Egg consumption and heart disease in people with and without diabetes
What it found
In older adults at high risk of heart disease, eating up to 4 eggs a week was not linked to more heart attacks, strokes or heart-related deaths, whether or not they had type 2 diabetes.
What they found
Studies in people
Heart events overall
A major heart event (heart attack, stroke or heart-related death) occurred in 342 participants. Egg consumption at the start was not significantly linked to these events in the whole group.
Eggs and diabetes
In people with diabetes, those eating more than 4 eggs a week had a slightly higher risk estimate than those eating less than 2 eggs a week, but the difference was not statistically significant. In people without diabetes, eating more than 4 eggs a week was not linked to higher risk.
Cumulative egg intake
When egg consumption was tracked over time, there was still no significant link between egg intake and heart disease in either group.
Mediterranean diet groups
The link between egg consumption and heart events was similar in people following a Mediterranean diet and those in the control group.
What the authors conclude
“Low to moderated egg consumption was not associated with an increased CVD risk in diabetic or non-diabetic individuals at high cardiovascular risk.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that low to moderate egg consumption was not associated with an increased risk of heart disease in people with or without diabetes who were at high heart risk.
- They say the relationship between egg consumption and heart disease remains inconclusive.
How it was done
Eggs are a major source of dietary cholesterol and their consumption has sometimes been discouraged. Previous research suggested a link between egg consumption and heart disease might exist only in people with type 2 diabetes.
They followed 7,216 people aged 55 to 80 at high risk of heart disease from the PREDIMED study for an average of 5.8 years. All were free of heart disease at the start. Egg consumption was measured with a yearly food questionnaire.
What it can’t tell you
- This study followed people over time, so it can show a link but not prove that eating eggs causes or prevents heart disease.
- The results may not apply to the general population because all participants were older adults at high risk of heart disease.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- University of Navarra-School of Medicine, Spain; Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Spain; Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA), Spain
The paper
- Title
- Egg consumption and cardiovascular disease according to diabetic status: The PREDIMED study
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Díez-Espino J, Basterra-Gortari FJ, Salas-Salvadó J, et al (2017). Egg consumption and cardiovascular disease according to diabetic status: The PREDIMED study. Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland). doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2016.06.009Free full textPubMed 27448949DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error