The Effects of Cashew Nut Intake on Lipid Profile and Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials Publisher Pubmed



Jalali M^{1, 2} ; Karamizadeh M^{1, 2} ; Ferns GA³ ; Zare M² ; Moosavian SP⁴ ; Akbarzadeh M²
Source: Complementary Therapies in Medicine Published:2020

Abstract

Background: Dyslipidemia and hypertension are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Some studies have suggested that the consumption of nuts may reduce CVD risk. Objective: The present systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the efficacy of cashew nut consumption on lipid profile and blood pressure. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane Library were systematically searched to identify randomized control trials (RCTs) examining the effects of cashew nut intake on serum triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), serum total cholesterol (TC), systolic blood pressure (SBP) or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) until 15 November 2019. A random-effects model was used to pool weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI). Potential publication bias was assessed using Egger's test. Sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the impact of each individual study on the pooled results. Results: A meta-analysis on 392 participants showed that cashew nut consumption had no significant effects on lipid profile and DBP. However, there was a significant reduction in SBP (WMD = -3.39, 95 % CI = [-6.13, -0.65], P = 0.01, I2 = 0.0 %) in the group receiving cashew nut compared to the controls. There was no significant publication bias in the meta-analysis. A sensitivity analysis showed that omitting each study did not change the significance of results. Conclusion: This meta-analysis demonstrated that cashew nut consumption might reduce SBP but has no effects on lipid profile and DBP. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd