Objective To evaluate the association between egg intake and cardiovascular disease risk among women and men in the United States, and to conduct a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

Design Prospective cohort study, and a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

Setting Nurses’ Health Study (NHS, 1980-2012), NHS II (1991-2013), Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study (HPFS, 1986-2012).

Participants Cohort analyses included 83 349 women from NHS, 90 214 women from NHS II, and 42 055 men from HPFS who were free of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer at baseline.

Main outcome measures Incident cardiovascular disease, which included non-fatal myocardial infarction, fatal coronary heart disease, and stroke.

Results Over up to 32 years of follow-up (>5.54 million person years), 14 806 participants with incident cardiovascular disease were identified in the three cohorts. Participants with a higher egg intake had a higher body mass index, were less likely to be…