Plant-Based Diet and Covid-19 Severity: Results From a Cross-Sectional Study Publisher



Soltanieh S¹ ; Salavatizadeh M¹ ; Ghazanfari T² ; Jahromi SR¹ ; Yari Z¹ ; Mansournia MA³ ; Nazemipour M³ ; Kheradmand JA⁴ ; Ardestani SK⁵ ; Karimi S¹ ; Hekmatdoost A¹
Source: BMJ Nutrition# Prevention and Health Published:2023

Abstract

Although previous findings have shown the beneficial role of healthy eating pattern on the human immune system, the association between plant-based diet and COVID-19 severity has not yet been elucidated. This study aimed to determine the possible role of plant-based diet index (PDI) in COVID-19 severity. This cross-sectional, multicentral study was conducted on 141 patients with confirmed COVID-19. Dietary intakes of the patients were evaluated using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Then, PDI was compared between patients who needed to be hospitalised (considered severe cases), and those who got treatment at home (considered non-severe cases). After adjustment for confounders including age, sex, energy intake and body mass index, lower odds of hospitalisation were found for participants having a greater score of overall PDI (OR per 10 units increase: 0.42; 95% CI 0.22 to 0.80) and healthy PDI (OR per 10 unit increase: 0.45; 95% CI 0.26 to 0.78). In conclusion, our data presented that there is a relation between PDI and lower risk of hospitalisation in COVID-19 patients, possibly through boosting the immune function. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.