PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Ha, Vanessa
AU  - Sievenpiper, John L.
AU  - de Souza, Russell J.
AU  - Jayalath, Viranda H.
AU  - Mirrahimi, Arash
AU  - Agarwal, Arnav
AU  - Chiavaroli, Laura
AU  - Mejia, Sonia Blanco
AU  - Sacks, Frank M.
AU  - Di Buono, Marco
AU  - Bernstein, Adam M.
AU  - Leiter, Lawrence A.
AU  - Kris-Etherton, Penny M.
AU  - Vuksan, Vladimir
AU  - Bazinet, Richard P.
AU  - Josse, Robert G.
AU  - Beyene, Joseph
AU  - Kendall, Cyril W.C.
AU  - Jenkins, David J.A.
TI  - Effect of dietary pulse intake on established therapeutic lipid targets for cardiovascular risk reduction: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
AID  - 10.1503/cmaj.131727
DP  - 2014 May 13
TA  - Canadian Medical Association Journal
PG  - E252--E262
VI  - 186
IP  - 8
4099  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/186/8/E252.short
4100  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/186/8/E252.full
SO  - CMAJ2014 May 13; 186
AB  - Background: Evidence from controlled trials encourages the intake of dietary pulses (beans, chickpeas, lentils and peas) as a method of improving dyslipidemia, but heart health guidelines have stopped short of ascribing specific benefits to this type of intervention or have graded the beneficial evidence as low. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the effect of dietary pulse intake on established therapeutic lipid targets for cardiovascular risk reduction.Methods: We searched electronic databases and bibliographies of selected trials for relevant articles published through Feb. 5, 2014. We included RCTs of at least 3 weeks’ duration that compared a diet emphasizing dietary pulse intake with an isocaloric diet that did not include dietary pulses. The lipid targets investigated were low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and non–high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol. We pooled data using a random-effects model.Results: We identified 26 RCTs (n = 1037) that satisfied the inclusion criteria. Diets emphasizing dietary pulse intake at a median dose of 130 g/d (about 1 serving daily) significantly lowered LDL cholesterol levels compared with the control diets (mean difference −0.17 mmol/L, 95% confidence interval −0.25 to −0.09 mmol/L). Treatment effects on apolipoprotein B and non-HDL cholesterol were not observed.Interpretation: Our findings suggest that dietary pulse intake significantly reduces LDL cholesterol levels. Trials of longer duration and higher quality are needed to verify these results. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, no. NCT01594567.