Meta-analysisEffects of non-soy legume consumption on C-reactive protein: A systematic review and meta-analysis

- Non-soy legume consumption had a trend toward significant effect on C-reactive protein (CRP) and high-sensitivity (hs)-CRP.
- The effect of non-soy legume consumption was not significant in parallel studies or crossover trials.
- The effect of non-soy legume intake on CRP levels was not significant.
- The overall effect of non-soy legume consumption on hs-CRP levels was not significant.
- There was no evidence of publication bias for CRP and hs-CRP.

ObjectivesBecause of conflicting results of presented studies, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) was to examine the effect of non-soy legume intake on inflammatory markers and C-reactive protein (CRP).MethodsWe searched Pubmed, ISI Web of Knowledge, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar for relevant studies up to July 2013, using medical subject headings [MeSH] and other related keywords. Nine RCTs were systematically reviewed to examine the effect of non-soy legume consumption on inflammatory markers. Eight studies involving 464 participants were included in the meta-analysis.ResultsThe results of the meta-analysis showed that non-soy legume consumption had a trend toward a significant effect on decreasing CRP and high-sensitivity (hs)-CRP concentrations (mean difference (MD) = −0.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.44 to 0.02; P = 0.068). There was no overall effect of non-soy legume consumption on CRP or hs-CRP levels in either the parallel or crossover study designs. Our subgroup analysis of CRP type and study design, showed that non-soy legume intake had a significant effect on CRP levels in parallel studies (MD = −1.01; 95% CI, −1.78 to −0.23; P = 0.011) and a significant effect on hs-CRP levels (MD = −0.53; 95% CI, −0.95 to −0.11; P = 0.014) and in the crossover sub group (MD = −0.68; 95% CI, −1.28 to −0.08; P = 0.026).ConclusionsThis review of RCTs showed that non-soy legume consumption may contribute to reductions in CRP and hs-CRP concentrations. However, further controlled clinical trials are needed to investigate the effect of non-soy legume intake on other inflammatory markers.