By Colin Kenny, GP, Dromore
It had been speculated that higher intake of dietary protein, especially animal protein, is associated with the development of diabetes. Investigators used data from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study, which was set up in the early 1990s to investigate the role of diet and other lifestyle factors in causing common chronic diseases. Over 41,000 people aged 40–69 have been recruited. In this analysis, 21,523 individuals (61.7% of them women) were followed up, and total and animal protein intakes as percentages of energy were recorded.
A total of 929 new cases (4.3%) of type 2 diabetes were documented during a mean of 11.7 years’ follow-up. Higher intakes of total and animal protein were both associated with increased risks of type 2 diabetes, while an inverse association between plant protein intake and type 2 diabetes was observed in women. This inverse association was also found in a meta-analysis that the investigators conducted.
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