Effect of cocoa/dark chocolate consumption on lipid profile, blood glucose, and blood pressure in diabetics: a meta-analysis of observational studies

 Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.7183

Commentary

Due to the increase in cardiovascular disease, the current meta-analysis investigated the effect of cocoa/dark chocolate consumption on lipid profile, blood glucose, and blood pressure control in diabetic patients.

A systematic search of the databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochran Library was performed for this study until July 2020.

All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the use of cocoa/dark chocolate in diabetic patients were included in the study. Search results were limited to English language publications. Eight RCTs with 433 participants were selected for this meta-analysis.

According to the results of the pooled analysis, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol LDL-c levels (WMD: -15.49 mg / dl; 95% CI: -24.56, -6.42, p = .001) fasting blood sugar (FBS) concentrations (WMD: -6.88 mg / dl; 95% CI: -13.28, -0.48, p  = .03), these significant reductions were observed after consumption of cocoa/dark chocolate. Analysis of the articles included in the current study shows that consumption of cocoa/dark chocolate reduced serum fasting blood sugar (FBS) and LDL cholesterol concentrations. However, further high quality studies are essential to confirm the clinical efficacy of cocoa/dark chocolate consumption on the complete metabolic profile.