Lignan Intake Linked to Lower Mortality in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes: Study

Key Findings

During the follow-up period, 4,372 deaths were reported, of which 1,318 were CVD and 752 were cancer. The pooled results for all were as follows:

• All-Cause Mortality: The pooled HR for the highest versus lowest quintile was 0.83 (95% CI: 0.74, 0.94).

• Cardiovascular Mortality: SECO intake significantly correlated with the pooled HR of 0.78 (95% CI: 0.69, 0.87).

• Cancer Mortality: SECO intake was also inversely associated with cancer mortality, with HR of 0.78.

Individual Lignans:

• Matairesinol (MAT): HR of 0.89 (95% CI: 0.80, 0.99)

• Pinoresinol (PINO): HR of 0.91 (95% CI: 0.81, 1.01)

• Lariciresinol (LARIC): HR of 0.92 (95% CI: 0.82, 1.03)

Changes in lignan intake from pre- to post-diagnosis were also consistently associated favourably:

• Total lignans: HR of 0.83 (95% CI: 0.75, 0.93).

• MAT: HR of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.77, 0.96).

• SECO: HR of 0.81 (95% CI: 0.72, 0.90).

The associations were stronger among non-white participants, which suggests potential population-specific benefits.

Researchers concluded that high lignan intake was associated with significantly reduced risks of all-cause and cause-specific deaths, including mortality from CVD and cancer. Thus, dietary lignans may play an important role in mitigating health complications in T2D patients, especially among minorities.

Reference:

Liu, B., Hu, Y., Wang, S., Wang, M., Rimm, E. B., & Sun, Q. (2025). Lignan intake and mortality among adults with incident type 2 diabetes–prospective cohort studies. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.01.008