High protein diet is of benefit for patients with type 2 diabetes: An updated meta-analysis

Currently, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is still increasing worldwide and has become a major public health burden. This meta-analysis was performed to further assess high protein (HP) diet on body weight, glycemic control, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in type 2 diabetes. A literature search was conducted in PubMed and Embase databases up to June 2018. The pooled standard mean difference (SMD) and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using RevMan 5.3 software. In total, 18 randomized control trials involving 1099 adults with type 2 diabetes were included. Pooled results indicated that HP diet could not significantly affect blood pressure of patients with type 2 diabetes, compared with low protein (LP) diet. However, the overall analyses showed the significant effect of HP diet on triglycerides reduction (SMD = −0.20, 95% CI = −0.35 to −0.05, P = .01) in patients with type 2 diabetes, compared with LP diet. Subgroup analyses showed that the ratio of energy from fat and carbohydrate in diet could affect the effect of HP diet on weight and triglyceride. HP diet could be indicated to obtain beneficial results in weight loss and lipid metabolism.