Dietary and Lifestyle Patterns and Their Associations with Cardiovascular and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Vegans, Vegetarians, Pescatarians, and Omnivores: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Vegans demonstrated the lowest body fat and visceral adipose tissue among the four dietary groups, along with the second-highest skeletal muscle mass.

• Study included 155 participants aged 18-39 years categorized into vegans (n=48), vegetarians (n=49), pescatarians (n=23), and omnivores (n=35)
• Body composition was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis
• Vegans had the lowest body fat percentage and visceral adipose tissue levels across all four dietary groups
• Vegans ranked second-highest in skeletal muscle mass among the four groups

Significant intergroup differences were observed in total cholesterol, HDL-C, and triacylglycerols across the four dietary groups.

• Total cholesterol differed significantly between groups (p = 0.032)
• HDL-C differed significantly between groups (p = 0.006)
• Triacylglycerols differed significantly between groups (p = 0.005)
• Blood samples were analyzed for lipid parameters, apolipoproteins, lipoprotein(a), and inflammatory markers including IL-6, TNF-α, and hsCRP

Among vegans, suboptimal lifestyle behaviors were associated with elevated LDL-C, non-HDL-C, and homocysteine levels.

• Associations were statistically significant (p < 0.05)
• Participants were stratified based on behavioral factors including physical activity, sleep duration, smoking, and alcohol consumption
• This finding indicates that dietary pattern alone does not confer full cardiovascular protection without accompanying healthy lifestyle behaviors

ApoB showed a positive correlation with BMI across participants.

• Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.517 between ApoB and BMI
• This was identified as one of two key correlations between body composition measures and cardiovascular/inflammatory biomarkers
• The correlation suggests higher BMI is associated with higher atherogenic lipoprotein levels regardless of dietary group

IL-6 showed a positive correlation with waist-to-hip ratio across participants.

• Spearman correlation coefficient ρ = 0.499 between IL-6 and waist-to-hip ratio
• IL-6 was one of three inflammatory markers measured alongside TNF-α and hsCRP
• This finding supports the association between visceral adiposity and systemic inflammation regardless of dietary pattern

Maintaining a healthy body weight and minimizing visceral adiposity are identified as essential for reducing cardiovascular and inflammatory risk regardless of dietary pattern.

• This conclusion was drawn from a cross-sectional study design, which limits causal inference
• The study included healthy young adults aged 18-39 years only, limiting generalizability to older or clinical populations
• Authors underscore the importance of integrating high-quality plant-based diets with lifestyle modifications and advanced modeling approaches