The Study
Vegetarian Dietary Patterns and Mortality in Adventist Health Study 2
This study watched a big group of people who ate different kinds of plant-based diets and saw who passed away over time. It found that people who didn't eat much meat tended to live longer, but it didn't prove that skipping meat made them live longer — maybe they also exercised more or didn't smoke.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
Scientists tracked what people ate and who died over several years to see if eating less meat helps people live longer.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 567 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1This means for every 100 people who ate meat, about 6 died during the study; for vegetarians, it was about 5 or fewer — a small but meaningful difference.
- 2People who ate no meat (vegans) or only fish (pesco-vegetarians) were 15-19% less likely to die during the study than those who ate meat regularly.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
JAMA internal medicine
Year
2013
Authors
Donald Orlich, Dr. Pramil N Singh, J. Sabaté, Karen, Jaceldo-Siegl, Marie Fan, S. Knutsen, Lawrence, Beeson, D. Fraser
Related Content
Claims (3)
People who follow a pescatarian diet have a lower rate of death from any cause compared to people who eat meat and fish.
Consumption of plant-based proteins and fish is associated with lower all-cause mortality.
In humans, higher intake of plant-based and fish proteins is associated with reduced all-cause mortality, and protein restriction does not reliably extend lifespan.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.