Influence of vegetarianism on fibrinolytic activity

Blood glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels were determined and the venous occlusion test (VOT) was administered to 15 vegetarians (mean age 46.2 years, SD 15.1) and 20 non-vegetarians (mean age 38.3 years, SD 8.3). The tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) and euglobulin lysis time (ELT) were measured before and after VOT. The means of all the parameters were not significantly different between vegetarians and non-vegetarians. TPA increased after VOT in both the vegetarians and the non-vegetarians, but the changing amplitudes of tPA, PAI and ELT induced by VOT were not significantly different in either group. This study evidenced no significant difference in the changes of fibrinolytic activity between vegetarians and non-vegetarians.