German vegan study: diet, life-style factors, and cardiovascular risk profile.
OBJECTIVE
Evaluation of cardiovascular risk profile in 154 German vegans.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study, Germany. Study instruments: 2 FFQ, 2 questionnaires, analyses of fasting venous blood samples.


RESULTS
The total study population had a low BMI (mean: 22.3 kg/m(2)), a moderate blood pressure (mean: 120/75 mm Hg), an extremely low consumption of alcohol (mean: 0.77 g/day) and 96.8% were nonsmokers. Moderate physical activity (PAL) was reported by nearly 50%, whereas 22.7% declared to have a high PAL (>3 h/week). Median triacylglycerol (TG) was 0.81 mmol/l, total cholesterol (TC) was 4.33 mmol/l, HDL was 1.34 mmol/l. The mean TC/HDL-ratio was 3.3. Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) was 8.13 mg/dl, concentrations of >30 mg/dl were prevalent in 25% of the participants. In general, status of folate and pyridoxine were sufficient, while 49.7% showed cobalamin concentrations <150 pmol/l. Plasma homocysteine levels were slightly elevated (median: 12.5 micromol/l). Cobalamin concentration and duration of vegan nutrition were the main determinants of homocysteine in the total study population.


CONCLUSIONS
Although TC and LDL concentrations were favorable, low HDL and elevated homocysteine and Lp(a) concentrations were unfavorable. Overall, these results confirm the notion that a vegan diet is deficient in vitamin B(12), which may have an unfavorable effect on CHD risk.
Waldmann
A
A
Institute of Food Science, Centre Applied Chemistry, University of Hannover, Germany.
Koschizke
J W
JW
Leitzmann
C
C
Hahn
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D014676:Diet, Vegetarian; D002149:Energy Intake; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood*; D014806:Vitamin B 12 Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*
D008055:Lipids; D014805:Vitamin B 12