Table 5.
Medication use for specific conditions by diet group of participants in the EPIC-Oxford study*
| Condition/diet group | Participants reporting the condition, n (mean years since reported diagnosis)† | Participants taking appropriate medication, n (%)† | Prevalence ratio (95% CI)† |
| High blood pressure‡ | |||
| Meat eaters | 4397 (9.8) | 2573 (58.5) | 1.00 (ref) |
| Fish eaters | 686 (9.3) | 357 (52.0) | 0.97 (0.86 to 1.08) |
| Vegetarians | 944 (9.0) | 430 (45.6) | 0.91 (0.82 to 1.01) |
| Vegans | 85 (9.0) | 40 (47.1) | 0.92 (0.67 to 1.26) |
| P heterogeneity=0.37 | |||
| High blood cholesterol§ | |||
| Meat eaters | 3351 (6.3) | 1646 (49.1) | 1.00 (ref) |
| Fish eaters | 561 (5.3) | 209 (37.3) | 0.88 (0.76 to 1.01) |
| Vegetarians | 645 (5.5) | 243 (37.7) | 0.94 (0.81 to 1.08) |
| Vegans | 44 (7.1) | 14 (31.8) | 0.74 (0.44 to 1.26) |
| P heterogeneity=0.20 | |||
| Asthma¶ | |||
| Meat eaters | 1885 (25.3) | 737 (39.1) | 1.00 (ref) |
| Fish eaters | 496 (23.2) | 169 (34.1) | 0.98 (0.82 to 1.17) |
| Vegetarians | 758 (23.4) | 246 (32.5) | 0.97 (0.84 to 1.14) |
| Vegans | 88 (27.9) | 17 (19.3) | 0.67 (0.41 to 1.09) |
| P heterogeneity=0.45 | |||
| Diabetes** | |||
| Meat eaters | 707 (10.0) | 446 (63.1) | 1.00 (ref) |
| Fish eaters | 75 (14.8) | 41 (54.7) | 0.78 (0.56 to 1.08) |
| Vegetarians | 119 (10.6) | 84 (70.6) | 1.05 (0.81 to 1.35) |
| Vegans | 7 (13.2) | 6 (85.7) | 1.07 (0.45 to 2.51) |
| P heterogeneity=0.46 | |||
| Thyroid disease†† | |||
| Meat eaters | 1545 (13.2) | 1191 (77.1) | 1.00 (ref) |
| Fish eaters | 380 (11.6) | 273 (71.8) | 0.95 (0.83 to 1.09) |
| Vegetarians | 465 (11.2) | 337 (72.5) | 0.97 (0.85 to 1.10) |
| Vegans | 56 (11.8) | 37 (66.1) | 0.88 (0.63 to 1.22) |
| P heterogeneity=0.78 |
*Refers to medication use for most of the past 4 weeks specific to the condition described among participants who reported diagnosis for the condition on the second (10-year) follow-up questionnaire.
†Number reporting the condition (mean years since reported diagnosis) and number (%) taking appropriate medication were as observed. Prevalence ratios were adjusted for the cross-classification of sex and age at follow-up (<40, 40–44, 45–49, 50–54, 55–59, 60–64, 65–69, 70–74, ≥75 years), region of residence (eight regions), self-reported current health (excellent, good, fair, poor, unknown), years since reported diagnosis (calculated as year of follow-up questionnaire completion minus reported year of diagnosis; <2, 2–3, 4–5, 6–9, ≥10 years, unknown), and number of self-reported illnesses or conditions (1, 2, 3, ≥4).
‡Reported use of at least one of amlodipine, enalapril, frusemide, propranolol, atenolol, bendrofluazide, lisinopril and nifedipine.
§Reported use of at least one of atorvastatin and simvastatin.
¶Reported use of at least one of beclomethasone and salbutamol.
**Reported use of at least one of insulin and metformin.
††Reported use of thyroxine.