UK Biobank — Risks of ischaemic heart disease and stroke in meat eaters, fish eaters, and vegetarians
In plain English
Half a million UK adults reported their diet, then were followed for nearly two decades. Vegetarians and vegans had 22% lower risk of ischaemic heart disease than meat-eaters. Vegetarians did, however, show a small increase in haemorrhagic stroke risk — an honest signal that 'plant-based' is not automatic protection if intake of B12, omega-3 and protein is poor.
Why it matters
Vegans had 22% lower CVD risk across 500,000 participants — but a slight uptick in haemorrhagic stroke.
Informs: Heart Disease·Stroke
Provenance
- Design
- Prospective cohort
- Sample size (n)
- 500,000
- Follow-up
- 18 years
- Peer-reviewed
- Yes
- Replications
- 2
- Funding
- Public / academic
- Funders
- UK Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK
- Institutions
- University of Oxford (Nuffield Department of Population Health)
decades.plus score
A transparent 0–100 weighted sum across six components. Higher scores reflect bigger, cleaner, more replicated work.
Caveats
Observational; vegetarians may differ in unmeasured ways (less smoking, more exercise). The stroke signal is small and may reflect under-replacement of B12 / animal nutrients.
