Dietary glycemic index and glycemic load in relation to mortality from cardiovascular disease: a review of epidemiologic evidence

A cardiovascular disease has been the leading cause of death worldwide in the last decades. Inappropriate changes in dietary patterns, including increased consumption of refined carbohydrates with high glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) are the most important environmental risk factors in increasing cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to review the current evidence on the association between dietary GI and GL and mortality from various cardiovascular diseases.

A literature search in PubMed was done with the use of “Glycemic index”, “cardiovascular disease” and “mortality” as keywords. So far, few studies have been performed in this area. Findings from these studies have been taken into account in this review. All available studies were prospective investigations performed among humans.

Findings from the current evidence suggest no significant association between dietary GI, GL and cardiovascular mortality. The only significant finding we reached in the literature was about middle-aged and older Japanese women; where a positive significant association was reported between dietary GI and GL and mortality from ischemic stroke [RR: 2.45; CI:95% (1.01-5.92)].

It is concluded that reaching a definite conclusion based on current evidence is difficult. More information is required to determine the definite association between dietary glycemic index and glycemic load and mortality from various cardiovascular diseases.