THE SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTION ON VEGETARIAN DIETARY PATTERN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

The increase in scientific evidence on the health benefits of vegetarian diets presented in the literature and the scientific interest in the subject is reflected in the number of articles published. This review assesses the scientific production on vegetarianism between 1888 and 2019. To analyze the publication trends on the subject, the keyword “vegetarian” was used in the bibliographic database of the National Institutes of Health Medline. The publication rate on vegetarianism has increased over the years, and its historical evolution can be seen divided into 3 periods. The first called "low production", from 1888-1949, with studies focused on hygienic and sanitary issues, the second period known as "medium production", between 1950-1979, with publications on cardiovascular risk factors, and the third entitled “high production”, between 1980-2019, with themes focused on the vegetarian food pattern and its influence on the environment. A strong correlation (r=0.9339) was observed between the publication of articles on vegetarian eating habits in relation to the total number of articles indexed in Medline. The increase in the production of articles on vegetarianism over the years in absolute terms was accentuated, meaning a growing interest, with its characteristics focused on their historical periods and specific events.