease risk.

Through a systematic search of published studies, the authors identified 33 publications reporting the association between these dietary patterns and type 2 diabetes. When all the available evidence was combined, the results showed that people who were in the top 10% for adherence to each dietary pattern had significantly lower risks of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those with the 10% lowest adherence : a 17% lower risk for the Mediterranean Diet, a 21% lower risk for AHEI, and a 23% lower risk for the DASH diet. Importantly, the potential benefits of these dietary patterns did not appear to vary significantly across African, Asian, European, and Hispanic ethnic groups, despite known ethnic differences in dietary culture, as well as diabetes risk.

While some of the lowered risks did not reach statistical significance among Hispanics and mixed ethnic groups, this may be due to the limited data available from non-European ethnic groups in existing studies. Over one-third of the data included in this analysis came from people of European descent, highlighting the need for more research from underrepresented populations.

The authors conclude: "Although more research is needed in specific populations, this study strengthens the evidence that the Mediterranean, AHEI, and DASH dietary patterns may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes across diverse ethnic groups, and that they can be promoted across all populations."

This analysis is part of a larger ongoing review examining the associations of various dietary patterns, including plant-based dietary patterns (that include vegetarian and vegan diets) with type 2 diabetes risk. The researchers will further determine whether similar benefits extend across ethnic groups for these other dietary patterns.