Iran: Walnut consumption in patients with metabolic syndrome (Mets) may reduce serum triglyceride (TG) levels but does not seems to affect other cardiometabolic indices, says a recent study in the journal Pharmacological Research.
"In order to clarify further beneficial effects of walnut consumption on the cardiometabolic profile, future well-designed and large RCTs will be required," Seyyed Mostafa Arabi, Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur, Iran, and the team wrote in their study.
Recent studies have investigated the effect of walnut consumption on various components of Mets in different populations. However, there has been no definite conclusion on the findings on the alterations of cardiometabolic and anthropometric indices following walnut consumption in individuals with Mets.
Considering the above, the researchers' team examined the effects of walnut consumption on glucose homeostasis factors (fasting plasma glucose (FPG), insulin, hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c)), lipid profile (triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c)), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) concentrations and anthropometric indices (body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC)) in trials of 549 participants in the study of eight randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
They conducted a systematic search in online databases using related keywords to detect eligible studies until December 2021. A random-effects model was used to calculate the weighted mean difference (WMD).
Salient findings of the study include:
Results from the pooled analysis showed that serum TG concentration was significantly reduced (WMD, − 0.1 mmol/L), although other lipid profile components (TC, LDL-c, and HDL-c), glucose homeostasis markers (FPG, insulin, and HbA1c), hs-CRP levels, anthropometric indices (BW, BMI, and WC) and blood pressure (SBP and DBP) were not influenced by walnut consumption.
A significant dose-response association was detected between the dose of walnut intake and serum concentrations of FPG.
"Walnut consumption reduces serum TG levels in individuals with metabolic syndrome, but it cannot affect other cardiometabolic indices," wrote the authors. "Future well-designed and large RCTs are needed to clarify further beneficial effects of walnut consumption on the cardiometabolic profile."
Reference:
Arabi SM, Bahrami LS, Milkarizi N, Nematy M, Kalmykov V, Sahebkar A. Impact of walnut consumption on cardio metabolic and anthropometric parameters in metabolic syndrome patients: GRADE-assessed systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of data from randomized controlled trials. Pharmacol Res. 2022 Mar 23;178:106190. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2022.106190. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35338001.
KEYWORDS: metabolic syndrome, triglyceride, walnuts, Pharmacological Research, cardiometabolic factors, cholesterol, HDL, LDL, body mass index, BMI, blood sugar, Seyyed Mostafa Arabi