Vegetarians are significantly less likely to require hospitalisation for heart disease. They are also less likely to die from the condition, research has shown.

Heart disease continues to be the biggest killer of people in developed countries, including Ireland. UK scientists decided to compares rates of heart disease between vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

Around 45,000 people took part, making it the biggest study of its kind to date. One-third of the participants were vegetarian. All answered questionnaires about their lifestyle, including topics such as diet and smoking. Almost half also had blood and cholesterol samples taken and their blood pressure checked.

During the study period, over 1,200 cases of heart disease were identified. More than 1,000 people were hospitalised and 169 people died.

The scientists found that the vegetarians had a 32% reduced risk of being hospitalised with heart disease or dying from the condition.

They noted that overall, the vegetarians had lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol levels compared to the non-vegetarians and they believe that this may explain the heart disease findings.

They also noted that the vegetarians tended to have a lower body mass index (BMI). However, even when this fact was excluded, the vegetarians still had a 28% reduced risk of developing heart disease.

"Most of the difference in risk is probably caused by effects on cholesterol and blood pressure, and shows the important role of diet in the prevention of heart disease," commented lead scientist, Dr Francesca Crowe, of the University of Oxford.

Details of these findings are published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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