Planetary Health Diet and risk of mortality and chronic diseases: Results from US NHANES, UK Biobank, and a meta-analysis

Abstract

The health benefits of the Planetary Health Diet (PHD) require further validation. We examined associations between PHD adherence and risks of mortality and chronic diseases using data from two prospective cohorts—the US NHANES (1999–2018, 42,947 participants) and the UKB (125,372 participants)—and a meta-analysis of 37 published cohort studies (3,244,263 participants). Higher adherence to PHD was associated with lower all-cause mortality in both cohorts. In the UKB, it was also associated with reduced the risk of cancer and respiratory disease mortality. In the meta-analysis, higher adherence to the PHD was associated with lower risks of all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and reduced risks of colorectal cancer, lung cancer, CVDs, coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. This analysis suggests that higher adherence to the PHD may offer substantial health benefits.