Abstract: Cardiovascular diseases, main causes of death in the world, have their etiology related to a series of risk factors. Currently, there is a massive effort in the reduction of risks of these diseases, most especially, through food. In this sense, vegetarian diet can play an important role, by adjusting important biochemical parameters related to such diseases. Meanwhile, studies that contemplate the role of vegetarian diet in the adjustment of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases especially from biomolecular parameters are still insufficient. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relation between cardiovascular risk and the concentration of the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in vegetarians as compared to omnivores. 

 

Methods: It is a cross-sectional study with 96 subjects (56 vegetarians and 40 omnivores). Nutritional status (weight, waist circumference and body mass index), biochemical parameters (fasting blood glucose, insulin, total cholesterol and fractions) and biomolecular profile (BDNF) were evaluated. 

 

Results: As compared with omnivores, vegetarians present lower body weight (p=0.032), lower BMI (p<0.001), lower WC values (p=0.003), lower blood glucose (p=0.004) and HOMA-IR [homeostatic model assessment - insulin resistance] (p=0.021) and higher HDL-c concentration (p=0.008). Regarding cardiovascular risk, vegetarians have lower Castelli Risk Indexes 1 (p=0.001), as well as 17 times more probability of obtaining the index within normal values. 

 

Discussion: There was no difference between the BDNF means between vegetarians and omnivores; however, subjects with higher BDNF concentrations have higher risk of presenting an HDL-c reduction.