Egg consumption and cardiovascular disease according to diabetic status: The PREDIMED study

Abstract

Background: Eggs are a major source of dietary cholesterol and their consumption has been sometimes discouraged. A relationship between egg consumption and the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been suggested to be present exclusively among patients with type2 diabetes. Aims: To assess the association between egg consumption and CVD in a large Mediterranean cohort where approximately 50\% of participants had type 2 diabetes. Methods: We prospectively followed 7216 participants (55-80 years old) at high cardiovascular risk from the PREDIMED (PREvencion con DIeta MEDiterranea) study for a mean of 5.8 years. All participants were initially free of CVD. Yearly repeated measurements of dietary information with a validated 137-item food-frequency questionnaire were used to assess egg consumption and other dietary exposures. The endpoint was the rate of major cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, stroke or death from cardiovascular causes).