Impact of a Plant-Based Diet on Indices of Cardiovascular Health in African Americans

The Impact of a Plant-Based Diet on Indices of Cardiovascular Health in African Americans: A Cross-Sectional Study

The role of diet in preventing hypertension and cardiovascular diseases in African Americans, who have a much higher risk of developing these diseases, is not well understood. Therefore, this project will investigate whether African Americans following a 100% plant-based diet have more optimal blood pressure, vascular function, and blood lipid profiles, along with lower systemic inflammation relative to African Americans following a typical American diet.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cardiovascular Diseases; Hypertension; Diet, Healthy
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Typical American Diet; Other: Plant-Based Diet

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 19

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Arlington, Texas, United States, 76019
      • UT Arlington - Science and Engineering Innovation and Research Building

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 40 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Community sample from the greater Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Self-identify as African American/Black
• Self-reported adherence to either a typical American diet (not following a specific diet pattern) or 100% plant-based (vegan) diet
• Age 18-40

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of smoking within 2 years or being a current smoker
• Taking vasoactive medications
• Having overt cardiovascular, metabolic, or neurological disease
• Pregnant individuals

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Typical American Diet; African American individuals who self-report adhering to a typical American diet prior to enrolling in the study.	Other: Typical American Diet; Participants self-reported adherence to a typical American diet prior to enrolling in the study. This factor determined cross-sectional group allocation.
Plant-Based Diet; African American individuals who self-report adhering to a plant-based diet prior to enrolling in the study.	Other: Plant-Based Diet; Participants self-reported adherence to a 100% plant-based diet prior to enrolling in the study. This factor determined cross-sectional group allocation.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Lipid profile (Total-C, LDL-C, VLDL-C, HDL-C, TG)	Day 1
C-reactive protein	Day 1
Post-occlusive brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (% change in brachial artery diameter from resting baseline)	Day 1
Post-occlusive forearm reactive hyperemia (% change in brachial artery blood velocity from resting baseline)	Day 1
Pulse wave velocity (carotid-to-femoral)	Day 1
Augmentation index (AIx@HR75)	Day 1
Cerebral vascular reactivity (% change in cerebrovascular conductance index from resting baseline)	Day 2
Local cutaneous thermal hyperemia (% change in cutaneous vascular conductance from resting baseline)	Day 2
Peripheral blood pressure (systolic, diastolic, mean)	Day 1
Central blood pressure (systolic, diastolic, mean)	Day 1

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The University of Texas at Arlington
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Robert M Brothers, PhD, The University of Texas at Arlington

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Martin ZT, Olvera G, Villegas CA, Campbell JC, Akins JD, Brown KK, Brothers RM. The impact of a plant-based diet on indices of cardiovascular health in African Americans: a cross-sectional study. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2022 Sep 1;47(9):903-914. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2022-0027. Epub 2022 May 5.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 12, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 13, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): January 13, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 12, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 19, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): April 25, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 5, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 28, 2022
• Last Verified: April 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: hypertension; inflammation; endothelial function; health disparity; vegan diet; Black Americans
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Vascular Diseases; Hypertension; Cardiovascular Diseases
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2019-0318

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Data Availability Statement: All raw data were collected and generated at the University of Texas at Arlington. Data supporting the findings and conclusions of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No