Healthy Dietary Patterns Promote Reduced Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Across Ethnicities

A comprehensive meta-analysis involving over 800,000 participants has highlighted the protective effects of certain healthy eating patterns against type 2 diabetes, regardless of ethnicity. Presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting in Vienna, this research underscores the importance of dietary choices in chronic disease prevention.

Led by Ph.D. student Jia Yi Lee, along with Professor Nita Forouhi and colleagues from the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, the study examined three well-established dietary patterns: the Mediterranean Diet, the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH). These diets are widely recommended for their general health benefits and potential to decrease the risk of chronic illnesses.

The researchers conducted a systematic review of 33 published studies linking these dietary patterns to the incidence of type 2 diabetes. The combined results demonstrated that individuals with the highest adherence (top 10%) to each diet had significantly lower risks of developing the condition: a 17% reduction for the Mediterranean Diet, 21% for AHEI, and 23% for DASH.

Importantly, these protective effects appeared consistent across various ethnic groups, including African, Asian, European, and Hispanic populations, despite differences in cultural dietary practices and baseline diabetes risk. However, some of the reductions among Hispanic and mixed ethnic groups did not reach statistical significance, likely due to limited data from these populations, as over a third of the dataset was derived from individuals of European descent.

The authors emphasize that, while further research is necessary to confirm these findings in specific populations, promoting these dietary patterns universally could effectively reduce the global burden of type 2 diabetes. The study forms part of ongoing efforts to explore the impact of diverse dietary approaches, such as plant-based diets, on diabetes risk across different ethnic groups.

This research reinforces the message that adopting healthy eating habits like the Mediterranean, AHEI, and DASH diets can be beneficial for everyone, regardless of ethnic background, contributing to better health outcomes worldwide.