Adherence to healthy dietary patterns extends life expectancy in people with T2D

Individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who adhere to healthy dietary patterns appear to have better survival, according to a study.

Close to 8,000 participants with incident T2D in the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professional Follow-up Study, who were free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer at diagnosis, were analysed.

The researchers assessed diet using a validated food frequency questionnaire, with updates every 4 years, and calculated the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 percent confidence intervals (CIs) using Cox proportional hazards models.

A total of 3,509 deaths occurred over 24 years of follow-up. Of these, 1,079 were from CVD and 649 from cancer.

Adherence to healthy dietary patterns after T2D diagnosis consistently correlated with reduced all-cause mortality, with multivariable-adjusted HRs ranging from 0.78 (95 percent CI, 0.71‒0.86) for the planetary health diet to 0.92 (95 percent CI, 0.84‒1.01) for the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

Greater improvements in dietary pattern adherence from pre- to postdiagnosis also resulted in lower all-cause mortality, with HRs ranging from 0.63 (95 percent CI, 0.58‒0.70) to 0.92 (95 percent CI, 0.85‒1.01).

Notably, inverse associations with CVD mortality were also observed for the above dietary scores. Moreover, the reversed empirical dietary index for hyperinsulinaemia showed a specific association with reduced mortality from cancer.

“These findings suggest the importance of consuming high-quality diets in the prevention of premature deaths among individuals with T2D,” the researchers said.