Association of glycaemic index and glycaemic load with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of mega cohorts of more than 100 000 participants
Authors' conclusion
Dietary recommendations to reduce GI and GL could have effects on health outcomes that are similar to outcomes of recommendations to increase intake of fibre and whole grain.
Study context
- Population
- Large prospective cohorts (≥100,000 participants) from the Richard Doll Consortium: six from the USA, one from Europe, two from Asia, one international10 cohorts · 48 studies
- Comparison
- Highest vs lowest quantiles of glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL)
- Outcome
- Incident T2D, total CVD (including mortality), diabetes-related cancers (bladder, breast, colorectal, endometrial, hepatic, pancreatic, non-Hodgkin lymphoma), and all-cause mortality
Methodological detailsmega cohorts (≥100 000 participants), fixed-effects model, highest vs lowest quantiles, most adjusted RR estimates, Databases searched from inception to Aug 4, 2023, Full-article review and data extraction by three independent reviewers
- Mega cohorts (≥100 000 participants)
- Fixed-effects model
- Highest vs lowest quantiles
- Most adjusted RR estimates
- Databases searched from inception to Aug 4, 2023
- Full-article review and data extraction by three independent reviewers
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Incident T2D, total CVD (incl. mortality), diabetes-related cancers, all-cause mortality
Relative risk (95% CI)P value
High GIvs Low GIT2D
1.27(1.21–1.34)
P < 0.0001High GIvs Low GITotal CVD
1.15(1.11–1.19)
P < 0.0001High GIvs Low GIDiabetes-related cancer
1.05(1.02–1.08)
P = 0.0010High GIvs Low GIAll-cause mortality
1.08(1.05–1.12)
P < 0.0001High GLvs Low GLT2D
1.15(1.09–1.21)
P < 0.0001High GLvs Low GLTotal CVD
1.15(1.10–1.20)
P < 0.0001Further pooled results
Diets high in fibre and whole grains and the four main outcomes
- Associations were similar to those for low GI diets
Original publication
Association of glycaemic index and glycaemic load with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of mega cohorts of more than 100 000 participants. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. Published February 2024. doi:10.
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