Egg intake, heart disease, diabetes and death in UK men
What it found
In middle-aged UK men followed for about 23 years, eating eggs was not linked to heart disease, diabetes or death overall.
In men who already had type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance, eating more eggs was linked to more strokes and higher blood glucose.
What they found
Studies in people
Heart disease and death
In men free of heart disease at the start, egg consumption was not linked to new heart disease events (715 cases) or death from any cause (1028 cases) over the follow-up.
Diabetes
There was no link between egg consumption and new cases of type 2 diabetes (120 cases) in the men followed over time.
Stroke in diabetes group
Among men with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance, eating more eggs was linked to a higher risk of stroke. The risk was highest in those eating 5 or more eggs a week compared with those eating 1 or fewer.
Blood glucose in diabetes group
In the same group, higher egg consumption was linked to higher fasting glucose in both the Caerphilly study and the National Diet and Nutrition Survey. For example, in one Caerphilly phase, men eating 5 or more eggs a week had 1.31 mmol/L higher fasting glucose than those eating 1 or fewer.
HbA1c in general population
In the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, higher egg intake was linked to higher HbA1c, a marker of long-term blood sugar, even in people without diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance.
Cholesterol
The study found no link between egg intake and blood cholesterol levels.
What the authors conclude
“Higher egg consumption was associated with higher blood glucose in subjects with T2D and/or IGT.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say their study showed no evidence of adverse effects of infrequent egg intake (3 eggs per week) on the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and death in healthy men.
- They report a detrimental association of infrequent egg intake (3 eggs per week) on fasting glucose and risk of ischaemic stroke in people with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance, and an adverse link with HbA1c in a generally healthy population.
- They advise cautious interpretation due to limited sample size and events, and call for further research including large prospective studies and randomised controlled trials.
How it was done
The authors say the link between egg consumption and heart disease or type 2 diabetes is still debated, and they wanted to look at it in a UK group with long follow-up.
They followed 1781 men aged 45 to 59 from the Caerphilly study for an average of 22.8 years, checking diet, disease and death every 5 years. They also looked at 754 adults aged 19 to 64 from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2008 to 2012) for links between egg intake and blood markers.
What it can’t tell you
- This kind of study follows people over time and can show links, not cause and effect.
- The findings in middle-aged UK men may not apply to women or other groups.
- Egg intake was based on weekly egg counts and did not include eggs in mixed dishes, so it may be underestimated.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- University of Reading, UK; Cardiff University, UK
The paper
- Title
- Association between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease events, diabetes and all-cause mortality
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Guo J, Hobbs DA, Cockcroft JR, et al (2018). Association between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease events, diabetes and all-cause mortality. European journal of nutrition. doi:10.1007/s00394-017-1566-0Free full textPubMed 29098427DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error