VEGETABLE GARDENING AND CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Objective: Examine the impact of vegetable gardens on patients with non-communicable diseases (NCD). Methods: Systematic review was conducted. PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, LILACS, Web of Science, OATD, FSTA, AGRIS, AGRICOLA, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar were searched up to February/2024. Seventeen studies were identified: nine quantitative, six qualitative, and two mixed methods. Results: The impact of gardening on vegetable and fruit (V&F) intake was assessed in nine epidemiological studies conducted among patients with cancer, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. Most studies investigated the feasibility and acceptability of vegetable gardening (93%), adherence (63%), retention rate (97%), and total satisfaction with the activity were observed. Significant increases up to 1.2 servings per day of V&F, 0.45g of fiber, circulating total carotenoids, and reduction of long-term glycemic control among diabetic participants were observed in gardening-exposed groups. However, the heterogeneity of epidemiological designs and reduced sample size limited our conclusion. From narrative synthesis, vegetable gardens contributed to increased diversity and amount of vegetable intake, access to a healthy diet, cost savings, and additional benefits like hope, joy, and release from disease conduction were reported. Conclusion: Vegetable gardening interventions suggest increased V&F and fiber intake and reduced long-term glycemic control among diabetics. Further randomized controlled clinical trials, adequately powered to test hypotheses among socially vulnerable populations, along with accurate measures of dietary intake, are warranted to investigate the efficacy of vegetable gardening for individuals with NCD.