Table 3.
Subgroup and Meta‐Regression Analyses for TC and LDL‐C Concentrations
| Subgroup Factors | TC | LDL‐C | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of Trials | Pooled Effect (95% CI) mmol/L | I2 (%) | P Valuea | P Valueb | No. of Trials | Pooled Effect (95% CI) mmol/L | I2 (%) | P Valuea | P Valueb | |
| Overall analyses | 10 | −0.36 (−0.55 to −0.17) | 53.5 | 0.02 | 7 | −0.34 (−0.57 to −0.11) | 72.4 | <0.001 | ||
| Overall analysesc | 10 | −0.32 (−0.43 to −0.20) | 53.5 | 0.02 | 7 | −0.30 (−0.41 to −0.19) | 72.4 | <0.001 | ||
| Continent | 0.24 | 0.39 | ||||||||
| Oceania | 1 | −0.61 (−1.14 to −0.08) | — | — | 1 | −0.61 (−1.11 to −0.11) | — | — | ||
| Europe | 3 | −0.58 (−1.20 to 0.04) | 79.8 | 0.01 | 3 | −0.46 (−1.04 to 0.11) | 87.9 | <0.001 | ||
| North America | 6 | −0.25 (−0.40 to −0.09) | 13.0 | 0.33 | 3 | −0.20 (−0.35 to −0.05) | 0.0 | 0.72 | ||
| Age, y | 0.96 | 0.79 | ||||||||
| <50 | 6 | −0.33 (−0.53 to −0.13) | 35.1 | 0.17 | 4 | −0.30 (−0.48 to −0.11) | 15.1 | 0.32 | ||
| ≥50 | 4 | −0.37 (−0.80 to 0.05) | 73.5 | 0.01 | 3 | −0.30 (−0.78 to 0.18) | 88.8 | <0.001 | ||
| BMI, kg/m2 | 0.01 | 0.01 | ||||||||
| 18.5 to 25 | 1 | −0.94 (−1.33 to −0.55) | — | — | 1 | −0.74 (−0.68 to −0.16) | — | — | ||
| 25 to 30 | 3 | −0.58 (−0.89 to −0.27) | 0 | 0.92 | 3 | −0.42 (−0.68 to −0.16) | 0 | 0.46 | ||
| ≥30 | 4 | −0.16 (−0.30 to −0.01) | 0 | 0.85 | 3 | −0.13 (−0.27 to 0.01) | 0 | 0.62 | ||
| Health status | 0.08 | 0.44 | ||||||||
| Healthy | 2 | −0.53 (−0.82 to −0.23) | 0 | 0.92 | 1 | −0.30 (−0.62 to 0.02) | — | — | ||
| High CVD risk | 5 | −0.15 (−0.30 to −0.01) | 0 | 0.93 | 3 | −0.13 (−0.27 to 0.01) | 0.0 | 0.62 | ||
| Lipid‐lowering medication | 0.20 | 0.19 | ||||||||
| Some | 3 | −0.17 (−0.39 to 0.06) | 0 | 0.95 | 2 | −0.06 (−0.26 to 0.14) | 0 | 0.79 | ||
| None | 5 | −0.51 (−0.84 to −0.18) | 70.9 | 0.01 | 2 | −0.40 (−0.68 to −0.11) | 4.6 | 0.31 | ||
| Intervention | 0.59 | 0.23 | ||||||||
| Lactovegetarian | 2 | −0.30 (−0.63 to 0.02) | 39.6 | 0.20 | 1 | −0.04 (−0.28 to 0.20) | — | — | ||
| Lacto‐ovovegetarian | 2 | −0.28 (−0.83 to 0.27) | 70.1 | 0.07 | 1 | −0.61 (−1.11 to −0.11) | — | — | ||
| Vegan | 6 | −0.44 (−0.73 to −0.14) | 60.1 | 0.03 | 5 | −0.37 (−0.65 to −0.09) | 73.3 | 0.01 | ||
| Duration, months | 0.64 | 0.92 | ||||||||
| <3 | 6 | −0.38 (−0.57 to −0.19) | 0 | 0.46 | 4 | −0.30 (−0.59 to −0.01) | 50.2 | 0.11 | ||
| ≥3 | 4 | −0.33 (−0.67 to 0.02) | 78.5 | 0.003 | 3 | −0.35 (−075 to 0.05) | 85.9 | 0.001 | ||
| Design | 0.26 | 0.68 | ||||||||
| Crossover | 3 | −0.55 (−0.80 to −0.29) | 0 | 0.96 | 2 | −0.40 (−0.68 to −0.11) | 4.6 | 0.31 | ||
| Parallel | 7 | −0.29 (−0.53 to −0.05) | 60.8 | 0.02 | 5 | −0.31 (−0.61 to −0.01) | 80.1 | <0.001 | ||
| Analysis | 0.01 | 0.02 | ||||||||
| PP | 6 | −0.64 (−0.85 to −0.43) | 0 | 0.50 | 4 | −0.57 (−0.82 to −0.33) | 35.3 | 0.20 | ||
| ITT | 4 | −0.16 (−0.30 to −0.01) | 0 | 0.85 | 3 | −0.13 (−0.27 to 0.01) | 0 | 0.62 | ||
| Publication year | 0.45 | 0.29 | ||||||||
| Before 2000 | 4 | −0.52 (−0.83 to −0.21) | 0 | 0.74 | 2 | −0.64 (−1.08 to −0.20) | 0 | 0.80 | ||
| 2000 or later | 6 | −0.32 (−0.56 to −0.09) | 69.0 | 0.01 | 5 | −0.28 (−0.54 to −0.02) | 79.1 | <0.001 | ||
BMI indicates body mass index; CVD, cardiovascular disease; ITT, intention to treat; LDL‐C, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol; PP, per protocol; TC, total cholesterol.
a
P for heterogeneity
b
P for meta–regression analysis.
c
Results from fixed‐effect analysis.