Association between Egg Consumption and Cholesterol Concentration: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Nutrients. 2020 Jul 4;12(7):1995. doi: 10.3390/nu12071995.

Abstract

The association of egg consumption and serum cholesterol concentrations in healthy people has been discussed for a long time. In this study, we aimed to explore association of egg consumption with on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) concentrations and the LDL-c/HDL-c ratio through meta-analysis. This systematic review only included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating egg consumption in healthy populations without combination therapy. We extracted mean and standard deviation for LDL-c/HDL-c ratio, LDL-c/HDL-c. The extracted data were pooled in a random-effects model and were presented as mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Moreover, subgroup analyses were conducted for understanding effects of more egg consumption (MEC) on different intervention periods, egg-consumption levels, classification of responders. Overall, 17 RCTs met the eligibility criteria and pooled results showed MEC group had a higher LDL-c/HDL-c ratio than the control group (MD = 0.14, p = 0.001, I2 = 25%). The MEC group also had higher LDL-c than the control group (MD = 8.14, p < 0.0001, I2 = 18%). Moreover, for the subset of intervention over two months, the MEC group seemed to have a larger effect size than the subset of intervention within two months. This synthesis, the largest meta-analysis on this topic, shows the impact of egg consumption on lipid profiles among healthy subjects. Notably, longer time with MEC may lead to higher LDL-c/HDL-c ratio and LDL-c. However, RCTs with long tern follow-up are needed to guarantee the association between egg consumption and human health.

Keywords: Keywords egg consumption; high-density lipoprotein; low-density lipoprotein.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Cholesterol, HDL / blood*
  • Cholesterol, LDL / blood*
  • Diet / adverse effects
  • Diet / statistics & numerical data*
  • Diet Surveys
  • Eating / physiology*
  • Eggs / analysis*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Cholesterol, HDL
  • Cholesterol, LDL