Egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes: A meta-analysis

- Egg consumption increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases in a dose-response manner, especially in patients with diabetes.
- There is a dose-response positive relationship between egg consumption and the risk of diabetes.
- Individuals in other western countries seem to have a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases than the ones in the USA under high egg consumption.

ObjectivesTo assess the dose-response relationship between egg consumption and the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and diabetes.MethodsWe systematically searched MEDLINE database through December 2012. Fixed- or random-effects model was used to pool the relative risks (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Subgroup analyses was performed to explore the potential sources of heterogeneity. Weighted linear regression model was used to estimate the dose-response relationship.ResultsFourteen studies involving 320,778 subjects were included. The pooled RRs of the risk of CVD, CVD for separated diabetes patients, and diabetes for the highest vs lowest egg intake were 1.19 (95% CI 1.02-1.38), 1.83 (95% CI 1.42-2.37), 1.68 (95% CI 1.41-2.00), respectively. For each 4/week increment in egg intake, the RRs of the risk for CVD, CVD for separated diabetes patients, diabetes was 1.06 (95% CI 1.03-1.10), 1.40 (95% CI 1.25-1.57), 1.29 (95% CI 1.21-1.37), respectively. Subgroup analyses showed that population in other western countries have increased CVD than ones in USA (RR 2.00, 95% CI 1.14 to 3.51 vs 1.13, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.30, P = 0.02 for subgroup difference).ConclusionsOur study suggests that there is a dose-response positive association between egg consumption and the risk of CVD and diabetes.