Table 1.
Selected characteristics of study sample comparing vegans, pesco vegetarians, and omnivores.
| Demographic and Lifestyle | n = 38 | n = 41 | n = 68 | Vegan vs. Omni | Pesco vs. Omni | Vegan vs. Pesco |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males (%) | ||||||
| Age at collection, mean ± SD (years) | 52.63 | 48.78 | 47.06 | 0.58 | 0.86 | 0.73 |
| BMI at collection, mean ± SD | 67.78 (8.50) | 69.93 (7.87) | 66.42 (6.73) | 0.37 | 0.02 | 0.25 |
| Exercise, mean ± SD (min/week) | 23.62 (4.23) | 25.36 (3.63) | 27.07 (3.69) | <0.0001 | 0.02 | 0.05 |
| Sleep hours, mean ± SD (hrs/day) | 152.93 (109.59) | 76.68 (86.64) | 69.23 (95.72) | 0.0001 | 0.58 | 0.002 |
| Perception of one’s own health (%) | 7.30 (0.81) | 7.03 (0.95) | 6.94 (0.93) | 0.05 | 0.65 | 0.18 |
| Excellent | 0.07 | 0.82 | 0.22 | |||
| Good | 25.71 | 22.50 | 17.65 | |||
| Fair | 54.29 | 70.00 | 75.00 | |||
| Prevalent cancer (%) | 20.00 | 7.50 | 7.35 | |||
| Yes | 0.57 | 0.66 | 0.91 | |||
| No | 10.53 | 9.76 | 7.35 | |||
| CVD comorbidities (%) | 89.47 | 90.24 | 92.65 | |||
| None | 0.35 | 0.74 | 0.57 | |||
| 1 or more | 76.32 | 70.73 | 67.65 | |||
| Cigarette smoke (%) | 23.68 | 29.27 | 32.35 | |||
| Never | 0.05 | 0.51 | 0.02 | |||
| Ever | 97.37 | 80.49 | 85.29 | |||
| 2.63 | 19.51 | 14.71 | ||||
| Dietary intake, mean ± SD | ||||||
| Energy (kcal/d) | ||||||
| Carbohydrate (% of kcal) | 1769.82 (585.13) | 2029.3 (609.7) | 1927.77 (667.22) | 0.23 | 0.43 | 0.06 |
| Fat (% of kcal) | 57.58 (6.96) | 52.83 (7.17) | 49.74 (8.13) | <0.0001 | 0.05 | 0.004 |
| Protein (% of kcal) | 28.72 (6.92) | 33.20 (7.29) | 35.66 (7.85) | <0.0001 | 0.11 | 0.007 |
| Vegetable protein (% of protein) | 13.70 (2.80) | 13.97 (2.42) | 14.61 (2.21) | 0.071 | 0.07 | 0.65 |
| Animal protein (% of protein) | 96.87 (2.57) | 80.39 (12.56) | 60.63 (14.82) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 |
| Essential amino acids | 3.89 (2.33) | 19.92 (12.41) | 39.41 (14.75) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 |
| Leucine (% of protein) | ||||||
| Valine (% of protein) | 6.98 (0.48) | 7.40 (0.35) | 7.61 (0.36) | <0.0001 | 0.003 | <0.0001 |
| Isoleucine (% of protein) | 4.66 (0.25) | 4.89 (0.21) | 4.98 (0.21) | <0.0001 | 0.03 | <0.0001 |
| Histidine (% of protein) | 3.95 (0.24) | 4.12 (0.20) | 4.29 (0.19) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0007 |
| Methionine (% of protein) | 2.42 (0.13) | 2.45 (0.08) | 2.54 (0.1) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.24 |
| Tryptophan (% of protein) | 1.50 (0.12) | 1.73 (0.17) | 1.92 (0.16) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 |
| Threonine (% of protein) | 1.26 (0.07) | 1.23 (0.06) | 1.22 (0.06) | 0.002 | 0.16 | 0.1 |
| Lysine (% of protein) | 3.5 (0.26) | 3.47 (0.20) | 3.55 (0.17) | 0.33 | 0.04 | 0.54 |
| Phenylalanine (% of protein) | 4.47 (0.48) | 4.93 (0.48) | 5.55 (0.64) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 |
| Non-essential amino acids | 4.88 (0.24) | 4.88 (0.11) | 4.75 (0.16) | 0.005 | <0.0001 | 0.99 |
| Glutamate (% of protein) | ||||||
| Aspartate (% of protein) | 23.07 (1.94) | 22.82 (1.58) | 22.18 (1.64) | 0.010 | 0.05 | 0.53 |
| Alanine (% of protein) | 10.20 (1.33) | 9.50 (0.79) | 9.07 (0.71) | <0.0001 | 0.004 | 0.005 |
| Cysteine (% of protein) | 4.40 (0.38) | 4.25 (0.27) | 4.29 (0.23) | 0.06 | 0.46 | 0.05 |
| Arginine (% of protein) | 1.61 (0.14) | 1.65 (0.16) | 1.65 (0.16) | 0.21 | 0.95 | 0.28 |
| Tyrosine (% of protein) | 6.79 (0.79) | 6.12 (0.73) | 5.61 (0.66) | <0.0001 | 0.0003 | 0.0002 |
| Glycine (% of protein) | 3.04 (0.28) | 3.24 (0.25) | 3.38 (0.20) | <0.0001 | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Proline (% of protein) | 4.27 (0.31) | 3.92 (0.34) | 3.79 (0.32) | <0.0001 | 0.05 | <0.0001 |
| Serine (% of protein) | 6.65 (0.92) | 7.24 (0.86) | 7.31 (0.73) | <0.0001 | 0.64 | 0.004 |
| Micronutrients | 4.87 (0.29) | 4.95 (0.16) | 4.79 (0.19) | 0.10 | <0.0001 | 0.12 |
| Vitamin B2, mg/1000 kcal | ||||||
| Vitamin B6, mg/1000 kcal | 2.85 (3.28) | 3.64 (5.18) | 2.78 (6.62) | 0.95 | 0.43 | 0.42 |
| Vitamin B-12, mcg/1000 kcal | 3.56 (7.04) | 8.54 (15.42) | 5.14 (10.21) | 0.4 | 0.17 | 0.07 |
| Folate, mcg/1000 kcal | 3.93 (4.43) | 7.64 (9.38) | 6.19 (11.23) | 0.24 | 0.49 | 0.03 |
| Choline, mg/1000 kcal | 460.0 (387.8) | 440.1 (193.0) | 401.9 (214.1) | 0.19 | 0.35 | 0.67 |
| Betaine, mg/1000 kcal | 117.0 (21.73) | 122.9 (29.40) | 136.9 (27.61) | 0.0002 | 0.01 | 0.32 |
| 0.91 | 0.6 |