The Study
Association between healthy plant-based diet-lifestyle (hPDI-Lifestyle) score and incidence of coronary heart disease, and effect modification by genetic predisposition: a prospective analysis in a population-based cohort
This study found that people who ate more healthy plants, didn’t smoke, moved more, and slept better were less likely to get heart disease — but it didn’t make people change their habits, so we can’t say those habits definitely caused the lower risk. It just shows they went together.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
People who eat lots of plants, don't smoke, move a lot, and sleep well have much lower heart disease risk — even if they're born with genes that make heart disease more likely.
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 559 / 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.
- 1Yes — even people with the worst genes can cut their heart disease risk nearly in half by living healthily.
- 2People with bad genes but great habits had 44% less heart disease.
- 3People with good genes and great habits had 20% less heart disease.
- 4Each step up in genetic risk raised heart disease risk by 2%.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
The Lancet Regional Health - Europe
Year
2026
Authors
Xiang Jun Wang, T. Voortman, D. Bos, Maryam Kavousi, M. Ghanbari, N. Conrad, Miranda T. Schram, M. Steur
Related Content
Claims (5)
People who eat lots of plants like fruits, veggies, nuts, and whole grains, don’t smoke, stay active, and get just the right amount of sleep are 22% less likely to get heart disease, especially if they stick to this lifestyle really well.
If you're not genetically prone to heart disease, eating mostly plants and living a healthy lifestyle might cut your chance of getting heart disease by about 20% compared to someone who doesn't follow such a lifestyle.
Eating mostly whole, unprocessed plant foods like vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains is more important for preventing heart disease than worrying about whether you eat more fat or carbs.
People who eat mostly plants and live healthily are less likely to get heart disease—and this protection is even stronger for people who are genetically more likely to get heart disease anyway.
If you're genetically likely to get heart disease, eating a super healthy plant-based diet and living a healthy lifestyle might cut your risk of having heart disease by almost half compared to others with the same genes who don't eat well.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.