Table 4.
Favorable versus unfavorable plant-based index associations with specific outcomes.
| N† | Outcome | Statistically significant associations of plant-based indices to outcome* | Studies (references) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Favorable | Unfavorable | ||||||||
| Tests# | hPDI (%) | PDI | uPDI | hPDI | PDI | uPDI (%) | |||
| 21 | Obesity | 36 | 15(42) | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 (36) | (24, 29, 34, 38, 42, 47, 48, 55, 60, 65–67, 69, 72, 78, 83, 88, 91, 98, 99, 105) |
| 20 | Cardiometabolic risk factors | 77 | 12(16) | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 24 (31) | (16, 19, 26, 34, 40, 47–49, 51, 57, 58, 65, 66, 76, 88, 90, 91, 99, 100) |
| 10 | Mortality. | 23 | 10(43) | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 (39) | (20, 23, 35, 44, 46, 50, 59, 82, 95, 101) |
| 9 | Diabetes | 11 | 7(64) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (9) | (24, 29, 30, 36, 53, 57, 89, 96, 106) |
| 9 | Psychiatric disorders | 16 | 15 (94) | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 (50) | (18, 32, 39, 61, 63, 73, 103, 105, 107) |
| 8 | Men’s health | 23 | 3(13) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 (9) | (28, 56, 64, 66, 67, 75, 77, 104) |
| 7 | Cardiovascular disease | 11 | 5(45) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (9) | (25, 41, 44, 54, 76, 87, 101) |
| 5 | Breast cancer | 13 | 3 (23) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (15) | (10, 79, 84–86) |
| 5 | Inflammation | 9 | 3 (33) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (0) | (17, 24, 27, 81, 89) |
| 4 | Gastrointestinal cancer | 7 | 6(86) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 (43) | (52, 79, 97, 102) |
| 4 | Quality of life | 5 | 5(100) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 (100) | (23, 68, 93, 108) |
| 3 | Chronic kidney disease | 9 | 1 (11) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (33) | (45, 70, 94) |
| 3 | Sleep quality | 3 | 2 (66) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (100) | (32, 43, 81) |
| 2 | Bone biomarkers | 6 | 2(33) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (33) | (37, 89) |
| 1 | Glioma | 1 | 1 (100) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (100) | (74) |
| 1 | Fecundability | 1 | 1 (100) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (100) | (62) |
| 1 | COVID-19 | 3 | 3 (100) | N/A | N/A | 0 | N/A | N/A | (71) |
| 1 | Infant growth | 9 | 0 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (11) | (33) |
| 1 | Micronutrients | 2 | 1(50) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (100) | (21) |
| 1 | Asthma | 3 | 1(33) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 (0) | (15) |
PDI, plant-based dietary index; hPDI healthful PDI; uPDI unhealthful. †Number of source articles reporting the outcome. #Total number of statistical tests comparing highest versus lowest index level; percentages shown for favorable hPDI and unfavorable uPDI associations are based on this number as the denominator. *Comparison of highest level (quartile, quintile, or decile) to lowest level.